Get To Know PISCE Treasurer Isobel Kinsang

The County has 10 great Employee Resource Groups (ERG). They are each led by a respective board who all demonstrate commitment and stewardship of its members to the various sectors of our community.

Get to know Pacific Islander Society of County Employees (PISCE) Treasurer Isobel Kinsang, an office support specialist with Medical Care Services.

Q: How long have you worked for the County and what departments have you worked for?

A:  17 years and six months in total. I worked six months as a temp at California Children Services; then, 17 years permanent with the Health and Human Services Agency.

Q: What do you do in your role/what are your job responsibilities?

A:  I provide a wide variety of complex and technical administrative support to the entire Medical Care Services Division, but mainly to the administrative analyst III, program coordinator, principal analyst, managers and executives. I manage and process payments for Verizon invoices. As a long-time P-Card holder, I have also taken the lead on supply orders and equipment for the department. I also submit payments for subscription renewals, professional licensure and membership renewals for nurses and physicians. In addition, I assist with maintaining inventory control for the department.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, I was assigned a task to collect staff telework weekly reports and COVID-19 time tracking reports. I am also the H.E.A.R.T. ambassador for MCSD.

Q: What’s your workplace superpower?

A:  My workplace superpower is to provide access to quality, timely and evidence-based care in San Diego County’s communities.

Q: Tell us a little bit about yourself outside of work.

A: Aside from my career job with the County, I also serve passionately alongside fellow Pacific Islander community leaders in various community outreach events that promote culture-centered advocacy, research and leadership development.

In addition, I am an active member of the leadership board of MOMUSA (Micronesian Outreach Ministries USA). I serve this church organization as a finance advisor and an interim secretary.

When I don’t do work, I enjoy running at the beach during sunset, going on hiking trails at sunrise, taking leisure trips when time permits and pretty much just spending quality time with families and friends.

Q: What are you passionate about?

A: Generally, I am very passionate about helping others.

Q. What is the best advice you’ve received from a mentor?

A: “You are not in this job position by an accident. You are here to make a difference” –M.O.

Q: What are some resources that you find useful and recommend to others?

A: The Pacific Islander Festival is amazing. They provide you with a one-stop FREE annual event where you get to taste and see the traditional cultures and lifestyles we share among the three regions (Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia) in the Pacific basin. San Diego is the home city of the Pacific Islander Festival, the longest-running annual event in San Diego.

Q: Tell us about your ERG.

A: PISCE ERG cultivates multi-cultural competency and awareness of the many island nation cultures that make up Polynesia, Micronesia and Melanesia. We assist with recruitment for County employment within the Pacific Islander community to assist in retaining a diverse workforce. And we support County initiatives and prepare members for advancement and leadership positions within the County.

Q: Why are ERGs important?

A: ERGs are important because they are the fundamental melting pots that connect bridges between groups, departments, people and their ideas here within the County of San Diego. These groups were formed to meet the needs for an inclusive and safe place for employees who share common interests and backgrounds to meet and support one another in a social and professional way. ERGs motivate and empower employees to be the change they are meant to be.

Q: What is your ERG looking forward to this year?

A: A couple of our primary goals this year are to encourage membership recruitment, and to also collaborate with our sister ERGs with different activities to promote career development, community outreach events and school partnerships.

 Also Read:

Get To Know MEERG President Mehdi Khalili

Get To Know EWA Board Member Diana Eid-Chammas

Get To Know SDCLA Secretary Alex Talaro

Get To Know LGBTQ&A ERG Board Member Ryan Trabuco

Get To Know APACE Vice President Annamarie Hernandez

Get To Know AAACE Secretary Nikki Horton

Get to Know DiverseAbility ERG Secretary Valerie Prado

Get To Know VALOR Secretary Thomas Velasquez

Get to Know CSDFEA Vice President Kathleen Mendoza

Get to Know INS President Maria Whitehorse

It's a Turquoise Takeover

The County Administration Center was lit in turquoise Tuesday night for the American Lung Association of California. The Lung Association’s annual Turquoise Takeover celebration runs May 8-14 to raise awareness of lung cancer.

Get To Know APACE Vice President Annamarie Hernandez

The County has 10 great Employee Resource Groups (ERG). They are each led by a respective board who all demonstrate commitment and stewardship of its members to the various sectors of our community.

Get to know the Asian Pacific Alliance of County Employee (APACE) Vice President Annamarie Hernandez, a social worker supervisor with Aging and Independent Services

Q: How long have you worked for the County and what departments have you worked for?

A: I was hired in 2013 with the Health and Human Services Agency. I worked for Eligibility Operations and Self-Sufficiency Services as a human services specialist for several years. I currently work for Aging & Independence Services. Additionally, I have also worked seasonally for the Registrar of Voters.

Q: What do you do in your role/what are your job responsibilities?

A: As an in-home supportive services social worker III in the Quality Assurance Unit, I conducted thorough desk reviews and home visits to ensure that State and County regulations and policies were applied correctly. I recently promoted to social work supervisor on 4/22/22 and will supervise a unit of dedicated in-home supportive services social workers who assess the needs for new and ongoing customers who may be at risk for out-of-home placement.

Q: What’s your workplace superpower?

A: Using my Gallup Strength of Individualization, I like connecting with my peers and customers on a personal level and adapting my approach to meet their needs.

Q: Tell us a little bit about yourself outside of work.

A: I appreciate spending time with my family, friends, and furbaby preferably with good food and boba. I also enjoy volunteering, dancing and relaxing at home.

Q: What are you passionate about?

A: I am passionate about advocating for mental health and volunteering. I encourage emotional intelligence and I’m gratified when sharing my blessings with others.

Q. What is the best advice you’ve received from a mentor?

A: Regardless of classification, everyone’s voice matters.    

Q: What are some resources that you find useful and recommend to others?

A: Attending many of the ERG professional development trainings has greatly helped my professional growth. All trainings are advertised on Insite.

You can connect with the AAPI (Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders) community or become an AAPI ally like myself by visiting the following resources: Right to Be Organization (formerly known as Hollaback for standing up against AAPI hate), Pacific Arts Movement, National Association of Asian American Professionals and the San Diego API Coalition.

Check the Convoy District for good food and fun.

And with the impacts of COVID, I recommend these mental health resources: NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness), It’s Up to Us San Diego and our Employee Assistance Program.  

Q: Tell us about your ERG.

A: APACE is a nonprofit organization. We are open to all County employees and community members, AAPI or not.

Our mission is to:

• Celebrate the tremendous diversity of all Asian and Pacific Islander communities.

• Support workforce recruitment and retention and participate in community outreach activities.

• Promote and support professional development via interview preparation and administrative analyst workshops.

• Actively support County initiatives like the Live Well San Diego vision.

• Foster friendships by building a sense of community and belonging.

Q: Why are ERGs important?

A: ERGs provide inclusive and safe spaces that help members build community around common cultures, backgrounds and similarities. Our events allow for community service, professional development, and employee engagement through networking opportunities.

Q: What is your ERG looking forward to this year?

A: APACE welcomes everyone to our upcoming professional development events like the Admin Analyst Q&A Workshops at a future date. We’re excited to host several events during the AANHPI (Asian American Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders) Heritage Month in May: Convoy District Walking Tour on May 6th, Speaker Series with guest speaker Dr. Emily Do, Chief Pharmacy Officer on May 9 and an Anti-hate Panel/Town Hall in collaboration with the D&I Executive Team on May 18.

We will continue to host our ongoing community service events, interview preparation workshops and mixers. Please join us or visit our website to learn more!

Also Read:

Get To Know MEERG President Mehdi Khalili

Get To Know EWA Board Member Diana Eid-Chammas

Get To Know SDCLA Secretary Alex Talaro

Get To Know LGBTQ&A ERG Board Member Ryan Trabuco

Get To Know PISCE Treasurer Isobel Kinsang

Get To Know AAACE Secretary Nikki Horton

Get to Know DiverseAbility ERG Secretary Valerie Prado

Get To Know VALOR Secretary Thomas Velasquez

Get to Know CSDFEA Vice President Kathleen Mendoza

Get to Know INS President Maria Whitehorse

Recognizing National Hospital Week

The County Administration Center was lit in blue Monday night in recognition of National Hospital Week.

CAC Lit in Purple for National Foster Care Month

The County Administration Center was lit in purple Friday to recognize National Foster Care Month.

Recognizing Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives

The County Administration Center was lit in red Thursday night in recognition of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives.

CAO Message: A Budget That's Building Our Future and Building Up Our Workforce

Message from Chief Administrative Officer Helen Robbins-Meyer

Nothing tells the story of our priorities more clearly than our budget. We’ve just released our proposed plan for the fiscal year starting July 1. Under last year’s Framework for the Future, we began a fundamental reshaping of our direction as a County. We now advance that through our new budget – Building the Future – which lays out major investments we’re making in addressing mental health and substance use, homelessness, sustainability, justice transformation and more.

For the first time, we’ve created our plan using a budget equity assessment tool. That requires each department to consider how its spending affects communities struggling with inequalities and to make sure it’s reducing disparities.

The budget’s total, $7.15 billion, is slightly under last year’s. But don’t let that dip mislead you. It’s in large part because we no longer have many of the costs related to COVID-19. We are actually significantly increasing our resources across many key initiatives. 

Notable for you as employees is that as we expand our services, we’re expanding our workforce. This budget adds about 1,000 staff positions. Some of the areas seeing the biggest changes: 115 positions in behavioral health and 71 in public health; about 100 positions in eligibility; another 100 in Child Welfare Services; 90 with Public Defender; 18 for the District Attorney focused on crime victims. Staff will be added to heightened focus areas of sustainability, community engagement, economic development, transparency, and performance measurement. And that comes after 1,000 positions we added since last year’s budget, meaning a big boost to our ranks over two years.

The budget is now out for everyone to see. You can get a good, quick overview in our County News Center story or in the Executive Summary we created. I invite you to take a look at one of those. They’ll give a good feel for where we’re going over the next year. 

We’ll walk our Board of Supervisors through the budget at public meetings on May 19 and 20. Much of that will be presentations by a number of individual departments. We’re still working out the schedule for which department goes when, but we’ll share that when it’s ready.

Putting the budget together is a huge undertaking, and I offer my thanks to everyone who pitched in. It sets the foundation for the even bigger job ahead – turning all those plans into action. It will take every one of us, and I look forward to working with you as we build our future. 

AAACE Scholarship Is Now Open

The African American Association of County Employees will be giving two qualifying high school seniors one $500 scholarship each for exhibiting excellence in the areas of career preparation, leadership, academics and community service. The AAACE-Leon Williams scholarship is available to high school seniors who reside in San Diego County, have a 2.5 GPA and will attend a two- or four-year college in the United States. 

Students or their family members must be current members of AAACE to apply. Non-members can join by visiting  AAACE’s website. A $20 standard membership fee, or a $12 student membership fee must be received with the completed scholarship packet to receive one year of AAACE membership and scholarship eligibility.

This scholarship closes on May 29, 2022 so get your application in soon.

Awardees will be announced at the Cooper Family Juneteenth Celebration.

If you have any questions or concerns, email AAACE@sdcounty.ca.gov.

Get To Know LGBTQ&A ERG Board Member Ryan Trabuco

The County has 10 great Employee Resource Groups (ERG). They are each led by a respective board who all demonstrate commitment and stewardship of its members to the various sectors of our community.

Get to know LGBTQ&A Employee Resource Group board member Ryan Trabuco, a community representative with Board of Supervisors, District 1. Trabuco serves as board director of professional development for the ERG.

Q: How long have you worked for the County and what departments have you worked for?

A: 16 months, Board of Supervisors District 1.

Q: What do you do in your role/what are your job responsibilities?

A: I’m a community representative for Supervisor Vice Chair Nora Vargas and my job is to attend community events and meetings, connect and build relationships with neighborhood leaders, and engage in creative discussions with local businesses and nonprofit organizations throughout District 1. Also, I provide legislative assistance for our incredible policy staff by drafting board letters involving our office’s Community Enhancement and Neighborhood Reinvestment grants.

Q: What’s your workplace superpower?

A: Creativity. If there’s a problem or roadblock, I find myself looking for a new angle and trying to think my way out. Of course, I probably need to be decently caffeinated for maximum effect. Negative vibes are my kryptonite.

Q: Tell us a little bit about yourself outside of work.

A: Outside of work, I am a huge movie buff. I try to get to the movies at least once a week, whether it’s checking out the latest Marvel blockbusters or smaller films like “Everything, Everywhere, All at Once” that recently opened starring Michelle Yeoh, and this year’s Best Picture winner “CODA.” Most surreal moment was actually holding an Academy Award on a tour of Walt Disney Studios in Burbank – and yes, they are heavy. I’ve also been active in community advocacy and volunteer organizations. Oh, and I love food. Any opportunity to try a new restaurant or return to a personal favorite makes me happy.

Q: What are you passionate about?

A: Public service is a passion. I’ve previously worked for the County of Orange and for the State of California. I enjoy being able to come into the office and draft, strategize on, and implement specific projects. Sometimes, it does take a minute – weeks, months, or even years – to eventually see the positive impact you can have on people… I mean, that’s a great feeling to come into work every day. It’s made all the better to have a family-like team of coworkers to share that positive space with.

Q. What is the best advice you’ve received from a mentor?

A: One of the best was “Stop talking about what you want to do, and just do it.” You can sit down and dream, talk, fantasize about either an immediate tangible goal or a personal project that might take years to accomplish. If you just stop talking and actually commit to doing it, planning it out, getting it done, the end result is often having a higher sense of self-worth and accomplishment. If you can point at something and say to yourself proudly, “I did that,” turn around and ask, “What’s next?” you can help set yourself up for future success.

Q: What are some resources that you find useful and recommend to others?

A: As odd as it might sound, YouTube. You can ask yourself so many different questions, “Can I cook that?” “Where’s a good place to travel to?,” “Does my car really need this in order to operate?” and chances are there’s a YouTube video that answers exactly whatever your question might be. Just don’t read the comment sections.

Q: Tell us about your ERG.

A: The LGBTQ&A Employee Resource Group is for County employees who are LGBTQ+ or allies within our community. We celebrate and support an inclusive and diverse workforce that values our contributions and experiences as County employees. As of February 2022, we had over 130 members and are continuing to grow!

Q: Why are ERGs important?

A: ERGs are important for elevating cultural awareness, enhancing professional development and building community with fellow County employees. Not unlike a labor organization, ERGs help provide a safe space and an outlet for employees. Although I haven’t been here as long as others, my personal experience working for the County has been exceptional and having a safe space like an ERG to connect with and build that community has been satisfying. As ERGs continue to build community and bring people together to celebrate the diverse workspace we share, it speaks to that founding and uniquely American principle, “Out of many, one.”

Q: What is your ERG looking forward to this year?

A: The LGBTQ&A Employee Resource Group is looking forward to continuing hosting member meet-and-greets, weekend hikes and other social events throughout the County, and growing our ERG membership. Especially as we all begin to come out of the pandemic era, we have a number of LGBTQ+ events to look forward to throughout the rest of the year as we celebrate and recognize Pride (July 16-17), LGBTQ+ History Month (October), Trans Day of Remembrance (Nov. 20), and Human Rights Day (Dec. 10) among others. More information about our LGBTQ&A Employee Resource Group can be found on the County’s InSite.

Also Read:

Get To Know MEERG President Mehdi Khalili

Get To Know EWA Board Member Diana Eid-Chammas

Get To Know SDCLA Secretary Alex Talaro

Get To Know APACE Vice President Annamarie Hernandez

Get To Know PISCE Treasurer Isobel Kinsang

Get To Know AAACE Secretary Nikki Horton

Get to Know DiverseAbility ERG Secretary Valerie Prado

Get To Know VALOR Secretary Thomas Velasquez

Get to Know CSDFEA Vice President Kathleen Mendoza

Get to Know INS President Maria Whitehorse

Honoring Fallen Officers

The County Administration Center was lit in blue Wednesday night to coincide with the Law Enforcement Memorial ceremony at the Waterfront Park, honoring those who have given their lives in the line of duty.