Alumni Spotlight:
Lesly Tinoco, MA, LPC
Master of Arts in Clinical Counseling
Class of: 2021
The Journey Continues…
HealthySteps Specialist, Zufall Health Center
For Lesly Tinoco ’21, helping children and families access care they need is both a professional commitment and a driving force behind her career.
A resident of Paterson, New Jersey, Tinoco earned her Master of Arts in Clinical Counseling from Centenary University in 2021. While pursuing her degree, she continued working at Zufall Health Center, connecting her classroom learning with hands-on experience in behavioral healthcare.
“Centenary University played an important role in helping me grow from a behavioral health professional into the clinician I am today,” Tinoco said. “The Clinical Mental Health Counseling program strengthened my clinical skills, critical thinking, confidence, and understanding of ethical and evidence-based practice.”
Tinoco joined Zufall in February 2019 and advanced through multiple roles before becoming a HealthySteps Specialist in January 2024. Along the way, she coordinated behavioral health case management services across six health center locations and trained and supported fellow staff members.
During her clinical internship, Tinoco provided individual counseling, conducted assessments, developed treatment plans, and collaborated with multidisciplinary care teams. These experiences, paired with her graduate education, helped prepare Tinoco for increased responsibilities and put her on the path toward becoming a Licensed Professional Counselor.
Today, Tinoco supports young children and their families through Zufall’s HealthySteps program, an integrated pediatric primary care model, which she helped to develop and implement with community partners and licensed medical professionals. Tinoco credits Zufall Health Center for allowing her to contribute to programs focused on expanding access to behavioral health and family support services.
Her contributions earned her the New Jersey Primary Care Association’s Healthcare Hero Award in 2023. In 2026, ZERO TO THREE/HealthySteps featured her work helping a family navigating an autism diagnosis, insurance coverage, specialized therapy, and housing needs.
In addition to her role at Zufall where she focuses on making care more accessible, Tinoco serves as an Intensive In-Community Therapist with Inspire the Youth, providing individual and family therapy to children and adolescents. Bilingual in English and Spanish, she is passionate about reducing cultural, linguistic, and socioeconomic barriers to mental healthcare. Tinoco also participates in community and faith-based service and advocates for early childhood development, mental health education, and family support.
Looking ahead, Tinoco’s long-term goal is to build a behavioral health practice that increases access to culturally responsive services, particularly for underserved and bilingual communities.
“For me, success is not only professional advancement; it is having the freedom and opportunity to use my education and experience to create meaningful change for the individuals, families, and communities I serve,” Tinoco said.
For today’s Centenary students, Tinoco offers advice grounded in her own steady professional growth: “Do not compare your timeline to someone else’s. Stay teachable, build meaningful relationships, take opportunities that challenge you, and remember why you started.”