iMPACTFUL's June SEL Champion: Danielle Sherman

Meet Danielle Sherman, a mental health clinician for a school district in Southern California. Danielle’s role mainly involves providing individual counseling, direct services, group counseling, crisis support, and home visits to students with disabilities. Her job also includes collaborating with community agencies, school counselors, and psychologists to provide adequate support to vulnerable students, and students with disabilities. 

Danielle believes that collaboration between different support resources is crucial for providing effective support to vulnerable students and students with disabilities. She has a great support system, including school administration, career technicians, and community agencies. Together they work towards creating a safe and healthy environment for the students. 

As part of her role, Danielle has initiated programs like Parent University, where workshops and training sessions are conducted for parents. These workshops cover topics like anxiety, depression, blended families, and coping mechanisms during and after the pandemic. Danielle’s Department of special education also has a Community Advisory Committee that meets monthly to support families, parents, and students. 

Danielle’s focus on skill-building and community education has made a significant impact on her school community. She believes that effective work can only be done when the entire family is involved in the process. Danielle’s efforts have helped create a safe and supportive environment for students with disabilities in her district. 

In conclusion, Danielle’s philosophy on supporting students with disabilities through social-emotional learning is simple yet empowering. She believes in adopting a solution-based mindset instead of just “admiring the problem.” Additionally, Danielle stresses the importance of modeling self-care and compassion to involve everyone in the process. At iMPACTFUL, we share a similar belief - our mental health literacy programs bring awareness and empower all people, not just teachers or parents. Danielle’s passion for social and emotional learning is evident in her work, where she strives to create a safe and supportive environment for everyone involved. Ultimately, improving social and emotional skills is essential for building strong connections with ourselves and others.

** A quick note that iMPACTFUL will be taking a break from SEL Champions starting in July for the summer period. We will be back in the fall to start the school year off, right! This doesn't mean you have to stop nominating people from your community. Thank you to our past SEL Champions, and to those who nominated SEL Champions throughout this past year.