Her Story
About Tena
Tena Green has been engaged in educational advocacy since 2020. She supports families and schools in Colorado through her work as a certified facilitator, facilitating high-stress meetings and drawing on training in facilitation processes and restorative justice practices. She also serves as a facilitator on the state training team for a local family leadership training institute. Motivated by her experience as a parent of three boys, including an oldest son born with Down syndrome, Tena previously worked for nonprofits supporting families and the Department of Education. She co-authored The IEP Guidebook with colleague Tracy Gershwin, focusing on how educators can collaborate with families to ensure inclusion during the IEP process. Tena emphasizes values of inclusion, ensuring all voices are heard and valued, even when verbal skills are limited or language barriers exist. She attributes her approach to keeping going for the right reasons and advises taking care of oneself amid the emotional demands of the work.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Tena
01What do you attribute your success to?
I think it is to keep going, right? Like... And sometimes you never know the impact you made on a particular person, and you may never know. But do it for the right reason.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
I think it is to keep going, right? Like... And sometimes you never know the impact you made on a particular person, and you may never know. But do it for the right reason.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I think the advice is take care of yourself, right? Like, because there are times that this can feel really heavy, right? Because you're dealing with families, right, and people's children. And so, you know, sometimes it can be really heavy and hard, and so you have to remember, like, why are you doing this, and also keep... take care of yourself, right? And I think that's, for me, one thing that helps is, as I mentioned, is those morning hikes, right? Like... Because that helps to... help me be centered, grateful, right? Thankful for things in my life, and, you know, a big thing, just thankful to be able... that I live in such a place. And my body is able to hike, right?
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I think some of the biggest challenges is, at times, Families feeling like their voice is heard and their students' voice is heard, I think is a big challenge. And sometimes those things can feel really heavy. As a parent, it's really hard to feel as though you're not being heard. And I... so I think that that's a really big challenge right now, and I think a big challenge for educators is trying to find that balance between Education and supporting students in the classroom.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I think the biggest value I have is I want humans, like, people to feel included and valued, right? And, and I really stand firm on how can I make sure that everybody's voice was included and heard, even if their voice isn't... they can't articulate it like you and I can, right? So... Maybe they have speech or proxia, and their verbal skills are limited, or maybe they speak a different language, right? And so... you know. I just really want people to feel included and be included.
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