DS ON THE EAST COAST: ONE YEAR LATER

By Anne Scholl-Fiedler

It has been one year since DSA was introduced to a variety of workforce professionals at their annual Maryland Workforce Development Association (MWDA) conference. With the support of the conference planning committee and the Maryland Institute of Employment and Training Professionals (MIETP) a half day DSA workshop was held. As a result, several workshop participants attended the DSA Facilitators’ Training kickoff in August 2004. Jean Haldane and Allen Boivin-Brown flew back East to lend support and guidance in these efforts.

One year later, DSA returned to the annual MWDA conference — this time with six new facilitators who shared stories of success about their clients using the Dependable Strengths process. DSA facilitators came from the Pathways Schools, Department of Social Services, One-Stop Business & Employment Centers, and Community Colleges. Their stories of assisting clients and team members were numerous and touching, as they spoke of new doors opening for job seekers, some with incredible barriers.

The dedication of the new East Coast DSA Facilitators is evidenced by their ingenuity in assisting with overcoming barriers and challenges. One facilitator noted that she took her workshops to her clients, who were in a shelter with no computer access. To assist workshop participants in compiling their Reports she took the County Workforce Bus, equipped with computers, to them so they could compose their new tool for making contacts. Others have modified the workshop schedule to extend over a full week, while some have designed workshops for their colleagues in order to expose them to the process for client referral. The process has also helped a one-stop staff of over 30 individuals learn new things about their co-workers and develop a better appreciation of their skills and talents — an important step in building an effective one stop team.

As facilitators talked with the audience and me, one thing came through clearly: they can see the significant impact of Dependable Strengths as a new and effective process for helping people feel better about themselves and thus find more satisfying work. Clients who initially came into the sessions with arms crossed and “no good experiences” completed the process with smiles, hugs, renewed sense of hope, jobs and plans for future education; and staff who had worked together for years, saw one another in a different light of appreciation.

We have come a long way in one year and will continue to move forward in enhancing human potential one life at a time.

Our dedicated panelists included:

• Miguel Bueso, Transition Coordinator, Pathways Schools
• Pamela G. Cheeseboro, Training Specialist, Howard County Department of Social Services
• Joanne Gannon, Resource Staff Trainer/Advisor, Upper Shore Workforce Investment Staff
• Mary Nagle, Assistant Director, Frederick County Job Training Agency
• Heather Pinckney, Business Manager, Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development (formerly Career Center Director, Hagerstown Community College Career Center; and Employment Consultant/Program Coordinator, Frederick County JTA)
• Sue Roach, Trainer, Carroll County Business & Employment Resource Center

For more information on DS on the East Coast, please contact Anne Scholl-Fiedler at aefiedler@netstorm.net. Or phone 301-529-7418. Contact MIETP at www.mietp.org.

The next five-day, East Coast DSA Facilitator Training will be held August 15-19, 2005. For registration, please contact MIETP at www.mietp.org. Or phone 410-290-9072. Please pass the word to join us in what will prove to be an extraordinary experience!

Anne Scholl-Fiedler is Director, East Coast Regional Center for Dependable Strengths, Libertytown, Maryland.