League of Women Voters announce the Democracy Works Award recipient for 2022

Tessa Smith, the current chair of the Multi-Cultural Community Council, is the recipient of the League of Women Voters 2022 Democracy Works Award.

Smith was nominated by Will Ferrier and Wendy Wilcox. They state, “Tessa Smith has dedicated her life’s work to making a positive impact and improving the human experience of local citizens by closing the gap in racial disparities. Tessa has worked tirelessly as Chair of the Yolo County Multi-Cultural Community Council (MCCC), a group that advises the District Attorney’s office on community and race issues. She also brought together a rich mix of stakeholders to bring awareness with the goal of driving change to the issue of racial disparities in the health, criminal justice, and child welfare system.”

Ms. Smith resides in Woodland and is employed by the Yolo County Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) as the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Coordinator and is engaged in the following community groups:

• Appointed to the Yolo County Child Abuse Prevention Council

• Member of the MICAH Forum, a partnership with Greater Second Baptist Church and St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Woodland.

• Current Chair of the MCCC and a member since 2016.

• Co-Lead of Resilient Yolo, a group of trainers and providers who work to reduce adverse childhood experiences and build resilience in children and families

• Leads the HHSA Cultural Competence Committee

• Mental Health First Aid trainer for HHSA, training 4000 + community members. (MHFA teaches understanding the signs and symptoms of a mental health crisis.)

Learn more about Tessa Smith at the Democracy Works Awards presentation and Dinner on Wednesday,