Tanya Guerrera is a proud Ngarrindjeri/Kaurna woman who comes from a very large family who has lived in many locations around South Australia and a short stay interstate in Sydney as a young child. Tanya’s parents, well respected Elders of the community, were both a part of the Stolen Generations with her mother a published author of her time in care. Tanya’s parents raised all their children within Aboriginal Community developing strong connections to family and love of culture, kinship and identity. Today Tanya is a respected Elder to her family. This comes with cultural obligations, responsibilities of family connection cultural support, teaching a language, kinship and cultural connections.
Tanya has a passion working for and within the Aboriginal community, she has developed a strong understanding of Intergenerational Trauma seeing and experiencing this first hand through her own childhood and her time working within the SA Link-Up Program. Tanya has completed a Bachelor of Social Work and Diploma of Narrative Approaches in Counselling and a range of other training and formal development. Tanya has also completed the Tracy Westermann Mental Health Suicide and Prevention training.
Tanya has worked in the Aboriginal Community for over thirty years in portfolios including Child Protection, Education, Child & Adolescent Mental Health and Child and Family Health Service working with Aboriginal children, Youth and their families and community. Tanya has also worked with Stolen Generation and forcibly removed Community Members and Drug and Alcohol Counselling.
Tanya believes the above formal study, training and development, and employment history/experience has complimented her own personal life experience and cultural knowledge as an Aboriginal woman. These have provided her with a much stronger appreciation and connection to the Aboriginal community and a passion to continue working with community and families to strengthen and impower individuals and families in their own lives.