Staff Spotlight: Tiffany Bellesi
Co-Responder Clinician
Bio: Tiffany Bellesi is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and was the first clinician hired for the University of Florida Police Department’s embedded Co-Responder Program in June 2022. While attending college, Tiffany served as a resident assistant, where she discovered how much she enjoyed mentoring and supporting college-aged students. That experience helped reaffirm her decision to pursue social work and a career focused on helping people through some of the most difficult moments of their lives.
Tiffany earned her bachelor’s degree with a double major in Social Work and Psychology from Salisbury University and her Master of Social Work from Rutgers University. Prior to joining UFPD, she provided trauma-informed services to families in the foster care system and worked at a re-entry correctional facility. Since joining UFPD, Tiffany has helped train officers assigned to the co-responder program as well as three clinicians who joined the team after her. She now has formal training responsibilities for the team and has presented at four conferences on various co-responder topics. She has also shared her experiences with other law enforcement agencies developing and expanding their programs, including consulting on a new hire process for one agency. Tiffany is passionate about meeting people where they are, treating everyone with dignity and respect and recognizing the strengths each person brings to their own journey.
What is an identity you’re proud to share?
“I am proud to identify as a social worker clinician. I chose this profession because I believe people are more than the challenges they may be experiencing in a particular moment. Social work taught me to look at the whole person—their experiences, relationships, environment, strengths and circumstances. Once of my favorite quotes is, ‘Be somebody who makes everybody feel like a somebody.’ I try to carry that idea into my professional and personal life every day.”
What does your role entail?
“As the co-responder clinician, I ride in a patrol car with a UFPD officer for the duration of my shift and respond to calls for service, with priority given to calls involving mental health or behavioral health concerns. My role includes providing on-scene clinical assessment, supporting de-escalation and connecting individuals with appropriate resources and follow-up services when needed. In addition to responding to calls, I now have formal training responsibilities for the co-responder team. I help train officers and clinicians, teams Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) skills to officers in the Alachua County community and share our experiences with other agencies developing their own programs. I really enjoy the collaborative nature of the work and the opportunity to bring a clinical perspective into public safety.”
What is your favorite part about working at UF?
“My favorite part about working at UF is all of the people I have had the opportunity to meet. Interacting with the UF community, and the public as a whole, has helped me grow individually and professionally. I have been fortunate to learn from so many different people and build relationships that have made my experience at UF meaningful.”
Fun fact about you:
“I love to cook and rarely ever use recipes! I enjoy taking comfort-food favorites and finding ways to make them healthier while still keeping them delicious. Cooking gives me a chance to be creative and is one of my favorite ways to relax and recharge.”
Staff Spotlight: Millie Martin
Police Officer
Bio: I graduated from the University of Florida with my Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Sport Management. During my time at UF, I was heavily involved in Homecoming and Gator Growl. I am the only person to be Gator Growl’s Executive Producer twice (2016-2017) in it’s over a hundred year history. After graduation in 2018, I was an Event Manager at UNC Charlotte, overseeing their basketball arena and football stadium. In 2019, I moved back to Florida and was a Senior Event Manager for FSU’s Tucker Center, overseeing men’s basketball venue logistics and operations along with various other events. Since 2021, I returned to UF to serve my community as an Officer with UFPD. As an Officer, I am part of the Patrol Division. I currently serve as a Co-Responder Officer, Field Training Officer, Dispatch Relief Officer and am Bike Certified.
What is an identity you’re proud to share?
“My commitment and loyalty to UF grew from my time as a student. I was inducted into UF’s Hall of Fame in 2017 and my picture i on the third floor of the Reitz Union. It reminds me that my goal as a student was to make a positive impact for those who came after me. I stand by that same philosophy today, and I strive for that everyday that I patrol campus.”
What does your role entail?
“Currently, I serve the Patrol Division. I am a Co-Responder Officer and a Field Training Officer. As a Co-Responder, I ride with a licensed social worker, and our team specializes in behavioral health crises calls. Our goal is to divert from arrests and involuntary hospitalization while someone is experiencing a behavioral or mental health crisis. As a Field Training Officer, I am tasked with training the newest officers on how to effectively and proactively patrol campus and respond to calls of service while meeting UFPD expectations and standards.”
What is your favorite part about working at UF?
“My favorite part about being part of the UF community is still what originally drew me: being part of something bigger than yourself. UF is a community that takes a proactive lead and fearlessly takes initiative no matter what the conversation is: innovation, academics, research or athletics. Certain traditions still give me goose bumps: singing “We are the Boys” after the third quarter, chanting “It’s great to be a Florida Gator,” or singing “Won’t Back Down: are all moments that show the strength and overall unity of the Gator Nation.”
Fun fact about you:
“As an avid events fan and more importantly a long-time Swiftie, I’ve been to every Taylor Swift tour in the state of Florida. From Fearless to The Eras and all in between.”