Jessica Bonilla Ramirez

Jessica Bonilla Ramirez is a Case Manager at Engage Young Adult Transitions in Cedar City, Utah, where she helps young adults build practical life skills, increase confidence, and take greater responsibility for education, employment, relationships, health, and independent living.

Jessica joined Engage in October 2025 as a Life Coach and transitioned into her Case Manager role in February 2026. Her experience in both roles has given her the opportunity to support young adults in everyday situations while also helping them organize larger goals and develop practical plans for moving forward.

Jessica is currently completing a B.S. in Criminal Justice with a minor in Legal Studies at Southern Utah University. Her professional preparation includes mental health training, suicide prevention, CPR and First Aid, QPR Gatekeeper Certification, Naloxone training, and AEGIS System de-escalation training.

Before joining Engage, Jessica worked with adolescents and young people in residential and community-based settings. At Renewed Hope Ranch, she provided mentorship, emotional support, structured routines, and life-skills guidance to adolescent girls in residential treatment. As a Youth Engagement Specialist with Youth Futures, she supported at-risk youth through mentorship, crisis de-escalation, life-skills programming, resource coordination, and case-management support. She also volunteered as a youth mentor with Southwest Family Support Services.

At Engage, Jessica helps young adults identify goals related to education, employment, vocational interests, medical care, social connection, daily responsibilities, and independent living. She works with each young adult to understand their current strengths, habits, skills, and challenges and then helps turn larger goals into practical next steps.

She particularly enjoys working with young adults who feel stuck, have difficulty taking initiative, struggle socially, or feel uncertain about what they want their future to look like. Her work may include helping a young adult organize appointments, explore school or employment, communicate with professionals, develop routines, navigate relationships, access community resources, or complete responsibilities they have previously relied on others to manage.

Jessica believes that independent living skills are best developed through real-world practice. Her approach focuses on teaching rather than doing things for young adults. She uses encouragement, accountability, problem-solving, and step-by-step support while gradually creating more opportunities for young adults to make decisions and manage responsibilities for themselves.

This approach reflects an important part of Engage’s model: support should help build independence rather than replace it.

Jessica works closely with therapists, Life Coaches, academic and vocational staff, medical professionals, families, and other members of the Engage treatment team. This collaboration helps connect clinical goals with what is happening in the young adult’s everyday life, including school, employment, relationships, routines, health, and community involvement.

Jessica is especially interested in emerging adulthood and the process of helping young people develop identity, direction, responsibility, and confidence as they move into adult life. She believes young adults benefit from compassion and meaningful support while also having opportunities to experience consequences, solve problems, learn from setbacks, and discover what they are capable of doing independently.

Her studies in criminal justice have also contributed to an interest in the relationship between mental health, behavior, decision-making, and involvement with the legal system. She hopes to continue learning about how earlier support, greater understanding, and access to appropriate resources can contribute to healthier outcomes for young people.

Outside of Engage, Jessica enjoys cooking and trying new foods, traveling, being crafty, spending time outdoors with her family, and following high-profile criminal cases.