Jen Saavdedra joined the Hope Academy team in July of 2023 as the Front Desk Receptionist. She calls Indianapolis home, but hails from Brownsville, Texas originally. Before beginning her work at Hope Academy, she was a Registered Behavioral Therapist. 

Each day, she welcomes every student and visitor into the building and ensures they have the things they need. She says she hopes that she is able to help students feel appreciated and part of a community. 

So far, she says she loves everything about Hope and appreciates the school’s values most of all. She loves to see that everyone on staff embodies these values so naturally. She especially enjoys the heartwarming feeling she gets when seeing students interact and bond with coaches. 

Jen is fluent in Spanish and enjoys baking with her kids for family events. She and her husband also have a pug named Coco who loves eating bacon! She says Trent Shelton’s words inspired her when she was at her lowest: “We are all a little broken, but last time I checked broken crayons still color the same.”