From Lockhart to Guatemala: Dr. Brianna Oliva helping transform lives through the Tesoro Project

By Anthony Collins

LPR Editor                             

   For Dr. Brianna Oliva, service has always been more than a profession, it’s a calling rooted in community, compassion, and the belief that every person carries something valuable within them. A Lockhart native, Doctor of Physical Therapy, entrepreneur, and nonprofit leader, Oliva has helped build a bridge between Central Texas and underserved communities abroad through the work of the Tesoro Project.

   Today, Oliva lives in Lockhart with her husband, Michael Oliva, and their two young children. In addition to practicing physical therapy, she co-owns Andrew Renae Photography and Andrew Renae Shop with her husband while serving as co-founder and president of the Tesoro Project, a nonprofit providing rehabilitation care to underserved communities in Guatemala.

   Oliva shared how her upbringing in Lockhart, her education, and her professional journey shaped the mission that continues to grow today.

   “I am originally from Lockhart, Texas and currently reside here with my husband, and our two young children,” she said. “Our parents are also from Lockhart—John and Debbie Hinnenkamp, and Manuel and Rosemary Oliva.”

   Oliva’s dedication to service began long before her professional career. “Growing up I was always a part of the community in different ways,” she said. “I was a part of the Girl Scouts of America, which included various community service projects, donating and shopping for families in need during the holidays, cleaning up our local parks, or helping at the local food bank.”

   Athletics also played a major role in shaping her worldview. Oliva played soccer throughout her youth and continued into college, competing for four years at St. Edward’s University in Austin. Part of the university’s mission emphasizes service and social responsibility. “Students are encouraged to confront the critical issues of society and to seek justice and peace,” she said. “They are helped to understand themselves, clarify their personal values, and recognize their responsibility to the world community.”

   During her freshman year, Oliva traveled with her soccer team to São Paulo, Brazil for a two-week trip that combined athletics with community service in underserved areas.

     “Both of these experiences in my childhood and young adulthood shaped my passion for serving others in local and international communities,” she said.

   When Oliva and her colleagues first launched what would become the Tesoro Project in 2014, she was finishing her final semester of physical therapy school. “I had not yet officially started working in my career,” she explained. “But I began to see that my skillset as a physical therapist could have a much larger impact than I initially anticipated.”

   Early in her career, Oliva focused on refining her clinical abilities and learning from seasoned mentors. “I’m thankful for the guidance of several clinicians who had 20-plus years of experience and graciously pushed me to be better,” she said.

   After four years treating patients, she became a clinic director overseeing a team of three physical therapists and two front office staff. “That role shaped how I viewed workflow, budget, operations, work environment, and team building,” she said. “It taught me how to have crucial conversations, bring the best out of people, and understand what intrinsically motivates them.” Those leadership skills would later become key to growing Tesoro Project.

    Working in the corporate healthcare environment also helped Oliva clarify her purpose. “After a few years in corporate healthcare, I realized the reasons I chose this profession were being overshadowed by productivity standards and profit margins,” she said. “Healthcare is a business.”  That realization reinforced her commitment to the nonprofit path. “My experience quickly reaffirmed that Tesoro Project was the path that had been laid out for me,” she said.

    Oliva and her husband began exploring entrepreneurship to diversify income and gain more freedom to focus on meaningful work. “One of the greatest blessings of our entrepreneurial journey has been the relationships and community we’ve built,” she said. “Those relationships helped shape how we think about our finances, our time, and the impact we want to have.”

   In 2014, Oliva traveled to Guatemala City with several classmates and a professor from her physical therapy program for a week-long service-learning trip. Their goal was to provide therapy services to a community living in extreme poverty with little access to healthcare. Arriving with few expectations, Oliva quickly realized the experience would change her perspective. “The stark contrast between resources in the United States and the community we were serving was eye-opening,” she said. One of the most powerful discoveries was something less visible than financial poverty. “What stood out to me was poverty of affection,” she said. “This refers to a lack of emotional support, love, and care in a person’s life.” Patient after patient shared stories that revealed deep emotional struggles alongside physical pain.

      “By taking the time to listen to their stories and help relieve their pain, we began to see changes in self-esteem, demeanor, and overall quality of life,” she said.

     The experience inspired Oliva and two colleagues to formally establish Tesoro Project. The name reflects the organization’s philosophy. “‘Tesoro’ means ‘treasure’ in Spanish,” she said. “I believe each of us harbors treasure within, even if we don’t always recognize it.”

   Today, Tesoro Project provides daily physical therapy services in Guatemala through a full-time Guatemalan physical therapist and hosts week-long service trips for rehabilitation professionals. “We recognized that sporadic therapy sessions once or twice a year were insufficient,” Oliva said. “To truly make an impact, we needed a consistent presence.” In 2023, the nonprofit reached a major milestone by helping hire a full-time Guatemalan physical therapist to operate daily services in the community. The organization’s mission is to empower healthcare leaders to heal and transform lives, with a vision of building a global healthcare network that improves quality of life in underserved communities.

   Beyond clinical services, Tesoro Project has supported communities in numerous ways over the years. The organization has helped build homes and hygiene stations, provided computers to children during the pandemic, distributed food and clean water after natural disasters, and donated shoes, hygiene supplies, and rehabilitation equipment. They have also offered exercise programs for children and seniors, educational health seminars, and partnered with a local physical therapy school to allow students to complete clinical training in the clinic.

   The nonprofit has also collaborated with a prosthetics organization to expand rehabilitation services and is preparing to launch new women’s health initiatives this year. One of the most meaningful moments for Oliva came during the project’s early years. “At first, we spent a lot of time educating the community about who we were and what physical therapy was,” she said. “They had never had therapy services before.” But after several years of consistent service, something changed. “We began seeing the same patients return year after year,” she said. “Their walls started coming down and trust increased.” Patients began asking when the team would return and referring friends and family who needed help. “That was the first time I truly understood the impact Tesoro Project was having,” Oliva said.

   Oliva hopes the Lockhart community will continue supporting the mission. Residents can help by sharing the organization’s story, connecting the nonprofit with potential partners, collaborating on fundraising efforts, or making donations through the organization’s website. Community members can also volunteer on service trips to Guatemala. “You don’t have to be in healthcare to make an impact,” Oliva said. “The community has many needs, and all skill sets are valuable.”

   Tesoro Project will also host a local fundraiser on March 28 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Wendy R. Gift Shop in Lockhart, featuring handcrafted Guatemalan goods. Proceeds will support the organization’s work in Guatemala.

   Looking to the future, Oliva has ambitious plans for the nonprofit. “Our hopes include duplicating our clinic services in other cities in Guatemala,” she said. “We’ve already begun initiating that process.” The organization is also exploring expansion into other countries and potentially bringing services to underserved communities within the United States. A pilot program has already begun in Mexico. “In the next five years, I expect Tesoro Project to have two additional full-time clinics in other cities in Guatemala staffed with Guatemalan physical therapists,” Oliva said.

   For Oliva, the work continues to reflect a simple but powerful belief: that every person carries something valuable within them. Through the Tesoro Project, she’s helping communities around the world rediscover that treasure.