Life is not a dress rehearsal, the time is now is the philosophy by which Jessica Spangenberg, MNLM, lives her life. As the program supervisor at St. James Manor and St. Anthony’s Haven/Code Blue Emergency Shelter at Weston Field, it is a great one to live by.
Spangenberg oversees operations at the Mental Health Homeless program at St. James Manor and the manor’s Citizen’s Re-Entry program. She also oversees St. Anthony’s Haven and the Code Blue Emergency Shelter at Weston Field.
Some of her primary responsibilities include supervising her teams that work within these programs, maintaining working relationships with partner agencies, and day to day shelter/program operations and needs.
The business woman earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Dickinson College, with an original career plan to pursue a degree in law, but had second thoughts when she completed an internship experience in social services working with domestic violence victims. There she answered the crisis line at a safe house which sheltered women escaping violent situations.
Upon graduation in 2001, the young woman moved out west, secured a job at a boarding school in Utah working as a dorm parent and assistant snowboarding coach. Later she moved to Colorado and worked in the tourism industry, snowboarding 100 plus days a season at various mountains in the Rockies with her brother, Quinn.
After a brief time on the east coast and Northern California she got married and welcomed her first son, Seamus.She returned to Pennsylvania about a year later to raise him close to family and her roots. Her two younger boys were born in Pennsylvania. All three of her boys share her love for skiing and snowboarding which they do together as often as possible.
Her greatest mentor of her professional career, has been the late Anthony Pero, the clinical director of Drug and Alcohol Treatment Services. “People can argue and question everything, and let them, just never let them doubt that you care about them. They do not care how much you know or what you have to say, unless they know how much you care was what he taught me,” she said.
Spangenberg attributes her success to remaining teachable and being open to possibilities. ”I embrace change and have learned throughout my life that the ability to keep pushing and doing the next right thing will get me to where I am meant to be,” she notes.
Spangeberg is truly grateful for the support of her three boys, her immediate family members, and an amazing female support system – a family of her choice.
The leader participates in volunteer and service opportunities to raise awareness within the recovery community.
She impresses to others that there is no timeline for one’s goals. “It is ok to pivot, change direction and try something new at any point in time,” she adds, noting that she returned to motherhood at the age of 41 and changed career paths to work with individuals experiencing mental health and homelessness. She then attained her masters in public administration in 2025, 24 years after her first degree.
Jessica Spangenberg
Age: 46
Home: Greenfield Twp.
Title: Program’s Supervisor (St. James Manor & St. Anthony’s Haven/Code Blue Emergency Shelter at Weston Field)
Business: Catholic Social Services, Wyoming Avenue, Scranton