About
Meet Tenesha Villanueva
A Journey of Passion and Purpose
Tenesha is a former high school college counselor, college persistence program director and education non-profit leader. She is passionate about connecting students, particularly those from marginalized communities, to best-fit postsecondary pathways that lead to economic mobility. Her passion for this work stems from her own experiences as a first-generation college graduate.
Fusing her lived experiences as a first generation-college student and expertise in college access, Tenesha has developed programs, built partnerships with schools and districts, led high-performing teams, and informed organizational strategy as a key member of an non-profit executive team. Specifically, she’s provided direct college advising support to over 1,000 students and has overseen 100+ educational partnerships in 15 states nationwide to increase college and career readiness for students from low-income communities. She has advanced the mission of great organizations like YES Prep Public Schools, High Tech High, National Math & Science Initiative, and CollegeSpring. Because of her depth of knowledge and experience in the field, Tenesha can quickly and expertly get into the trenches with you to help you move your goals forward in an organized and systematic way.
An alumna of Old Dominion University, Tenesha holds a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership. Tenesha is a proud military spouse and a mom who loves spending time with her family and serving her local church and community.
About Villanueva Consulting
Empowering Change, One Project at a Time
Born from an unwavering belief in the transformative potential of education, our approach is distinctive, seamlessly weaving professional expertise with personal experience and an unyielding commitment to equity. We go beyond merely working on projects; our mission is to wholeheartedly support you on your journey, ensuring you fulfill your mission and make a positive impact on those you serve.
Vision
Mission
Values
At the heart of Villanueva Consulting are our core values – Relationships, Excellence, Collaboration, Learning, and Equity. These values guide our every action and decision, ensuring that we stay true to our commitment to educational access, equity and mobility. Here are our guiding principles:
- We value people as more important than the project. We will invest time in our relationship as we build together.
- We bring excellence in everything we do so that together we can achieve excellent outcomes on behalf of those you serve.
- We believe teamwork makes the dream work. We are in this together!
- There’s no formula for success; it’s through continuous learning and iteration that true progress happens and that leads to success.
- We deeply care about connecting students to their best-fit opportunities so they can break the cycle of poverty.
- Tenesha is a first-generation college graduate from a historically marginalized community.
- She has directly served students and families from historically marginalized communities.
- She has led teams and built programs in direct service of students from historically marginalized communities.
It’s not business, it’s a personal mission. We are excited to achieve it together.
