Imagine!’s 2015 / 2016 Leadership Development Group Update

Tim West-Heiss, Shannon Bundy, Maria Klickna, Laura Ball, Sterling Wind

As our Leadership Development Group (LDG) experience is ending, the LDG team would like to express our gratitude to our team members at Imagine! and the executive team for this opportunity. During this LDG journey, we have learned a tremendous amount and can collectively say we have grown both personally and professionally from this experience.  The LDG team would like to share a few of the valuable lessons we have learned from participating:

I first off want to thank everyone for this incredible opportunity. The leadership development program has given me so much. I feel I have grown in my role here at Imagine! and have learned so many things that I can incorporate into my daily work. I have so many great takeaways from this experience, but there are two big ones that come to mind. First, I think the book “Drive” and the Great Leadership trainings that we all attended have really pushed me to better myself as a supervisor and leader for my employees. I have learned a great deal about how to bring new and innovative thinking into the workplace from the book “Drive” and have learned how to support my employees better from the trainings we attended. Second, this experience has made me realize the direction I want to pursue in my career. I am so thankful for the support of the executive and the HR teams for helping me find my next steps in my career through this experience. – Shannon Bundy

Thank you for the incredible opportunity to be a part of the Leadership Development Group.  This program provided a platform to gain knowledge and insight into the complexities of Imagine!. I built strong relationships with the other LDG team members, which provided me with additional perspectives of our organization.  The access given to me as an LDG member was remarkable and extraordinarily valuable as an employee.  This program aided me in identifying my strengths and weaknesses as a leader and provided the training and guidance to strengthen my skills and build on my toolbox.   It challenged me in unexpected ways and I grew as a leader throughout the process.  A special thanks to the executive team for your time and commitment to this program and to my HR team for supporting me as I juggled my job duties and the additional time commitment. – Laura Ball

I am grateful beyond words for this opportunity to be a part of LDG. This opportunity has allowed me not only to grow as an Imagine! employee, but as an individual as well. I have learned such a great deal through being involved in this experience that I don't know if I would have otherwise ever have learned. Going through the MSEC leadership classes, I found myself taking a hard and unwavering look at things I do well, and things I don't do well, and what I can do to improve my leadership skills. Being able to integrate what I’ve learned from these classes and the LDG experience in to my daily work and personal life is invaluable. It was a challenging and often chaotic experience, but knowing I played a large part in something bigger than LDG, even Imagine!, and myself, and was able to use what resources I have to give to such a wonderful organization was humbling and motivating to say the least. Thank you! – Tim West-Heiss

I am so grateful for being part of the leadership development group this year.  The LDG experience has allowed me to grow many of my professional skills, and has challenged me to think more critically about my own professional goals. My greatest takeaway from this experience would be realizing one doesn’t need to be in a manager/supervisor role to a leader and an ambassador within Imagine!. The LDG experience has helped me feel revitalized and highly connected to Imagine!’s mission and in turn has helped my everyday performance at work to become more meaningful. – Maria Klickna

I have sincerely appreciated the leadership exposure that has challenged me as a leader as a member of this year’s LDG. The readings, trainings, and meetings have challenged my perspective on leadership. This program helped me in my understanding of how the focus of long-range goals direct leadership decisions to work through operational challenges. I feel particularly proud of our case study project. Our topic was inspired by Daniel Pink’s book, “Drive”. This book challenged our thinking and inspired us to focus our case study on working towards transforming performance management at Imagine!. The purpose of our case study was to shift the focus towards talent management through staff and team development. The opportunities of LDG have challenged me to expand my understanding of what good leadership is, and I am grateful for this opportunity. – Sterling Wind

LDG members still smiling after presenting their case study

We hope that this final update encourages others at Imagine! to consider speaking with their immediate supervisor about being recommended to join next year’s Leadership Development Group.

Imagine! Volunteer Spotlight: Eldorado High School (Albuquerque)

Today, we’d like to give a shout out to the Reality Project from Eldorado High School (Albuquerque) volunteered at Imagine!’s CORE/Labor Source site in Longmont last month. Fifty students, along with teachers Allison Dunn and Sean Thomas volunteered to host an art, sports, jewelry, and cupcake making station. They also did a spiffy job cleaning the vehicles that we use in delivering services and supports throughout the community. Below are a few images that we captured throughout their day.

Not pictured is the amazing lunch that Project Reality grilled up, but nonetheless we owe them all a huge thank you!

Autism Society of Boulder County (ASBC) Parents Survey

Calling All Parents... Autism Society of Boulder County (ASBC) Wants Your Opinion!

ASBC wants to know what has been working for your child's education and what hasn't. We want to learn from your child's successes and challenges. Please help guide us in how we support the autism community by completing the following survey. All surveys are anonymous and data taken from the survey will only be presented as aggregate numbers. No specific information will be presented without the written consent of the provider. Data collected may be provided to local school districts and or to the press to more clearly describe and support the educational experience of parents of children on the autism spectrum.

If you have any questions about the survey and how the information will be used, please contact our Education Committee Chair, Shay Carpenter at education@autismboulder.org. Thank you for your participation!

No Shushing Sensory Friendly Concert July 23

Check out this sensory friendly "No Shushing Concert" on Saturday, July 23 at the East Boulder Community Center. This concert is presented by BrainSong, the ACL, the City of Boulder’s Expand program, and Project Yes.

Tickets are $5.00 per family, and space is limited so visit www.briansong.net for more information and for registration.

Messy Play Day at Imagine!

Last Thursday, Imagine! hosted the kick-off event of the summer: Dayspring’s Messy Play Day.

Messy Play Day is one of Imagine!'s Dayspring department's Community Calendar Activities (CCAs). CCAs introduce young children with developmental delays and disabilities to places in our community that offer great activities and opportunities for children to meet their goals through fun and play. All activities encourage motor, sensory, social-emotional, cognitive, and speech-language development.

Messy Play Day is designed to introduce new sensory experiences to the children in a safe and comfortable environment. Learning occurs as children touch, manipulate, experiment, and talk about things, while interacting with people who facilitate without directing.

But the paragraphs above are just words. Take a look at the pictures below of some of the Messy Play Day sensory activities to see what the words look like in action.

Jello

Water/ball pit

Shaving cream pool

Bubbles 

Oobleck (a mixture of cornstarch and water) 

Painting

Big thanks to UPS, who sent a team of volunteers early in the morning to help set up the activities.

And congratulations to the entire Dayspring staff, who hosted another successful, fun, and meaningful event for the families and children they serve.

Imagine!’s Care Coordination Team Works To Improve Intake Process

In an effort to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the intake process at Imagine!, the Care Coordination team is consolidating its intake team.

The new intake team, under the supervision of Intake Supervisor Jennifer McIntyre, will be responsible for intake and enrollment into all adult and children’s funding sources (CES, CHCBS, CWA, SLS, DD, STATE SLS, SLS OBRA, and Broomfield funds).

The consolidated team will include an Intake Navigator and four Enrollment Case Managers. The Intake Navigator will provide the initial contact with families entering into services, letting them know what Imagine! is and how we could potentially help. The Intake Navigator will also be responsible for data entry into the multiple systems we are required to utilize. The Enrollment Case Managers will determine eligibility for Imagine! services, determine functional eligibility for appropriate funding sources, and support individuals and families through the enrollment process.

The overall goal of this consolidation is to improve customer service and ensure consistent and accurate information is shared in regards to Imagine!, the enrollment process, and available supports.

Intake contact information will also be consolidated. The intake phone number will be 720-274-5452 and the intake email will be intake@imaginecolorado.org.

The new intake team is expected to be up and running by July 5. For further information, please contact Jennifer McIntyre.

Parent Networking Groups w/ Boulder Valley School District

 

For more information, contact Anna Stewart

Parent, School and Community Liason

720-561-5918

anna.stewart@bvsd.org

Elena Ciarvino on how her role connects with Imagine!’s new mission statement

What does our new mission statement “Creating a world of opportunity for all abilities” mean to our team? Elena Ciarvino explains how her role connects with Imagine!’s new mission statement.

Can't see the video, click HERE

Imagine! Excellence in Customer Service Award: June 2016

Congratulations are in order for Jolie Bernstein, who works for Imagine!’s Early Intervention team, on being selected as the June 2016 recipient of the Imagine! Excellence in Customer Service Award. 

Here is some information from Jolie’s nomination, which ably demonstrates why she selected as this month’s recipient:

The Early Intervention team received two wonderful letters of praise recently from providers that Jolie works with:

 “It has been many years now that I have had the pleasure of working alongside Jolie Bernstein. We have shared many reviews and annuals together through the years. We have encountered all kinds of surprises in our work together and through it all, she has always maintained very kind and calm professionalism. Jolie has such skill in how she approaches her work with the families and therapists. She always gets everything done, all of the questions that need to be answered and goals that need to be addressed, but she does so in such a way that it feels natural, and more like a comfortable conversation with friends. She puts everyone at ease, even when there are some potentially uncomfortable conversations that at times need to be had, she addresses them with finesse. This is a very special population, and a unique setting, as you know. We work in the homes of families, addressing the needs of their baby, it takes a special kind of person to relate to these families. I feel honored to have the opportunity to express my appreciation for Jolie's constant dedication and sensitivity to the work that we do. I am grateful for the opportunity to work with Jolie.” 

“This is just a quick note to let you know what a pleasure it is working with Jolie Bernstein. She is knowledgeable and enthusiastic about her work, and it's obvious that she has a special fondness for the children on her caseload. When I come to her with a difficult situation, I can count on her to be supportive and helpful. She is both understanding and firm with the families she serves, modeling a skillful, delicate way of guiding them through the EI experience.” 

Great work, Jolie, and congratulations on this well-deserved honor!