executive leadership team
Tessa Zimmerman
Founder, Executive Director
Location: Boulder, Colorado
After growing up with severe anxiety and firsthand experiencing the lack of mental health resources in schools, Tessa founded Upstream Education to ensure teachers have the tools to help their students reduce stress. She has been recognized by Forbes as a “wildly successful millennial with an untraditional education.” In 2017, her first book, I Am Tessa, was published. In 2021, Tessa gave a talk at TEDxCherryCreekWomen called “The Power of 5 Minutes for Youth Mental Health.” In her spare time, Tessa loves to take The Class and explore Colorado with her boyfriend.
Gina Leach
Director of Programs
Location: Traverse City, Michigan
Gina has taught high school English for nearly a decade and recently discovered the power of social & emotional learning after embedding Upstream Education’s curriculum into her classroom culture. She now serves as Upstream Education’s Director of Programs and brings a teacher’s perspective to curricular and professional development materials. In her free time, Gina loves to read, cook big family dinners, and get outside with her two sons, and dog.
Simone Stenson
Partnership Development Coordinator
Location: Wilmington, North Carolina
Simone studied sports management and business at the University of Tennessee, but right before graduation realized she wanted a career in education. Simone spent a year at Oracle perfecting her sales skills, and brings those skills and others to her role as Partnership Development Coordinator. In her free time Simone likes to workout, write, watch sports and cook. Simone has written a number of romance novels that she hope to publish in the future.
