Departments to Give Budget Presentations to Board
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County Administration Center
Read MoreNearly 500 Employees Participate in 38th Annual Blood Drive
/“Amazing!”
Gabe Gutierrez, Program Coordinator with the Office of Strategy and Innovation, giving blood at the San Diego Blood Bank.
That is how the San Diego Blood Bank described the number of pints received and employees who participated in the County’s 38th Annual Blood Drive.
A total of 492 employees donated blood at 22 different County locations in April; 111 of those were first-time donors. According to the blood bank, one pint of blood can save three lives, meaning your donations helped to save the lives of 1,476 people.
April is not the only time County employees can donate blood. You can do it year-round.
To keep track of the number of County employees donating blood and pints donated, the San Diego Blood Bank has set up a special appointment link and code to keep track of donations.
You should use this referral link when making an appointment: www.sandiegobloodbank.org/sandiegocounty.
On the day of your appointment, you should provide this code when you check in: SDCY.
There is a critical need for blood donations, and all blood types are welcome.
The blood drive supports the Live Well San Diego vision for a region that is building better health, living safely and thriving.
Get To Know AAACE Secretary Nikki Horton
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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 African American Association of County Employees (AAACE) Secretary Nikki Horton, an operations support manager with Probation.
Q: How long have you worked for the County and what departments have you worked for?
A: I have worked for the County of San Diego for 17 years. I have had the pleasure working for both Health and Human Services, as well as Probation.
Q: What do you do in your role/what are your job responsibilities?
A: I am an operations support manager with San Diego County Probation. I manage 30 professional staff who provide administrative and operational support to our department, working closely with sworn personnel, our clients and collaborative partners.
My specific role is responsible for planning, organizing and directing the operational activities of all adult and juvenile site offices and/or facilities.
Additionally, I am responsible for formulating and implementing policy and procedures related to service operations.
Q: What’s your workplace superpower?
A: Engaging with my co-workers, staff.
Q: Tell us a little bit about yourself outside of work.
A: I enjoy reading and am an avid sports fan.
Football: Los Angeles Chargers
Favorite Quarterback: Justin Herbert
NBA: Los Angeles Clippers
Q: What are you passionate about?
A: Equitable treatment and opportunities for the community we serve, as well as our County workforce.
Q. What is the best advice you’ve received from a mentor?
A: Cultivate relationships and continue to learn, grow and strive to be the best you can be.
Q: What are some resources that you find useful and recommend to others?
A: I recommend employees review the D&I Digests. They provide a wealth of useful information.
Q: Tell us about your ERG.
A: AAACE, under President Dr. Keisha Clark, is an employee resource group for employees of the County of San Diego. Membership consists of County employees, students and members of the community with an interest in diversity and a skilled work force as well as promoting the African American culture on a local level.
Q: Why are ERGs important?
A: ERGs are important as they provide great networking opportunities for all County employees. ERGs promote personal and professional growth and assist in providing a wealth of resources in equity, diversity and inclusion.
Q: What is your ERG looking forward to this year?
A: Increasing our membership, engaging with the community and collaborating with the County in our student outreach efforts.
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 PISCE Treasurer Isobel Kinsang
Get to Know DiverseAbility ERG Secretary Valerie Prado
Get To Know VALOR Secretary Thomas Velasquez
Paying Tribute to Frontline Workers in Emergency Medical Services
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The County Administration Center was lit in red, white and blue Monday night for EMS Week to pay tribute to the frontline workers in the emergency medical services field.
Recognizing National Peace Officers Memorial Day
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The County Administration Center was lit in blue Sunday night for National Peace Officers Memorial Day.
May is Mental Health Matters Month
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The County Administration Center was lit in green Friday night for May is Mental Health Matters Month. If you, or someone you care about, needs treatment, please call the Access and Crisis Line at (888) 724-7240.
Join Anti-hate Townhall for Employees
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Mark your calendars for an Anti-hate Townhall to address hate speech, recent hate incidents and how to remain resilient.
The virtual event is sponsored by the D&I Executive Council in partnership with the Asian Pacific Alliance of County Employees. It will be held from noon to 1 p.m., May 18 on Teams.
Speakers
Abigail Dillon, San Diego County District Attorney’s Office
Dante Dauz, API Coalition
Charles Clark, San Diego Union-Tribune
Matthew Brown, Anti-Defamation League
Employees are invited to submit questions ahead of the event.
Join this event online through Teams or by calling 619-343-2539 with event ID 944491323.
See the flyer below.
StoryPods: Growing Mentorship
/Grab your headphones for the second StoryPods podcast featuring “stories of us.”
In this episode, connect with individuals from the Department of Child Support Services to hear about the secret sauce of their thriving student worker program.
Get inspired as you listen in on a talk about the evolution of the program driven from the personal experience one human resources specialist had as a student worker herself. Then hear from a current student worker and the department’s assistant director on being mentee and mentor.
Voices You'll Hear
Narrator: Thesala Jones, group program manager, DHR Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Division
Host: Taryell Simmons, HR services manager, DHR Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Division
Guest: Daisy Choreno, HR specialist, Child Support Services
Guest: Maria Pacheco, senior departmental human resources officer, Child Support Services
Guest: Shyanne Shanley, student worker, Child Support Services
Guest: Steve Lujan, assistant director, Child Support Services
StoryPods is a County podcast that highlights stories around the County that create spaces for belonging and connection. If you missed the first episode, have a listen to episode one.
Get To Know PISCE Treasurer Isobel Kinsang
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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
It's a Turquoise Takeover
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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.