Branching Out

My next career move came in the form of an invitation to join the team of Southwest Plains Regional Service Center in Sublette, Kansas, as Assistant Executive Director with a focus on providing inservices to districts.  At the time, it was an agency that provided health insurance to school districts and I would be their professional development “department” of one!  Because of SWPRSC's leader, Deb Haltom, I took the leap. 

Thanks to my upbringing and experiences with 4-H, public speaking has never been a problem for me.  My background as a K-12 teacher, administrator and special education teacher provided me with extensive background knowledge for most audiences.  

“Old Oak Tree” by rabiem22 on Flickr 

Fast forward to today…

I have been Executive Director at Southwest Plains Regional Service Center now for 11 years. During the time I have had a luxury that most leaders do not get during their career:  I have been able to build my team at SWPRSC.  

When I started at SWPRSC we had 8 employees.  To date, we have around 80 employees.  I was the only consultant that provided professional learning when I started and now we have a team of 14 professional learning consultants, we direct the Migrant Program for the state of Kansas and we have 10 adult learning centers where adults can earn their high school diploma.

There is only one word for the SWPRSC TEAM:  incredible.  OK…and talented, zealous, committed, highly skilled, exceptional, brilliant, enthusiastic, etc.  I could go on and on about our team.  Each team member brings extensive classroom experience, extensive specialized training and advanced degrees.  Our mission is:  
Professional Learning…Innovative Solutions.  

 And that is what they represent. 

The only way to do great work it to love what you do.”  --Steve Jobs