Eleven employees of the San Joaquin County Department of Child Support Services became graduates of its leadership program on April 10, 2017. The eleven new graduates presented proposals to address actual work challenges as part of their graduation ceremony.
The leadership program was first implemented in 2016 to address succession planning and also to provide resources to program participants to assist them with realizing their ambitions and career goals.
Each leadership candidate must first submit a professional statement of interest with a resume and supporting recommendation from his/her supervisor. After an initial screening, the candidates respond to survey questions designed to assess leadership potential.
The official leadership course, designed by the Apollo Group (aka the University of Phoenix) consists of four classes with topics ranging from communication skills, team building, proficiencies and the value of diversity. Each candidate is also assigned a mentor from the previous leadership class(es).
The culmination of the program is the team capstone presentation. The teams present proposals to management and, after approval, move forward to accomplish their project. This year’s leadership class proposed the following projects: rebranding the department by forming relationships with Head Start and temporary staffing agencies, an internal mentoring program and a Job Fair working collaboratively with Work Net.
Pictured from left to right: Assistant Director Veronica Riley, Lisa Mendoza, Mike Holmes, Shirley Avalos, Cheryl Hicks, Monica Moore, Sonji McAfee, Brian Strong, Teresa Lane, Estela Roman, Sharon Covello, Kathie Bohacek and Director Lori A. Cruz
