Registrar Worker Gets Two Votes of Approval

A long-time employee from the Registrar of Voters Office has been recognized with not one but two honors just 10 days apart. Outreach Coordinator Carmen Lopez was named one of 16 Women of the Year by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez at an awards ceremony last Friday. She will also be honored with the Visionary Award Monday, March 30 at the 17th Annual Cesar Chavez Community Breakfast.

As a Woman of the Year, Lopez was recognized for her civic engagement. While Lopez does volunteer work in her off hours, she says her work in educating voters in the Spanish-speaking community probably played the bigger role.

“It’s totally different in other countries: no voting by mail, no provisional voting,” said Lopez. “Immigrants come to this country for opportunities and democracy. Are we really taking advantage of this democracy and giving back to the community?”

Lopez goes on to say that it’s a privilege to vote and also a responsibility, a way of giving back to the country.

During elections, Lopez is often seen on Spanish-language TV stations explaining the voting process. She also translates Registrar of Voters news releases into Spanish. She runs outreach booths to help people register to vote and tells prospective voters that election materials are available in a number of different languages.

But recognition as a Woman of the Year?

“A total surprise for me,” said Lopez.

“It doesn’t come as any surprise to me that Carmen has been honored in this way,” said Registrar of Voters Michael Vu. “She consistently goes out of her way to educate everyone, especially those in the Spanish-speaking population, all about the voting process and how it works.” 

Carmen Lopez (left) stands with Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzales with her Woman of the Year award.

On the same day as the Women of the Year ceremony, Lopez learned she was going to be a recipient of the annual Visionary Award from the San Diego Cesar E. Chavez Commemoration Committee. The award is given to a community member who goes above and beyond for social justice. It honors people who in a personal or professional capacity demonstrate the same values as Chavez when it comes to hard work, helping others and making a difference in their community. 

Specifically, Lopez is being recognized for her work in helping to create a more diverse electorate no matter what the language and helping get the vote out for natural-born Americans and new Americans. 

Lopez says she just helps voters connect the dots when it comes to the voting process. But that’s made her a winner, not just once, but twice. 

Colleague's Memory Inspires Employees for Blood Drive

“Your blood or marrow could save the life of a loved one, your neighbor or your friend.”

This was Elisa Escandon’s main message at the launching of the County’s bone marrow registry campaign almost two years ago.

Unfortunately, Elisa lost her battle with cancer last year. However, her co-workers at the Department of Environmental Health (DEH) are convinced she would be thrilled if a blood or bone marrow match could be found for someone else.

The month-long County Blood Drive kicks off April 1. All employees are encouraged to donate blood and, if they qualify, to register to be a bone marrow donor at Be The Match. Donating blood and bone marrow is safe, costs nothing and could save a life. Bloodmobiles will be at 14 sites across the county throughout April.

“The annual County Blood Drive is one of the San Diego Blood Bank's largest and most successful collection events,” said County Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill Horn. “Your donation has the power to touch many lives.”

Last year, County employees donated more than 250 pints of blood helping countless people in need of a transfusion.

“The response from County employees has always been amazing, but we can do even better. There are 17,000 of us. Imagine the impact we could have,” said Supervisor Greg Cox, a lifelong donor. “Donating blood is easy. I’ve given more than 23 gallons over the years and will be giving blood again next month.”

The San Diego Blood Bank must collect 400 pints of blood every day. Although 80 percent of us will receive a blood transfusion during our lives, only 5 percent of the U.S. population donates blood.

If you can donate blood, do it. If you can’t, try to get a family member or friend to take your place. All blood types are needed. Donors can make an appointment online or walk in to make a donation.

Be the perfect match

In August of 2013, Supervisors Horn and Cox launched the County’s campaign to also get employees to register to be bone marrow donors and try to find a match that might save Elisa’s life.

“Elisa is the reason why we did the bone marrow registry. She needed a match,” said Gloria Estolano, chief of DEH’s Food and Housing Division.

When Estolano began searching how the County could do its own bone marrow registry campaign, she came across Juan Olmeda. The Health and Human Services Agency employee has organized the County Blood Drive for several years and was himself the recipient of several blood transfusions as well as a bone marrow transplant after he was diagnosed with leukemia.

Juan was instrumental in getting the process started, and reaching out to Be The Match. With a lot of help and the support of County leadership, Estolano and Olmeda worked to bring the bone marrow registry to the County.  

“She was one of ours. She was a dear friend to everybody. She was an amazing person,” Estolano said. “The County’s Bone Marrow registry is Elisa’s legacy.”

Since the campaign began, dozens of County employees have registered at Be The Match and many more are expected to join during the month-long push. Registering for Be the Match is easy and pain free. All you have to do is swab the inside of your cheek and you can do it at one of the 14 blood donation sites. The Sheriff's Department will have two additional bone marrow drives on April 6 and 8 from 3–6 p.m. The drives will take place in the Media Room at the Sheriff's Communications Center, 5580 Overland Avenue, in Kearny Mesa.

Be The Match is especially looking for donors in the 18-44 age group because doctors request them over 90 percent of the time. This is because medical research has shown that cells from younger donors lead to better long-term survival for patients after a transplant. Registration is completely free.

People between the ages of 45 and 60 can also join the Be The Match Registry, but will be required to make a $100 payment at the end of the online process.

Be The Match is also looking for members of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds because patients are most likely to match someone who shares their ancestry.

Estolano hopes that County employees will donate blood or bone marrow to honor Elisa’s memory and help save someone’s life. 

“Elisa really wanted for the County to be able to do something,” Estolano said. “She used to tell us: ‘Even if we don’t find a donor for me, maybe we can find a donor for someone else.’”

Workplace Wellness Winners Saluted

Some of the heathiest and most inspiring County employees were recognized at the 2014 Wellness Awards at the County Operations Center Tuesday. Honorees included Wellness Champions and numerous others fitness superstars committed to participation in the Human Resources’ Employee Wellness Program throughout the year. These strong, fit and dedicated winners represented 20 departments across the County.

Wellness Coordinator William Erese said the ceremony is just one way to celebrate and reward employee commitment to health.

“Today is our way of showing each and every employee, not just those in this room, but those spread out across the entire County, our appreciation for their support of the program,” Erese said.

Some 2014 program highlights include climbing 8.8 million steps in the Stairwell Champaign, an increase in attendance at healthy cooking demonstrations and a tougher Amazing Race.

Nearly 100 employees, mostly those being lauded, attended the annual celebration. And 21 of them won beach cruisers!

Terri Foster, an administrative analyst with the Health and Human Service Agency and a wellness champion for the Mills Building, was one of the many recognized at the appreciation event. Foster said she participates in County wellness activities because of the direct impact it has for her coworkers and herself.

“Overall it makes for a better, healthier team environment as well,” she said.

Watch the video above to see what some of the other Wellness Champions had to say.

Ekard Calls 'Character-Driven Team' His Legacy

We built libraries and substations, achieved phenomenal bond ratings, won many awards. But Walt Ekard doesn’t view those successes that came during his tenure running the County as his legacy.

“My legacy is the incredible character-driven team I left behind. A group of highly skilled professionals who come to work every day and do the right thing by the people we serve—a government that is better today than the day I left,” Ekard told employees at the County Operations Center this week.

The former chief administrative officer returned to the County to speak about his time as a public administrator and how “character is king” during a presentation for Ethics Awareness Month.

Ekard, who left the County in 2012, said great government organizations are character-driven organizations with a focus on ethics, integrity and doing what is right.

“My vision of a great organization is one that is filled with character-driven people—one that prides itself on hiring first for character, second for skills. One which fills its most important positions with people who are known first for their integrity, then for their particular intelligence they bring to the job. And that candidly is what you have here in San Diego County.”

Ekard stressed that acting with integrity is important at every level of the organization and critical to the success of our community.

“Believe it or not, people really do notice organizations focused on doing the right thing. Lots of people notice,” he said. “Our reputation for character is appreciated by those we serve, even if we don’t hear it very often.”

Ekard noted that the work by public servants is important, necessary and noble. He said the motto on our County seal is more than just a slogan.

‘“The Noblest Motive Is the Public Good’ is real for us,” he said. “There is a nobility to what we do in service jobs. It’s not just firefighters and cops, like those that went into Twin Towers on 9-11, that do noble work. The nobility of public service extends to all of us that do the work of the people—the nurses, and the auto mechanics, and the plan checkers, and the restaurant inspects, the people caring for our animals, our seniors, our poor people and our kids. What they each do is noble, too.”

During the lunchtime occasion, he said if he had one lasting piece of advice, it would be to fill our ranks with people that care and have character.

“Character has become a far more important factor in hiring and promoting than it ever has before,” he said. 

Joe Cordero, Director of the County’s Office of Ethics and Compliance (OEC), said under Ekard’s leadership the County established itself as one of the best run in the nation. He credits this recognition with the commitment to ethics from our leaders and employees.

County Engineer Harshal Salway came out to hear Ekard speak about principles he tries to apply in his own profession and personal life.

“We should all be examples of good character at the County,” said Salway, who’s been with the County for more than 30 years. “The community will be better because of our actions.”

District Parks Manager Cailan Hunsaker said she went to the talk because she values Ekard’s experience both with the County and now as a consultant.

“I enjoy tapping into the leadership of our County and learning about their perspective,” said Hunsaker.

The speaker event was hosted by the Office of Ethics and Compliance Office, which formed during Ekard’s nearly 14-year tenure.

Even if you missed Ekard’s presentation, employees can still celebrate Ethics Awareness Month.

Employees can participate in the following ways:

• Take the Ethics 101 online training. Head over to LMS and search for “Ethics 101.” The video is just 8 minutes long.
• Request that OEC conduct an on-site ethics training or speak at your March all-hands department meeting.
• Check out the "Ethics In-a-Box” training resources for managers/supervisors. 

And remember: If you have a question on what is the right thing to do, reach out to your department’s chain of command. If an employee isn’t comfortable going to a supervisor or other manager, or if their concern relates to a supervisor or manager, they can call OEC or the County’s Ethics Hotline at (866) 549-0004. The hotline is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week and is operated by a third party. So employees can report concerns anonymously. Employees can also report concerns online.

Time’s Running Out to File for FSA Reimbursements for 2014

There are just a few more days to file your flexible spending account (FSA) receipts for reimbursement on approved medical expenses from 2014. All documents and supporting receipts are due to ASI Flex on or before March 31—so don’t be late!

Approved medical expenses could include such things as office visits and prescription copays, acupuncture and chiropractic visits, eyeglasses, dental work and many other health expenditures. Services and purchases need to have been made between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2014. For a complete list of eligible purchases, refer to the information compiled by ASI Flex.

In addition, you may be able to roll over some of your unspent 2014 funds into 2015. Employees can carry over up to $500 into this year’s flex spending account. This IRS guideline applies to employees not enrolled in a high deductible health care plan.

If you are not sure how much you have left in your flex spending account, check your account balance through ASI Flex’s website, or smartphone users can use the ASI app. To download the app, go to Google Play or the iPhone App Store and then search for ASI Flex.

For more information on the Department of Human Resources’ Benefits division, visit their website on InSite.

Alternate Public Defender Intern Named Volunteer of the Month

(L to R) Investigator Pascual Benitez, Supervisor Dave Roberts, intern Jenna Klein and Chief Deputy Alternate Public Defender Angela Bartosik

A young and enthusiastic intern was recognized as the San Diego County Volunteer of the Month at Tuesday’s Board of Supervisor’s meeting for her commitment to serving the community. Jenna Klein, a recent UC San Diego graduate, volunteers as an investigative intern for the Office of the Alternate Public Defender.

Typically internships are for one semester, or 2 to 3 months, but Klein has volunteered for 10 months now.

Klein, 22, will continue to serve the County through April before taking time off to travel and start law school this fall. She said she has grown professionally and personally from her time with the County.

“I know that I will use the skills and insight that I’ve gained with them—not only as I continue my own legal education, but as I continue to work in a career that helps to educate and uplift others,” Klein said.

If you would like to learn more about the County’s volunteer program, please visit the Clerk of the Board online. Last year, 31,663 volunteers provided a value to the County of $38,788,016. 

Play in Public Defender Charity Golf Event

(L to R) Deputy Public Defender Frank Barone, Deputy Public Defender David Lamb, Chargers kicker Nick Novak, and Chief Deputy Public Defender Randy Mize

The San Diego County Public Defender Community Outreach Charity Golf Tournament and Dinner will tee off later this month and there’s still time to sign up for the 18-hole friendly competition.

This year’s tournament is Tuesday, March 31—Cesar Chavez Day—at Sycuan Golf Resort in El Cajon.

The annual event benefits the San Pasqual Academy (SPA),a home and school for foster teens. The 238-acre campus opened in 2001 and has capacity to serve 184 youth aged 12 to 18.

San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore and Supervisors Greg Cox and Ron Roberts will get into the golf game, too. The trio will serve as honorary chairs.

Frank Barone, a deputy public defender and former Community Outreach board member, said the Sycuan Tribe generously offered to host this year’s event at their golf resort at a reduced rate.

“This will result in a dramatic increase of our charitable donation to the foster students at SPA,” said Barone, who added that supporting the school is a natural fit for his department.

The Public Defender Community Outreach Program has raised $125,000 for the school since 2010.

Registration is $135 per player or $500 for a foursome and includes golf cart, practice range balls, box lunch and dinner with prizes, an award ceremony and charity auction. If you can’t make the tournament, you can just do dinner for $75. And of course, you can also make a donation.

To participate, visit the San Diego County Public Defender Community Outreach online for an entry form. Return the form with payment by Friday, March 20.

CWS Social Workers Honored

Stephanie Bailey, left, was honored with the 25th annual Jay Hoxie Award presented by Debra Zanders-Willis, CWS director. The award is giving to a social worker to recognize their commitment to others through volunteer work.

It started as a special birthday present request by Health and Human Services Agency social worker Stephanie Bailey, and five years later it’s still benefiting children and families in need across San Diego County.

Bailey asked her family members to celebrate her birthday in 2009 by volunteering with the Homeless Coalition. They collected gifts for needy children for distribution during the holidays that year.

The following year, Bailey and her family created the East County Christmas for Kids project with the goal of providing a gift, book, food, stocking and visit from Santa for children in need up to 12 years old in East County. Last year the project was able to brighten the holidays for about 1,800 children.

At yesterday’s Child Welfare Services (CWS) social worker appreciation event, Bailey received the Jay Hoxie Award, given each year to recognize a social worker for commitment to others through volunteering in the community. The honor is named after Jay Hoxie, an HHSA social worker who died in a car accident in 1990. He was well known for his generous spirit and community involvement.

“Social workers are always there to make a difference in a child’s life,”  Dr. Kerry Hoxie, Jay’s mother, told the crowd. “You make such a difference for everyone and you deserve a lot of respect and applause.”

The four other social workers nominated for the award were:

• Jahninia Tarango, who helped develop an app for the Point in Time homeless count and volunteers with her church

• Danielle Deluca, a volunteer in schools and organizer of food and school supply drives

• Christina Alaniz, who travels to Tijuana to volunteer in orphanages and collects food and toys through her church

• Neda Rivera, who works with Chaldean refugees in the East region, breaking down language, resource and cultural barriers by working with non-profits that serve that community

Betty Orozco and Robbie Robertson were also recognized from the CWS foster care eligibility section.

Several County leaders were on hand to salute social workers at the event held at the Scottish Rite Center.

“I believe our social workers are our angels on earth,” said Dave Roberts, vice chairman, San Diego County Board of Supervisors. “You all are doing the work that needs to be done.

“What you see day-in and day-out and the decisions you make affects our kids for the rest of their lives.”

Chief Administrative Officer Helen Robbins-Meyer shared her appreciation of the work social workers do after she spent time with several of them on the job over the past two years.

“Unless you are a social worker out there doing that (job), you have no idea what it’s like,” she said. “I respect you, I admire you, and you’re doing it right.

“I need to applaud all of you for your efforts. It’s amazing.”

Motivational speaker Derek Clark was the keynote speaker and told his story of overcoming a horrific childhood to become a successful businessman, trainer and author of six books. He’s also known as the “Rapping Dad” and has racked up more than a million views of his videos online.

Clark, who was born at Grossmont Hospital, said he would not be where he is today without the efforts of one special social worker who fought for him after he was abandoned at a psychiatric hospital by his mother and stepfather at the age of 5.

“I know social workers have a purpose,” said Clark. “You’ve got that calling and that passion in your hearts.

“You want to save the kids of this world; you want to save the children. Social workers saved my life.”

Jay Hoxie Award finalists and officials: Front row: Barbara Jimenez, south and central regions general manager; Danielle Deluca, finalist; Christina Alaniz, finalist; Stephanie Bailey, Jay Hoxie Award winner; Neda Rivera, finalist; Dr. Kerry Hoxie; Dave Roberts, County Board of Supervisors vice chairman. Back row: Chuck Matthews, north regions general manager; Marie Mercadel-Brown, East region general manager; Jahninia Tarango, finalist; and Debra Zanders-Willis, CWS director.

Betty Orozco, left, and Robbie Robertson from the CWS foster care eligibility section were honored at the appreciation event.

Derek Clark, known as the "Rapping Dad," took the crowd on a journey from his tortured youth to his successful adult life as a motivational speaker, businessman and author.

Imagine That: 5 Ideas That Could Improve Your Work

The County’s Information Technology Innovation Day, presented by the Technology Office, HP and AT&T, was held last week at the County Operations Center. The event was started in 2012 as a way to collaborate with employees and brainstorm tech ideas to increase work efficiency and improve customer service.

If you missed out on the innovative fun, don’t worry. We’ve got five ideas from the day that will inspire and, hopefully, spark more ideas.

1. Sprout

Who can benefit from it: Anyone, but Sprout is especially useful for departments that have marketing or communication needs, departments that share and edit multiple documents and departments that share evidence and artifacts.

What it does: The real question is, what can’t it do? Sprout offers up dual interactive screens (a touchscreen monitor and a touch mat) that allow you to seamlessly collaborate with other Sprout users. It’s a bit like the interactivity of Lync, but with a whole lot more tools. You can scan and edit items, collectively work with other groups on the same document and watch edits in real-time – heck, you can even play the piano on it!

Why it’s useful: Bye-bye paper! All digital scanning means less paper waste. It also allows a unified workflow. Bonus: It’s easy enough that kids can use it.

2. Idea Portal

Who can benefit from it: Anyone with an idea

What it does: Offers a digital platform for everyone to contribute ideas on a topic. A message board function allows you to talk out your ideas with others, fine-tune them and collaborate with colleagues. In the example presented, the County Technology Office could run an idea portal for possible IT improvements. Allows you to easily upload web clippings, pics and docs for everyone to view.

Why it’s useful: Your ideas go straight to the source to be considered as a possible new capability. Bonus: it helps connect interdepartmental goals and identify common needs across the County. Everyone has one forum in which to share and collaborate.

3. IT Vending Machine

Who can benefit from it: County employees who require immediate access to IT hardware

What it does: Dispenses much-needed, high-demand office technology supplies instantly. It can be customized to be filled with whatever your location uses most often and can efficiently control and track IT supplies. Basically, it’s a vending machine full of tech goodies (e.g. flash drives, wireless mice, keyboards, headsets, etc.) Bonus: Can be controlled with badge access and/or P-card.

Why it’s useful: Provides 24/7 access for needed supplies (no more waiting three days for your order!) and offers up controlled dispensing. Complete customization caters to employees, departments and/or locations. 

4. WatchDox Document Security

Who can benefit from it: Anyone who needs to share documents

What it does: Love Dropbox? Can’t get enough of GoogleDocs? WatchDox takes the same concept from those private company offerings and adds security to it, enabling County employees to safely access, share and collaborate on sensitive information from any device (phone, tablet, computer) and with any user (other County employees or outside contacts). Bonus: You can edit documents on devices that don’t have Word (like your Apple iPad).

Why it’s useful: Synchronizes documents across PC and mobile devices so that all docs are updated, no matter where they live. With customizable security, you can have various folders with various permissions (Read-only, CoSD-only; download protocol, etc.). WatchDox offers up extra security and control that other doc-sharing systems can’t.

5. OMEGA (Online Mobile Engagement App)

Who can benefit from it: Our customers

What it does: Provides helpful information to people visiting County facilities. Sensors located at County buildings can, essentially, create an alert on smartphones that have a County app downloaded on it. Once the user comes within a certain range of the sensor, they’ll receive a push notification on their smartphone that offers up guidance based on their location: a map of the County facility they’re entering, services located in that building or other tips for their visit.

Why it’s useful: Adds to customer service. We’re holding the hands of our customers without smothering them. Bonus: The idea uses technology already in play – Bluetooth.

Got questions or crave more? Contact HPCoSDInnovate@hp.com and keep being innovative!

And heads-up to mark your calendars for June 3, 2015, as a similar event will be hosted by the CTO, Adobe, EMC and HP.  This day will focus on business solutions and benefits of using the County’s existing enterprise document processing platform. You will have an opportunity to hear first-hand how several County departments have improved productivity and efficiency by processing documents using high-speed scanning, electronic forms, workflow and central content management. EMC and Adobe will present future plans of the products we currently use. This will be a day that you won’t want to miss! 

Ethics Awareness Fair

Thanks to everyone who turned out for the Ethics Awareness Fair at the COC.