Theresa Power-Drutis

Theresa Power-Drutis

Theresa Power-Drutis is the director of New Connections, an organization dedicated to helping people successfully re-enter the community after prison. She is co-facilitator of the Community Partnership for Transitional Services (Pierce County) and of the Hilltop Village non-violent communication practice group. Ms. Power-Drutis co-founded Guadalupe House, a transitional house for people experiencing homelessness. She also co-founded The Lesotho Connection (TLC), an organization that supports community based solutions to extreme poverty in Lesotho, Africa. Similarly optimistic endeavors such as the Neighborhood Clinic, Homeless Connect, and the Hilltop Madrinas are more recent volunteer commitments. For the last three decades Theresa has been involved in education, community organizing, and global initiatives, particularly those related to Southern Africa. She lived in Botswana as a Peace Corps volunteer and in Lesotho while completing doctoral and post-graduate research. Ms. Power-Drutis spent time in pre and post-apartheid South Africa as well as in Afghanistan working on IT initiatives. Theresa received her Ph.D. in Leadership Studies from Gonzaga University, BE in Technology Education from Eastern Washington University, and Certificate of Carpentry from Samuel Gompers (Seattle Central Community College).