Tessa Zimmerman

Tessa Zimmerman is the Founder and Executive Director of ASSET Education, a nonprofit organization that trains and equips educators with tools to help students reduce stress and build resilience.12 She founded the organization in June 2016, which now impacts 40,000 students weekly across eight states.23

Zimmerman's journey began with her own struggles with severe anxiety and panic attacks during her school years in Westport.1 After transferring to Easton Country Day School, where she experienced smaller classes and staff trained in mindfulness, she found ways to mitigate her anxiety.1 This personal experience led her to study social entrepreneurship at the Watson Institute and ultimately create ASSET Education.13

Career Highlights

• Founded ASSET Education, scaling its impact from 125 to 40,000 students weekly3
• Co-designed the curriculum with the Director of Programs3
• Fundraised over $1.5 million from various sources3
• Named in Forbes 30 Under 303

Previous Experience

• Education and Business Columnist at Sassy Six (2014-2015)3
• Community Manager at Watson University (2014-2015)3
• Streaming Segment Host & Contributor at FTNS (2012-2013)3

Zimmerman is passionate about integrating mental health support into the education system, envisioning a future where students' mental health is as important as their academics.2 She continues to innovate, recently launching a social media series called #tessatools, which shares bite-sized mental health tools every Tuesday.2