Spirit of the ESD Award Nominees and Winners for 2023

For those who may have missed our end of the year celebration, the nominees and winners of the Spirit of the ESD Awards are below. As a reminder, staff can view current and past winners and nominate coworkers at any time through our new form on the Intranet here (requires login).

Nominations

We had a whopping 14 nominations submitted for the Spirit of ESD 112 Award this year! Even though we can only choose one main campus and one field staff winner, each of the nominees deserves recognition for going above and beyond with their work. These nominees had coworkers take the time to recognize them by submitting examples of how they truly are the “Spirit of the ESD”.  Thank you to everyone who took the time to write up a nomination.

ECE Billing Support Team
Early Care & Education

When people think of a Billing Team, they often think of just the fiscal component of the work. The Billing Team encompasses far beyond the dollars and cents. The Billing Team works behind the scenes advocating for families at the agency and state levels. When families lose their state subsidies or at the point of pausing care for their children, the Billing Team steps up and walks families through the process of plans and steps to resolve their issues.

Mental Health Consultation Team
Early Care & Education

Bruce, Sonja and McKinzee all work hard to intentionally develop trusted relationships, even though the work is hard. They all demonstrate consistent positive regard for all of the providers, families, children that they serve, as well as colleagues and community partners. They are calm, approachable, conscientious, mindful of systems needs as well as their own work and agency needs. They are reliable, bright, friendly We are currently in an early childhood workforce crisis, where many programs are staffed with brand new educators, at a time when we are seeing so many children who have complex needs. This team provides explicit feedback about children, educators, and program strengths, while also helping to address the sometimes-urgent needs. Their roles require that they are consistently going into programs ready to support, listen, and process big emotions with people. Their role is emotionally draining and challenging, and through it all, they continue to show up in ways that offer compassion, understanding and perseverance.

Samantha Leonard
Human Resources

Samantha greets everyone with a smile and such a positive attitude. She has been here for just over a year, but she makes people feel like she’s been here forever. When faced with a challenge, she remains positive and still smiling and works to find a solution. She is always so respectful for the people she encounters, and I think this really makes them feel welcomed. She will send kudos, but she will often just get up from her desk and come over to us and say hey, I heard how you handled that call or that situation, great job! She’s very encouraging of others, but especially those of us on her team.

Julie Jacobson
Early Care & Education

Julie has a contagiously upbeat demeanor and spreads positivity through all that she does. She leads by example to “assume positive intentions” of others. The synergy and teamwork that has been established within the Grow & Learn department is the result of her excellence in collaborative leadership and supervision.

123 Grow & Learn Team
Early Care & Education

They are the definition of creative when it comes to working with that they have, thinking fast when last minute changes happen like drills, gas leaks, they even got creative during the pandemic offering a zoom option for families. They constantly adapt to the spaces and the changes in those spaces as well as adapting to new families and they do so with positivity.

Brittany Pew
Specialized Student Services

Britt has taken on extra responsibilities mentoring several new staff and taking on a leadership role. She is careful to keep her finger on the pulse of the needs of the group members and finds a way to have these needs be met. Those who have the privilege of working with her look forward to working together due to her welcoming, warm, and positive attitude!

Laura Knox
Teaching & Learning

Laura has a very professional work ethic and is always very helpful to our ESD clients and will go out of the way to make sure they have what they need and they are getting the best service we can offer. She is very pleasant, helpful and approachable, not to mention witty and charming. Laura is 100% a team player. She collaborates with ESD cohorts, as well as school district representatives and other groups around the state. She always represents ESD 112 in a good light and is willing to help always.

Melissa Burt
Communications

Melissa says “yes, and…” to every project or idea thrown her way. She is always truly going above and beyond to provide quality and quick work. Her attitude is one of “let’s get it done” and she always does her work better or faster than expected. I am always specifically impressed at her going above and beyond in mastering so many different skills that don’t even relate directly to her role. If she does something she does it all the way. There is no doubt in my mind when I work with her that the work will be amazing.

Alissa Jolly
Student & School Success

Alissa has been the driving force behind the development of ESD-U systems, and she has created an infrastructure that is both comprehensive and accessible. ESD-U materials are of consistently high quality. When Alissa works with ESD-U candidates, she focuses deeply on ensuring that everything she does will work to make them successful. She accepts nothing but the best service. In addition, when another colleague or team needs help, she is happy to jump in and lend her excellent talents and insights.

Tara Moisan
Specialized Student Services

Two phrases that are always coming from Tara are “what do you need?” and “I can help you!”. She is always willing to give a hand or answer a question, even though she has 100 other things on her plate at all times. On our team, she plays a part in all our jobs, and without her support we would topple. The most amazing part of all is that she does it with a smile on her face. Our program and the ESD is forever lucky to have found someone as wonderful as Tara to represent us. You cannot help but be happy whenever you are in her orbit.

Ocean Beach Motor & SLP Team
Specialized Student Services

Kate, Sara, Dora and Mark demonstrate excellence in their profession and in collaboration with other teachers and team members. They each shine and have gone above and beyond in their own way. Some examples are: increasing students awareness of their needs and allowing them to learn in fun and inclusive ways; helping families have more resources to identify what will work to functionally benefit their student for instance exercises at home to increase speech, motor or cognitive abilities.

Chris Wilson
Specialized Student Services

With the changing needs in my program, I am grateful to the care that Chris gave to support my program. He saw the needs more than I understood. He took extra time to make sure I had what I needed. He helped me to process and has been very kind. I have known him since my first day almost 16 years ago, and he has always shown kindness to me and our program.