Minnesota Career Development Association

Inside this issue:

The President’s Corner
MCDA Award Winners
MCDA Spring Conference Keynote Highlights
MCDA Spring Conference PDI Highlights
News from NCDA
Member Spotlight
Welcome New Members

The President’s Corner by Shelley Jensen-Decker

Greetings MCDA Members!

As we near the end of the MCDA 2012-2013 year, I have been reflecting on the many talented individuals that comprise our organization and the broader career community. A key thought that I keep landing on is that what we all do professionally matters. Our work is so critical in helping people navigate the uncertainties of life and career, particularly in light of some of the significant changes that have occurred in the world. 

Life is about change indeed, and I want to thank everyone who helped make this a year of positive change for MCDA. Specifically I’d like to thank the MCDA Board for their support and hard work. I’d also like to give special thanks to the Spring Conference Committee. As many of you know, this committee is responsible for executing the Spring Conference every year, which is a huge job! They handled it with their usual aplomb and professionalism once again!

I think that our keynote speakers at the spring conference demonstrated beautifully how change occurs over a lifetime. Daniel Seddequi showed that when starting a career, creativity, courage, resourcefulness AND persistence can result in finding good work with meaning and purpose, even in the face of setbacks. At the other end of the spectrum, Marci Alboher showed us work does not end at an arbitrary age, but continues with an Encore career that has Purpose, Passion and a Paycheck.

Other MCDA accomplishments that also represent the positive aspects of change include:

• Introducing new roundtable programming and two keynote speakers at the conference, both of which received great reviews
• Strengthening our partnerships with other professional organizations such as ASTD
• Launching an initiative to increase our corporate members
• Continuing with our monthly roundtables, including a networking social following the Fall Event
• Reenergizing our mentorship program
• Continuously improving the newsletter, courtesy Kim Marrone.

In the spirit of change, this is my last President’s Corner, as I will be turning the gavel over to Darren Kaltved. We are very fortunate to have Darren as our incoming president, as his expertise and commitment to the field are well known. Also, in the spirit of change, please look for the membership survey sometime this summer. We will be using the survey to determine what our members want and need from MCDA. Also, elections will be taking place soon. We have six board positions to fill, as well as the roles of President-Elect and Treasurer. This is your opportunity to affect even more positive changes to MCDA, so please consider running or nominating a colleague for a position (Do remember to tell them that you would like to nominate them!). Thanks to Shelby Clark, Denise Felder, Suzie Karsnia, Sarah Loe, Kate Southwick and Irene Rossman for your service!

It has been my honor to be your President the past year. Thanks to all of you for making the 2012-2013 year a success!

Shelley Jensen-Decker, MCDA President 2012-2013
shelleyjdecker@hotmail.com; shelley.jdecker@c-m-s.org
612-978-1572

Congratulations to Our Award Winners!

One of the highlights of the MCDA conference in April was the announcement of three award winners from within our membership.  Please join us in congratulating these fine folks:

Jules Kerlan Outstanding Achievement Award – Irene Rossman

This award recognizes lifetime achievement of at least 15 years in career development.  Irene was nominated by part of her fan club, including Kim Marrone, Paul Timmins, Patricia Berg, Anne Pryor, Rise Kasmirski and Carmen Croonquist.

Marty Dockman Merit Award – Darren Kaltved

This award is granted to individuals who have made a difference in the lives of clients or have served MCDA in a noteworthy manner.  Darren was nominated by Ben Hansen.

Sunny Hansen Graduate Student Award – Tara Dillon

This award recognizes an outstanding graduate student for excellence in projects, service, teaching and/or research.  Tara was nominated by Elizabeth Hruska and Megan Rivera.

MCDA Spring Conference Keynote Highlights

by Kim Marrone

One of the many reasons for the success of the spring conference was the exceptional quality of the featured speakers.  Below is just a brief snapshot of the interesting topics and presentations we enjoyed:

Coaching Yourself and Others into Encore Careers by Marci Alboher – Ms. Alboher began by defining encore careers as work that combines personal meaning and social impact with income in the second half of life.  In other words – Purpose, Passion and Paycheck.  Many resources were shared with the group, including encore.org, Shift and iSeek.  Ms. Alboher closed her lively presentation by reminding us that age is an asset in some industries – thank goodness!

Living the Map, 50 Jobs in 50 States by Daniel Seddiqui – Mr. Seddiqui shared his job searching experience after college of having over 40 job interviews, without any offers.  He creatively took the opportunity to seek work in each of the 50 states, and wrote a book to describe his experience.  He shared his essential life tools of adaptability, networking, endurance, risk taking and perseverance as well as many humorous stories along the way!

The Professional Development Institute (PDI) on Emotional Intelligence

By Anne Templeman

The MCDA Spring Conference PDI featured Emotional Intelligence: The Career Advantage, led by Lisa L. Griebel, M.Ed. of  Crescendo Inc.  The session began by reviewing the various definitions of Emotional Intelligence (EI).  The key elements of any definition include both emotional and social skills.  Some definitions also include managing those skills within relationships with others as well as self -motivation.  Ms. Griebel then presented a model of EI as developed by Multi-Heath Systems Inc.  which has five components or scales.  The five are Self-Perception, Self-Expression, Interpersonal, Decision-Making and Stress Management.  Within each scale are subscales that address individual components.

A major feature of this PDI was interaction among the attendees.  Ms. Griebel facilitated a number of activities that helped to flesh out details of the model as well as advance understanding of the scales.  One key learning tool was a case study where the EI competencies were evaluated within the context of a real-life circumstance.  The group discussed competencies that both helped and hindered the career development of the individual.  A number of self-evaluations were also conducted, along with group discussion.

As a result of the session, participants were able to:

• Describe EI and explain its relevance to career development
• Connect EI to our work
• Identify personal strengths and growth opportunities
• Create an EI Action Learning Plan
• Connect with peers for accountability, support and sustained learning

Beyond the presentation and activities offered in this session, Ms. Griebel also provided a wealth of recommended resources.  A full list of relevant books was included along with the materials used during the session.

News from NCDA

By Paul Timmins, Trustee, National Career Development Association

This time of the year, NCDA’s focus is largely on its upcoming national conference, to be held July 8-10 in Boston. I know that many of you are planning on attending, and I’m really looking forward to seeing you there and to hearing about your experience. I hope you’ll find it to be an inspirational, meaningful professional development opportunity.

Once we get past the conference, the next big task for the NCDA Board of Directors will be implementing a reorganization of board member responsibilities that was voted on and approved by the NCDA membership this year. In the past, trustees like myself had responsibilities that were organized by geography – I, for instance, have been our trustee for the Midwest region. With the reorganization, we are eliminating the trustee positions that are based on geography.

Going forward, in an effort to better connect with all the constituent groups that comprise our membership, we’ll be asking our trustees to serve as a link between the NCDA leadership and a specific group of members. There will be six trustees:

• Trustee for School Career Counselors & Specialists
• Trustee for Higher Education Career Counselors & Specialists
• Trustee for Agency, Business and Industry, & Private Career Counselors & Specialists
• Trustee for Counselor Educators & Researchers
• Trustee for State Associations
• Trustee At Large (Leadership Academy and other board specified responsibilities)

While each of the trustees will work on lots of different tasks, their primary role will be to ensure that, under the broad umbrella of the National Career Development Association, all of our members find that they have a place, and their professional development needs are being met. Once the transition is made later this summer, all the new contacts will be listed on the NCDA website at www.ncda.org. My new position will be as the Trustee for Higher Education Career Counselors & Specialists. Since I am two years into the three-year term that I was originally elected to, I will serve in the role for this next year, and have let our elections committee know that I’d be interested in being considered as a candidate for election to another three-year term during our next set of elections.

As the change gets implemented, I hope that each of you will watch for announcements about the trustee(s) who are most closely connected with your professional identity and interests – and I hope you’ll pursue opportunities to help them understand your professional needs, and that you’ll participate in NCDA activities that are relevant to you and your professional growth.

Watch for more details in the coming months!

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT on Anne Templeman

Editor:  Anne, as you begin your service to MCDA as the Newsletter Editor, it would be nice for the members to get to know you.  Tell us a bit about your background.

Anne:  My professional background includes a number of different roles.  After earning my Bacteriology degree from Iowa State, I worked as a hospital laboratory technologist.   While working in the lab at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, I also completed a master’s degree in Hospital and Health Administration.  My role as an administrative resident involved working with the legal staff.  The hospital lawyers encouraged me to go to law school.

Editor: Now, that’s interesting!  The lawyers must have recognized your aptitude for law.  Where did your career take you next?

Anne:  I pursued law and had the great fortune of studying in Washington DC.  Between classes, we heard Supreme Court arguments or watched Congressional debates.  After graduation, I became an associate at a large law firm in DC.  While the work was interesting, I realized that the lifestyle just wasn’t for me.  I moved to Minnesota and began working at Thomson Reuters (West Publishing). I’ve held a number of different positions, including account manager and education and training manager.

Editor:  Wow, you’ve had quite a few distinct careers already in your life.  What led you to career development?

Anne:  My interest in Career Counseling grew out of my work as an educator and trainer at Thomson Reuters.  I found great satisfaction in coaching new employees and mentoring more experienced field staff.   My greatest achievements came from helping employees establish and reach their career goals.  I am energized by listening and learning from others, and find my rewards in seeing them succeed.

Editor:  Anne, thanks for taking time to share about yourself and more importantly – thanks for being willing to take over as our Newsletter Editor!  We look forward to your fresh insight and ideas.

Welcome New Members

Kathie Anderson, Alfred Adler Graduate School

Cherie Anderson, The Cady Group

Scott Barr, Twin Cities RISE!

Jessica Bauer, University of Saint Thomas

Debra Beemer, St. Mary’s University

Amber Bieneck, University of St. Thomas

Kelly Bryant, University of St. Thomas

Angela Cabatbat, AmeriCorps

Mary Cavanagh, Mosaic

Any Delgado, State of MN – DEED Minneapolis

Julie Endersbe, District 196/Rosemount High School

Henok Fanta, Metropolitan State University

Delia Foutch, Workforce Solutions-Dislocated Worker’s Program

Dawn Graham, Tiltscale Career Solutions

Amy Green, Workforce Solutions

Wendy Griak, Capella University

Lisa Griebel, Crescendo Inc.

Peter Haeg, University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy

Nancy Heller Olsen, University of Minnesota Duluth

Sheilah Howard, Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota

Nathan Jacobi, St. Olaf College

Carrie Klaphake, St. Cloud State University

Shannon Kloeppel. Thrivent Financial

Susan Kramer, Student Paths

Kelly Lewis, Kelly M. Lewis Coaching & Associates

Sarah Loe, Minnesota School of Business

Suzanne Lyndon, University of Minnesota Duluth

Joan Maxwell, State of Minnesota

Jennifer Parta Arno, Minnesota Online/Higher Education Veterans Program

Erica Rademacher, College of St. Benedict | St. John’s University

Wendy Schreiner, St. Cloud State University

Monica Schultz, The WorkLife Lab

Gina Shango, State of MN – DEED Minneapolis

Anne Templeman, newly appointed  MCDA newsletter editor

Milissa Troen, Inver Hills Community College

Dawn Vang, Ramsey County Workforce Solutions

Roberto Zayas, St. Olaf College