Promising Practices: UC San Diego Tritons RISE Together

Dr. Erin Kelly Bartelma is a licensed Clinical Psychologist with a specialization in Sport, Performance, and Wellness Psychology. Dr. Bartelma serves as the Assistant Director of Outreach at University of California, San Diego’s Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) where she is going into her 10th year supporting students through extensive outreach, prevention, and education efforts. Dr. Bartelma’s work weaves together performance psychology’s “science of success” and the mind, body and heart-centered practices of the “art of well-being.”

Dr. Bartelma is originally from Boston, Massachusetts but moved to California to pursue graduate school. Her passion for the outdoors quickly made her a permanent resident of San Diego. Dr. Bartelma received her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Alliant International University’s California School of Professional Psychology. Her professional training included rotations at Rady Children’s Hospital, University of San Diego and her early career accomplishments helped to build interdepartmental sport psychology programming at both San Diego State University (SDSU) and California State University, San Marcos (CSUSM) before landing at her professional home at UC San Diego.

Being active and embracing nature’s wisdom are two important parts of Dr. Bartelma’s identity. Her sport’s history consists of playing NCAA soccer at Skidmore College and leading her team as co-captain her senior year, playing lacrosse, running, and horseback riding. In this chapter of her life journey, she has found longevity in regular yoga practice and sparking joy in playing in the ocean with her two children. On Sunday mornings, Dr. Bartelma and her family can be found at what they lovingly refer to as “beach church” where they reflect on the week’s adventures and set intentions for the week ahead. Many of the lessons taught by the ocean on these Sunday mornings are the inspiration for creative activities and mindfulness practices infused throughout RISE programming. 

Tiffany earned her Bachelors of Science in Kinesiology from San Diego State University. She has worked for UC San Diego Recreation since 2015 and has held various professional roles impacting student, staff, and community well-being. Currently, she serves as the Fitness & Wellness Program Director and is responsible for overseeing the fitness & yoga programs, student-centered fitness and wellness events, student wellness collaborations and partnerships, the Nutritional Counseling program, the Personal Training program, and manages a team of exceptional fitness professionals. Prior to her employment at UC San Diego, Tiffany ran a business providing private personal training, group training, mindfulness, yoga, and corporate fitness & wellness for ten years. 

Tiffany pursued a career in the wellness industry after unexpectedly losing both her younger brother and her best friend (a UCSD student) while in college. These challenges fueled her passion for providing college students with meaningful, community-driven experiences and embodied wellness practices to help them flourish during their academic years and beyond. 

In her free time, Tiffany enjoys quality time with family and her cats, spending time in nature, creating art, and gardening.

Tessa started her career in outdoor education as an undergraduate student at UC San Diego. After working as a NOLS instructor and wilderness therapy field staff among other outdoor positions, she eventually returned to her alma mater to serve as the Outdoor Leadership Programs Manager at Outback Adventures. Tessa has a Master of Arts in Outdoor Education Leadership from Prescott College. She believes that leadership is a learned skill, and loves to watch students grow throughout their time working in Recreation.

While obtaining her Master’s degree, Tessa developed and enhanced the field response and best practices for mental health incidents on Outback trips. She created a workshop for student leaders to gain skills and confidence for responding to students in distress, and she wrote a manual to serve as a guide for addressing those incidents. Tessa values the partnership that Recreation and CAPS have developed to better serve all students across campus.

Tessa also enjoys rock climbing, taking her dog to the beach, baking, and crafting. She spends as much time as she can outdoors with her one year old son, who is fascinated by nature.