Sepp Sprietsma

Position: Regional Program Manager

College and Career Pathways 

Center for the Future of Arizona 

Sepp’s work background in community justice stems from a 20 career with Cochise County Probation and Juvenile Court Services. Sepp’s career included being a JIPS Officer, a Safe Schools JPO, a Standard Officer, a Diversion Officer, a Residential Treatment Placement Officer, a Victim Rights Program Manager, and a juvenile detention teacher. While with CCPJCS, Sepp had the opportunity to become a trainer in juvenile justice law related education in schools and juvenile detentions centers, motivational interviewing, adverse childhood experiences, juvenile detention alternatives, the cross over youth program model, CPR and First Aid, and leadership training. Sepp has since gone on into careers with the University of Arizona and ASU/Center for the Future of Arizona in the areas of public health and workforce development. Sepp and his wife, Lisa, live on a 26-acre farm along the San Pedro River in SE Arizona, where they raised their two children: Maria and Liam. 

So where did the name ‘Sepp’ come from? When ‘Joseph’ was 17 years old, he graduated from high school and participated in a Future Farmers of America exchange program to Switzerland. Within days of arriving in Switzerland his host family converted Joseph to the common Swiss nick name – Sepp. 

Northern Arizona University, MEd 

• Community College Higher Education Leadership 

Prescott College, Secondary Teaching Credential 

• Social Studies 

The Evergreen State College, BA 

• Cultural Anthropology / Natural History  

Yavapai College, AA 

• Arts and Humanities  

St Johns College – Santa Fe New Mexico 

• Tecolote Fellow