Hello, Meet Tricia

Tricia Pegues brings over 24+ years of experience within social services and child welfare that began in San Diego County Health and Human Services and Riverside County Department of Public Social Services.

In 1998, Tricia began her career within Women’s Resource Center/DV Shelter in Oceanside and as an Eligibility Technician in San Diego County. She quickly transitioned at the start of 2000 to Riverside County as a Children’s Social Service Worker III. Tricia departed from her public-sector career beginnings in 2013 to lead a foster family agency through supervision, quality assurance and accreditation, while also working with Public
Child Welfare Training Academy (SDSU Research Foundation) to continue training and coaching social workers in the southern 5 counties of California.

In 2017, Tricia Co-Founded a mental health services/social services organization servicing children and families in San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, with an internal focus of diversity, equity and inclusion representation within the company team of employees. In 2019, Tricia was instrumental in adding a foster family agency to this company that now services unaccompanied children through the Office of Refugee Resettlement with two locations in San Diego County and 2 locations in the Inland Empire. Tricia was also instrumental in growing the revenue of that company to $20M a year in the short 6 years through leading the business development of grant writing and contract negotiations prior to her departure in late 2022. Most recently, in 2021, Tricia founded Believe YOU LLC and We Believe Foundation to further her desire, passion and purpose in providing for youth and families in underserved communities within California. Tricia graduated from Point Loma Nazarene University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Family Life Services and received her Master of Science Degree in Human Services/Social and Community Services from Capella University. Additionally, Tricia completed her PhD coursework, comprehensive exams, and her dissertation on the Lived Experiences of Prostituted Children/Youth in the Child Welfare System for her PhD Candidacy in Counseling Services in 2018 from Capella University.

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Most importantly, Tricia is a mother of four children, ages 30, 24, 21, and 8; and a new “GiGi” to her first grandbaby born in May 2023. Throughout her life, career and education, Tricia’s passion and purpose in service to underserved children, families, and communities have remained her primary focus.