Zion, Illinois, United States
Goals 1. Obtain a full-time position as a Chaplain to provide spiritual and pastoral care which will employ the breadth of my skills and experience. Specialties: Intuitive, good listener, collaborative leader; visionary; creative thinker; flexible worker; self-motivated; great sense of humor; excellent interpersonal communication skills, Strength in organization, problem solving skills and research.skills. Strong computer skills, including: advanced proficiency in all programs in Microsoft Office Suite; advanced calendar management (i.e.,scheduling and arranging meetings with multiple attendees); PowerPoint skills; Microsoft Publisher skills.
Over the last 10 years, I have worked within parishes in the Episcopal Diocese of California to identify community needs and develop specific programs to meet those concerns. For example, the members of St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Palo Alto scheduled over 360 individual conversations within the parish and with our neighbors to elicit their concerns for our neighborhood and discuss what we might do together to benefit and bring justice to our neighborhood. From those conversations, we evaluated many options and possibilities. We made the decision to develop an after-school homework program at Jordan Middle School. This program provides the children from East Palo Alto, who are attending Jordan Middle School in Palo Alto, with the opportunity to have study buddies and "teachers" from the community. This assisted them in the completion and understanding of their homework and provided them with free transportation (a bus) scheduled only for the purpose of getting them back to their own community. Church of The Epiphany in San Carlos provided financial support to The Center For New Beginnings, Inc., which I founded. They provided funds to run two of Changing Lives Through Literature classes in the Women's Correctional Center. See The Center For New Beginnings web site (www.thecenterfornewbeginnings.org) for more information. Both St. Mark's and Church of the Epiphany participated in bringing some cheer into the jails on Christmas by having their Sunday School classes decorate white lunch bags that were individually distributed to each person (man and woman) in the San Mateo County Jails. These bags contained home-made cookies from both of these parishes and many churches throughout the Peninsula Community. In addition, the parishes donated toys to ensure that the children of inmates received a Christmas gift from their incarcerated parent.
Executive Assistant, Administrative Assistant, Receptionist, various other duties. Worked closely with facilities, legal, financial, human resources departments as well as senior and mid-level executives. Customer service both internal and external. During this time, I have worked with over 60 companies in the fields of bio-technology, software development, pharmaceutical testing, meeting and convention management, city management, data security, presentation and coaching consulting, software and hardware manufacturing, international security and data storage, real estate management construction (General Contractors) and more.. In these positions, I have used a range of business software, including the Microsoft Office Suite and Adobe Professional. Past experience with Visio and a willingness to learn have made me a quick study in the specific software used at each firm. My skills include: flexibility; great sense of humor; solid interpersonal communication skills; development and creation of PowerPoint presentations; creation, editing, printing and distribution of newsletters using Publisher; advanced file management; advanced internet and email skills; valuable networking skills(including LAN, wireless, VPN, and bluetooth); advanced calendar management, including scheduling and arranging meetings with multiple attendees; strong organization and problem solving skills; and ability to research.
o Responsible for providing spiritual care and support to the residents of all jails in the San Mateo County Jails. This included providing support for high holidays including Yum Kippur, Rosh Hoshanah, Passover, and Ramadan o Provided Pastoral Care to residents of all religious faiths by active listening, being present, supporting them in their decisions to become open-minded about the possibility of their Higher Power caring for them unconditionally. o Worked closely with Sheriff’s Department and the kitchen to oversee the opportunity to practice their beliefs by religious meals at designated times for Rosh Hassashona, Yum Kippur, and Ramadan o Recruited and invited and provided clearance for Pastors, Deacons, Rabbis, and Imams to visit on a regular basis o Advised residents of hospitalized family members and friends worked with the Sheriff’s Department to allow some residents to visit them. o Advised residents of birth of children, and deaths of family members and friends and followed up daily to assist them and providing them tools in the grieving process o I successfully developed many collaborative relationships within the County (Sheriff’s Office, Mental Health, Medical, Judges, Probation, Parole, Private Defenders Office) which assists us all in achieving common goals. Forensic Mental Health asked me to work with them using my degree in Marriage and Family Therapy and my work at Women’s Recovery Association o Taught classes on spirituality, values, communications, and spirituality and addiction classes in a housing unit for 9 years o Met individually with residents who requested a visit from the Chaplain and if desired made arrangements for another Chaplain or a member of their clergy to visit them
Case Manager, Addictions Counselor, Family and Child Therapist, Substance abuse, Art Therapist, and Group Counselor for women addicted to drugs and alcohol, many of whom had co-occurring disorders. Introduced Art Therapy to the Agency Developed, implemented, and monitored individual treatment plans for each client. Provided individual, couples, adolescent and children's therapy, and family therapy for each client using art therapy and homework to assist each of them in understanding addiction, the difficulties that arise from using, and how it affects others, Worked as a member of a treatment team to monitor clients behavior and gain a more complete perspective of the client in the recovery process. Met weekly with the team, and participated in frequent communication during the week, to discuss any modifications necessary to the treatment plan and adjusted the plan accordingly. Co-facilitated weekly family and friends education group using most of the classes listed above and helping them understand co-dependency and enablement behaviors and explore how to modify themselvs help their friend or family member and move into recovery and maintain sobriety. We gave them tools to see their part in the co-dependency merry-go-round and tools to make the necessary changes to develop the strength to change their own behaviors and stop enabling their family member, spouse/partner, or friend.Primary Case Manager, process group, individual therapy worked with women, families, family groups, children. Co-facilitated family and friends group Introduced Art Therapy to the Agency. Women in program created a felt banner for AIDS (Dec 1)working together and supporting each other,and presentations about clients using Art Therapy and observation, sand trays and listening. Participated in staff meetings and case management meetings to discuss clients participation in program