Update for July 10 - Listening and Learning

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Message from Helen Robbins-Meyer, Chief Administrative Officer

After calls for racial justice moved into the national and local spotlight, our employee resource groups took the initiative and hosted a listening session this week on equity and identity. The response to this event was tremendous. I truly want to thank the organizers for putting it together and the hundreds of employees who participated. (If you weren’t able to join, you can read this summary.)

In particular, thank you to all those who had the courage to speak. For these kinds of forums to have impact, they’re going to be uncomfortable for most involved. It’s hard for those who share painful experiences, especially in front of a crowd. And it’s hard to hear how our organization has failed some of our colleagues, and to realize how our individual actions – or inactions – play a part in that.

This week’s discussion was direct and frank, and I welcome that. It’s only by clearly confronting our shortcomings that we can identify how to do better. We plan to hold similar sessions in the future, and for many of us, I do want these to truly be listening sessions. Take in what you hear from your co-workers. Value their perspective. Learn from it, grow from it.

I encourage everyone to bring an open heart and mind to not just this event, but what will be an ongoing process. Rooting out systemic racism and bias is difficult but essential work. Without ensuring social justice, we fall short of the ideals we hold for the County and the commitments we make to all our residents. As the late great poet Maya Angelou once said, “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”

ERG Listening Session Recap

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From the ERG Council Chair Keisha Clark and Co-chair Ben Parmentier:

For those of you that did not make the ERG Listening Session on July 8, here is what your colleagues want you to know:

There was an overwhelming agreement that the ERG Listening Sessions need to continue. We want our leaders to know that we are listening to the way they communicate and what they prioritize. It is important to separate protestors from property and lamentation from looting. There was much disappointment that the organization that we are proud to work for was tardy to the table. Black colleagues as well as their White counterparts want to talk about what is happening in their own business units. The workforce is calling for training on these important subjects to better educate themselves on the current issues. There is a real fear of retaliation for speaking out about injustices and safe spaces need to be cultivated. Black colleagues shared lived experiences such as praying that their children and spouses make it back home safely from the store and celebrating that their children made it to adulthood alive. Black people are fatigued teaching and telling their stories repeatedly.

It is time to take our D&I Strategic Plan to the next level. If we want to make data driven decisions to invest in this work, we can consider tracking metrics on promotability, upward mobility, and leadership presence. Not all stories will fit into a quantifiable lens, however the quality of the experience holds much value. BLACK LIVES MATTER.

Unforgettable testimonies:

“As a Black father, it chokes me up to have to have a talk with my three year old daughter about why she may be treated differently in this world because of the color of her skin. This is a burden that Black parents share that White parents do not.”

“My husband is always going to the hardware store on weekends for his many projects around the house. As a Black mother, it hurts to have your child wonder if her Dad is going to make it back home.”

“I told my boys they can’t pierce their ears and I tell my husband that he cannot either to set the example. Anything that will draw attention to you, I want to minimize. I consider it an accomplishment that my children made it to adulthood.”

The below resources are shared for your information, which include some mentioned in the listening session and chat:

  1. When Racism is Covert

  2. Modern Day Lynching: Target Practice Short Film

  3. Your Black Colleagues May Look Like They Are OK - Chances Are, They're Not

  4. What it really means to be an anti-racist, and why it's not the same as being an ally

  5. Racism Is Terrible, Blackness is Not

  6. We Need to Talk About Black Fatigue at Work

  7. Book Recommendations for Leaders To Show Moral Courage  

  8. Micro-learning on Implicit Bias

  9. Suggested reading/viewing:

    • 1619 Podcast on ITunes

    • Slave Patrols by Sally E Hadden

    • 13th on Netflix

    • The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander

    • How to Be Anti-Racist by Ibram Kendi

    • White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo

    • Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin

    • Race: The Power of Illusion on PBS

Organizational Announcement

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(L-R) Don Steuer, April Heinze, Tracy Sandoval, Ebony Shelton

(L-R) Don Steuer, April Heinze, Tracy Sandoval, Ebony Shelton

Message from Helen Robbins-Meyer, Chief Administrative Officer

As many of you may have heard, a couple key members of my executive team will be retiring soon. 

Assistant Chief Administrative Officer Don Steuer, my partner in every aspect of managing County operations, is retiring. His intellect, judgment, people skills, and “get it done” approach have been invaluable. It is hard to imagine leading this County without Don beside me offering guidance, expertise and support. Don previously served as the County’s Chief Financial Officer and General Manager of the Finance & General Government Group (FG3). During that time, he established fiscal policy that was the foundation for the fiscal strength the County has enjoyed over the past decade. In early March, Don volunteered to take on the daunting challenge of leading our COVID-19 Command Center full time. He assembled a world-class team of experts who have tirelessly given up their personal lives to work in the command center 24/7 for the last five months. His past military career made him the perfect choice to lead this battle. Fortunately, even though Don is retiring at the end of the summer, he will be returning on a part-time basis at Incident Command until the pandemic is under control.

After a successful military career and 13 years here at the County of San Diego, April Heinze will be retiring at the end of the month. But she will always have an incredible presence here. April served as the Director of General Services for 8 years, during which time she oversaw the incredible transformation of our capital program. Some of her most ambitious achievements include the beautiful County Operations Center campus, the Waterfront Park, The Medical Examiner’s Office and countless libraries. In November 2015, April assumed the position of Deputy Chief Administrative Officer for the Community Services Group, where she brought her executive expertise to lead multiple departments including Animal Services, Registrar of Voters, County Library, and Purchasing and Contracting, in addition to General Services. Most recently, April filled a critical role leading high-profile special projects, such as expanding our affordable housing initiatives using surplus County property, community choice energy, and helping to site our asylum seekers’ shelter. She has had a stellar County career and will be deeply missed.

Losing two phenomenal executives is really hard. But it helps soften the blow when you have a strong bench of leaders ready to step up. Therefore, I’m excited to announce that Tracy Sandoval, our current Chief Financial Officer and FG3 General Manager, will be assuming the role of Assistant Chief Administrative Officer for the County. Tracy joined the County from KPMG in 1998. She began her County career in the audits division and then moved to the Chief Technology Office where she worked in finance and contracting on the Information Technology Outsourcing Contract. After excelling in that role, she was promoted to Group Finance Director for FG3.  Again, after superb performance, Tracy was promoted to Auditor and Controller in 2003. Working side by side with Don Steuer, Tracy helped implement sound fiscal policies and impeccable financial reporting, resulting in countless fiscal awards and the County for the first time receiving a AAA Credit Rating from all three credit agencies. Tracy was later promoted to Chief Financial Officer and FG3 General Manager when Don ascended to ACAO. Tracy graduated from New Mexico State University with a degree in accounting and is a licensed Certified Public Accountant (CPA). She is married and has two college sons who demand that she lead a very active lifestyle running, hiking, boating, and camping.

Filling Tracy’s shoes as Chief Financial Officer and the Deputy Chief Administrative Officer for FG3 is Ebony Shelton. Ebony joined the County in 1997 at the San Diego Superior Court. Since that time she has held various human resources and financial positions across multiple departments and business groups. In 2006, she became the Finance Director for FG3 where she was responsible for planning, directing and organizing overall budgetary activities of the group as well as providing oversight of the County’s debt portfolio. In 2010, Ebony was promoted to Director of the Office of Financial Planning, where she is responsible for directing the County’s strategic financial plan, long-term financial forecasting, and facilitating the decision-making process for the $6 billion annual budget. She also serves as the principal budget and fiscal advisor to all the groups and the Board of Supervisors.  As a result, in 2018 the County received its first GFOA Award for Excellence for Leveraging Best Practices of the Strategic Management of Liabilities for Pension, Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB), and Renewal of Aged Infrastructure. Ebony has an undergraduate degree in business administration and a master’s in public administration from California State University – Northridge. A San Diego native who loves the beach and coffee, Ebony is married with three daughters and resides in the South Bay.

Please join me in thanking April and Don for their dedicated service to the County and wishing them the very best in their upcoming retirements. And also join me in congratulating Tracy and Ebony as they step into their new executive leadership roles, ready and anxious to bring change and new achievements to the County.

County Reviewing Psychological Impacts of COVID-19

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Behavioral health experts across the country are monitoring the effects of the COVID-19 health crisis and accompanying economic slowdown, especially the rates of suicide and drug overdose deaths.

Nationwide, surveys show a 200% increase in psychological distress compared to a comparable period last year due to COVID-19.

Locally, the County of San Diego is reviewing statistics on the psychological impacts of COVID-19.

Learn more on County News Center.