[NFBWATlk] Fwd: Welcome new hire OTC Program Manager Deja Powell

[Buna Dahal]

How exciting! Congratulations!!!

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Buna Dahal, MS
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> On Sep 3, 2019, at 5:58 PM, Marci Carpenter via NFBWATlk <nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> We are thrilled to welcome Deja Powell as the new director of the OTC! For those who don’t know her Deja is a blind woman who has been living in Utah and running youth programs there. She had training at the Louisiana Center for the blind and Louisiana Tech University.  She will be a great addition to the DSB staff. She and her husband Lucas will be a great addition to our affiliate.
> 
> Marci
> 
> Sent from Marci's iPhone
> 
> Begin forwarded message:
> 
>> From: "MacKillop, Michael (DSB)" <michael.mackillop at dsb.wa.gov>
>> Date: September 3, 2019 at 4:46:18 PM PDT
>> To: DSB DL All DSB <DSB at DSB.WA.GOV>
>> Subject: Welcome new hire OTC Program Manager Deja Powell
>> 
>> Hi all:
>> I wanted to introduce you to DSB's newest hire for the Orientation and Training Program Manager position, Deja Powell. I have included the recommendation letter for hire below which details a bit of the experience and qualities both the community and in-house interview panels reported to have observed during Deja's interview process.
>> 
>> As you'll see below, Deja's start date is September 23rd, which will give time for knowledge transfer from Julie Brannon before Julie's retirement date end of October.
>> 
>> I bcc'd the community members who were part of the interview process (thank you Marci, Denise, Nathan, Sheri and Dorene!), and also bcc'd Deja's personal email here. Please welcome Deja when she arrives here at DSB later this month!
>> 
>> Cheers all, I am excited for having Deja in the role to continue Julie's great success in guiding the OTC!
>> Michael
>> 
>> Michael MacKillop, Deputy Director
>> Department of Services for the Blind
>> 3411 South Alaska Street
>> Seattle, WA 98118
>> 206-906-5520
>> Michael.mackillop at dsb.wa.gov<mailto:Michael.mackillop at dsb.wa.gov>
>> www.dsb.wa.gov<http://www.dsb.wa.gov>
>> 
>> 
>> From: MacKillop, Michael (DSB)
>> Sent: Tuesday, September 3, 2019 11:00 AM
>> To: Durand, LouOma (DSB) <louoma.durand at dsb.wa.gov>
>> Cc: Itou, Arlene (DSB) <arlene.itou at dsb.wa.gov>
>> Subject: recommendation for hire - OTC PM
>> 
>> Hello Lou Oma:
>> I would like to put forward Deja Powell as a recommendation for hire in the OTC Program manager role.
>> 
>> A community panel and a more formal interview panel met with the candidates, and both groups were aligned in their feedback that Deja Powell represented as the best fit for the agency and the OTC program.
>> 
>> The interview panel had identified some values through which they would be considering candidates. They sought a candidate who would:
>> 
>> *        Maintain and add to the strengths of the OTC
>> 
>> *        Address the needs of the changing OTC world - in particular, support staff in individualized/creative work with students with multiple disabilities and/or intensive needs
>> 
>> *        Be a good communicator and listener
>> 
>> *        Demonstrate patience, flexibility,  and be a visionary
>> 
>> *        Continue OTC work to integrate and not silo from other parts of the agency
>> 
>> *        Emphasize vocational aspects of learning, and support internships
>> 
>> *        Be able to work well in developing and motivating staff, and
>> 
>> *        Align with agency philosophy and culture
>> 
>> The panel felt Deja best exemplified those values. They appreciated her apparent deep student-focus, and felt her energy, creativity, problem solving, openness and emphasis on collaboration would represent the OTC well among a wide range of stakeholders. She stated that she wanted to guide the OTC to be a place people would want to come to and learn at. She demonstrated examples that showed her experience and facility with adapting training to fit individualized needs. She displayed a management style of collaborating to set goals, actively following up on progress, and readjusting as needed. She stated she had built her own set of curriculum and measures for her training.
>> 
>> Her references confirmed many of the strong skill sets the panels observed. Her current supervisor noted that Deja is an "ideas" person, and also does the work to see those ideas put into implementation through her follow up, goal setting and collaboration skills. Her references also reported that Deja doesn't shy from the necessary and challenging conversations she will face in the role, but confronts issues directly and immediately. Deja is reported to understand and observe the appropriate professional boundaries that are especially necessary in a residential training center environment.
>> 
>> Deja believes strongly in the importance of consumer groups as an avenue for peer mentorship; she stated in a follow up discussion with me that she understands that the agency is strongly supported by both consumer groups, and that the agency strongly supports both consumer groups equally.
>> 
>> Deja gives a start date of September 23rd.
>> 
>> Please let me know if you have any questions or need any further information on this recommendation.
>> Thank you!
>> Michael
>> 
>> 
>> Michael MacKillop, Deputy Director
>> Department of Services for the Blind
>> 3411 South Alaska Street
>> Seattle, WA 98118
>> 206-906-5520
>> Michael.mackillop at dsb.wa.gov<mailto:Michael.mackillop at dsb.wa.gov>
>> www.dsb.wa.gov<http://www.dsb.wa.gov>
>> 
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