Lupe Santos remembers a time when no one in her trauma-ridden community knew what a Certified Wellness Coach was. “Now, teachers call me before a crisis happens. Students know they have someone on campus who listens,” she said.
As a Student Support Specialist for Las Plumas High School in Oroville, Lupe is a California Certified Wellness Coach (CWC) working for Butte County Office of Education — a community still healing from the historic 2018 Camp Fire.
Lupe was one of eight CWCs across California who joined a webinar hosted by the California School-Based Health Alliance to share how they build trusted relationships with students and strengthen comprehensive wellness supports on campus.
There are now more than 4,000 Certified Wellness Coaches throughout California, trained to support existing care teams in tackling the growing behavioral health challenges of children and youth. That number continues to grow thanks to Governor Gavin Newsom’s Master Plan for Kids’ Mental Health and the state’s Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI), which funded HCAI to develop and administer this profession.
CWCs provide non-clinical services — including wellness promotion, screening, care coordination, individual and group support, and crisis referral — embedded within school and community-based care teams under the guidance of credentialed personnel and clinicians.
Building Trust and Strengthening Connections
During the webinar, Wellness Coaches described their role as deeply relational and grounded in everyday presence — building trust long before a crisis occurs.
“It’s really important that we introduce ourselves in a formal way — why I’m here, how I can help, what services I provide,” said Sakina Ali, Certified Wellness Coach and Wellness Liaison at Santa Clara County Office of Education.
That consistent visibility creates pathways for students to seek support before challenges escalate. CWCs often become a first point of connection, helping students access school-based health services through warm hand-offs and follow-up.
“I stand at the gates every morning greeting families, high-fiving students, and making sure they see a familiar face. When a tough moment happens later in the day, they already know me and feel safe walking into the Wellness Center,” said Jasmin Montalbo, a CWC and Student Support Specialist at Ceres Unified School District in Stanislaus County.
Beyond individual interactions, CWCs are contributing to a broader cultural shift. Through groups, events, and daily presence, they help normalize conversations about well-being.
“Sometimes you don’t see change right away — it’s happening,” said Karl Travis, CWC at Oroville High School. Gloria Cruz, CWC at Westport Elementary in Ceres Unified, agreed: “This is an evolving journey — and it’s exciting. Wellness is becoming part of school culture.”
Click here to watch a recording of the webinar or here to view tips for new Certified Wellness Coaches.
