Badass of the Week: Tara Roussett

With over 20 years of experience in the child welfare field, Tara Roussett joined SJRC Texas (formally known as St. Jude’s Ranch for Children) in March of 2008. She was promoted to CEO on July 1, 2016 after leading the organization in a successful transition from a national entity to a local Texas focused non-profit. Tara is honored to lead the organization that cares for nearly 100 children and families ages zero to 21, every day that have been affected by abuse, neglect or abandonment.  In her current role, Tara oversees all operations, vast programs and financial management of SJRC Texas. Tara is responsible for the overall leadership, management, development, improvement, strategic planning, staffing, oversight and regulatory compliance of SJRC Texas.

Tara brings two decades of experience in the child welfare field from working in residential treatment facilities to working as a classroom teacher for North East Independent School District in San Antonio, including nine years working in senior and executive level management at SJRC Texas.  Tara started her career working in foster care, which ignited her passion to serve children. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with a specialization in Early Childhood Education from the University of Texas at San Antonio and a Master of Business Administration from Howard Payne University in New Braunfels.  Tara also holds dual licensure as a Child Care Administrator and Child Placing Agency Administrator and is a TBRI (Trust-Based Relational Intervention) Educator. TBRI® is an attachment-based, trauma-informed intervention that is designed to meet the complex needs of vulnerable children.

Tara and her husband, Rodney, have been married for 19 years and have two active children that they love and adore. Tara believes all children should be cherished and she works hard every day to make that happen for not only her own children, but all the children and families in our community.

Tara is committed to improving the lives of the most vulnerable children and families in the community and educating the public about the good work being done by SJRC. She brings her enthusiasm to the ongoing expansion of programs and to the mission of SJRC and all the people it serves. Ultimately, Tara’s dream and vision is for child abuse to end and for all children to know they have voice and are important to our society.