Melanie Tucker brings 30 years of social services experience to WAGAP
Melanie Tucker
BINGEN — Melanie Tucker has joined Washington Gorge Action Programs (WAGAP) to become its new Family and Community Wellness Director. She brings 30 years of experience in social services to support the Whole Family Approach, including overseeing programs such as the Pathways Health Connect team and the White Salmon Community Youth Center. The goal is to help community members access resources to create healthier lives for themselves and their families.
“We are very excited to have Melanie join our team,” said WAGAP Executive Director Jennifer Pauletto. “The role is essential to providing people with personal connections to a wide variety of services, from physical and mental health resources, financial training and assistance, family support for things like parenting resources.”
Pauletto said Tucker is taking over the role from Abby Brandt Whalin, who held it for four years. “We are so grateful to have had outstanding leadership from Abby to put together the Pathways team and develop great relationships between Community Health Workers and local organizations to help provide excellent support for community members in need. We are confident that Melanie’s experience will add a new layer of understanding to the challenges that low-income families face in their daily lives.”
Tucker graduated from Purdue University with a Bachelor's degree in psychology. Her initial focus was on hospice work, helping individuals and families cope with death and dying. This profession stemmed from experiences she had as a child while visiting a nursing facility with a friend. It led to a powerful interaction that changed the course of her life.
“I was standing in the hallway while my friend visited her grandma,” Tucker said. Residents stopped by to talk with her, and as an eleven-year-old, a conversation with one woman made a lasting impression about the fear people have about death and dying. “As I talked to her, I was compelled to help her, but didn’t know how.”
“At the time, all I knew was that the residents seemed to like my visit,” Tucker said. She began volunteering at the facility, spending time with the residents, reading to them, and leading group activities such as playing the piano. “It made me happy,” she said, “anything to spend time with them.”
She considered a career in nursing, but was drawn to psychology. After college, she began working in the hospice field in Portland, Oregon. She supported clients and families, conducted assessments to determine needs, and ordered medical supplies and equipment for her patients.
In 2012, she made the official full-time move to the community of White Salmon. She found work in disability management through Eastern Oregon Support Services, supporting vulnerable and unreached populations.
Her first interaction with Washington Gorge Action Programs came during a local festival in Bingen. She met an individual who was houseless and sat down to have a long conversation. She wanted to help, so she found the local WAGAP Food Bank in Bingen and connected him with the program.
After many years supporting individuals with disabilities in Oregon, she was ready to find new challenges, and “WAGAP was at the top of my list,” Tucker said. “Their mission was something that fully aligned with the purpose of my work.” Her mom told her about the job opening for the Family and Community Wellness Director. She had a wow moment. “It was right up my alley and landed perfectly with the timing.” She applied immediately and was excited to have been selected. She began working with the team in November.
“The team is really successful, and there are great projects already underway,” she said of the Pathways Health Connect group. “My first focus is to support them through this transition so they can do their best work for all of their clients.”
Her team is ready to help individuals and families in Klickitat and Skamania counties. Learn more at www.wagap.org/pathways. There are also Community Health Workers from local Latino communities ready to help people navigate services or provide referrals for signing up for health insurance, getting medical, dental, or mental healthcare, food, housing, utility and financial assistance, transportation, treatment for substance misuse, childcare, parenting education, legal assistance, and more.
Services are always free and confidential. For more information or to sign up, call 509-281-0829. Spanish-speakers can call 509-281-2331. Questions in English or Spanish can be emailed directly to pathways@wagap.org.
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