As many of you know, Reside’s recent goals include familiarizing staff with each other. We’re really focused on finding some small bits of information about individuals that are a little more personal than, “What job experience do you have?” or, “How long have you been with Reside?” (though the latter has been included in the newsletters). Hobbies, favorite foods, and favorite colors have been more the focus.
Anyway, this blog post is a very special one. Continuing with Reside’s theme of familiarity, I decided to interview the interesting lady who interviews us! I got the chance to sit down with Lani, our Human Resources manager, and learn about her background and how she ended up at Reside Residential Care. So, read on and enjoy!
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Before Reside, Lani was working hard to earn an education. First receiving a Bachelor of Science in Psychology, and then going on to get a Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from George Fox University, her great work ethic was undeniable. While attending George Fox, a professor of hers had mentioned a company called Innovative Counseling Enterprises (ICE) and the internship opportunities that existed through them. Lani jumped at the opportunity. She was told to expose herself to the difficult opportunities in order to best prepare herself for the future, and ICE’s internship program seemed to be a good fit.
Through ICE, Lani was able to work with clients in both group and individual therapy sessions. While working through her internship and going to school, she learned about a educational skill called “skill streaming.” This strategy was normally reserved for children, but she saw the potential of skill streaming with developmentally delayed adults. Working with a classmate, they created an outline of how to use skill streaming with adult DD clientele. Upon completion, they showed it to Dave, the owner of ICE. He was quite impressed with what he saw and suggested showing their plan to Rich at Reside. After sharing her outline, she began to work with her partner within Reside to provide educational skill streaming classes to the clients. Over time, she was contacted by the DDA (Developmentally Disabilities Association) for a part time, contracted position. Unfortunately, Lani required full time work for her finances and had to decline.
Eventually, she went back to Rich to ask if there was any way for her to rent space and begin her own counseling services. While there weren’t really any opportunities for counseling, Reside needed a Human resources manager. And while Lani didn’t have any experience in Human Resources, she had worked several jobs in administration, and her skills from her education made her a perfect candidate for the job.
She decided to take the opportunity. Taking a “crash course in Human Resources,” she became the lady who asks you questions that make you drip with sweat here at Reside. Thanks, Lani! We truly appreciate it.
