ARTICLE
These are trying times, but we adapt, we move forward, and we continue to find ways to thrive and serve our community. I have the pleasure of working at the Chamber to partner with our local businesses and organizations ensuring that Santa Cruz County is a great place to live, work, and play. I also have the honor of chairing the Emerging Leaders Circle (ELC), a group of 100+ young professionals that volunteer year-round under United Way of Santa Cruz County with the ultimate goal of creating a positive impact in our community. Why mention the ELC? I saw it only fitting to reach out to some of my fellow Emerging Leaders to get a personal insight as to how this new normality of work from home life has impacted young leaders from a multitude of industries throughout Santa Cruz County. Shannon Stabler, Community & Public Relations for the Santa Cruz Warriors, is responsible for bringing events to life and creating an experience fans will not forget which she found was difficult to do while working from home but not impossible. Being part of the live entertainment industry, she has had to adapt her entire workflow to stay connected with colleagues and fans. She told me, “[The Santa Cruz Warriors] have been able to adapt a majority of our community programs to a digital platform. For example, we have created a Mav’Rik Kids Corner for our GetFit and Math Warriors programs. Mav’Rik, the Santa Cruz Warriors mascot, has supplied worksheets and activities for kids to complete at home! We may not be going to classrooms, but kids can still stay connected to the Warriors.” While I know the community at large, just as the entire Warriors organization, is waiting for the day live basketball can resume – Shannon and her team have found an inventive way to keep everyone connected. Ash Gonzales, Donor Engagement Manager for United Way of Santa Cruz County, found that it was not easy at first to shift immediately to a work from home model but there are two major things everyone should focus on when needing to create a new work routine that works. She told me that new habits require a positive mindset and patience. And to make this work transition easier, she shifted her mindset from thinking "what I have to get done" to "what I get to do" now that she is home. A major benefit from working from home during this global pandemic is that she now has the opportunity to spend more time with family and invest in herself by learning new skills online. So, if you find yourself feeling challenged having to create a new work routine, do as Ash did — bring your creativity out and shift to a positive mindset! Ashley Holmes, Marketing and Brand Coordinator for the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History (the MAH), has a unique experience as she had the opportunity to work remotely prior to the Shelter in Place. For three months last year she worked remote while traveling, where every 4-5 days she was off to another city. At this point, it was easy to have everything blend together (life, work, eating, play, social time) and she acknowledged that one could feel overwhelmed by everything you could do in a day or then feel disappointed by night thinking you did not spend your daytime wisely. But she told me that “what kept her sane on the road was finding moments and routines that still feel familiar despite all the change.” For example, while she was traveling and now today while working from home — her day does not start without first enjoying a cup of coffee. It is this small relaxing routine that allows her to ease into her day, reflect on the highs and lows of the day before, and then take an honest look at what she wants/needs to accomplish today. So, if you find yourself feeling overwhelmed, do as Ashley did — find that familiar routine that works for you! Joey Coffman, Technology Operations Manager at Bay Federal Credit Union, has found it has been a smooth transition to the work from home. He was fortunate that his employer (Bay Fed) was able to adapt and stay proactive by developing ways to not only keep their staff employed and working, but most importantly keep them all safe at home. Within a 30-day span his team set up over 100 users to work from home until further notice, which is nearly 50 percent of their staff. He told me the key to empowering staff to work from home effectively is to provide them with “different tools and technologies — such as Microsoft Teams for communication and collaboration — so that groups, teams, and individuals can still strategize and have video conferences to communicate effectively (with the occasional funny GIF of course).” Joey states, he “can’t help but see how well this could work in better global times.” I think we can all take a page from Joey’s book, take away the positives from the situation we are in and utilize technology to be proactive now and in the future. Jenna Rodriguez, Development Coordinator at Digital Nest, found that it was a smooth transition to working from home and therein lies opportunities. She has been very fortunate to work for a nonprofit that had the ability to create a virtual workspace so that all of their staff had the resources they needed at home and, going one step further, continues to check-in with each one of their team members individually on personal needs. Separately, Jenna is able to spend her evenings and weekends working on her “side hustle” which is a fun way to follow one’s passion and make a supplementary income. Seeing so many people she works with lose their jobs due to this pandemic has made her realize how valuable a side hustle can be as this is an online business opportunity that can be done from your home. Ultimately, she feels extremely blessed to be working for Digital Nest, continuing to support our youth and greater community during these trying times — but she also feels fortunate to have her side hustle which can provide relief in terms of worst-case scenarios like the pandemic we are facing today. If you are looking to create an online business or find a way to make a supplementary income, do as Jenna did and find a side hustle. Lastly, I heard from Laurie Egan, Programs Director for the Coastal Watershed Council, and I will leave you with the tips I learned from her. These turbulent times have her looking around the world and feeling a huge swell of gratitude for the people, pets and places in her life. While her day-to-day work has completely flipped on its head with hands-on environmental education and volunteerism moving to virtual venues, she is working on striking a new balance. She told me she is “striving to embrace the flexibility that work from home offers and challenging myself to use this as an opportunity to examine my work from a new angle and think about things differently.” A few recommendations she has: Read Nina Simon’s (former Executive Director of the MAH) recent post, “How Can I Contribute? Four Steps I’m Taking to Figure it Out”, explore nature wherever you are by utilizing the Coastal Watershed Council’s Watershed Rangers activities as your guide, and try something new like the Yoga For All Movement’s mindfulness resources. I want to express my thanks to the Emerging Leaders who took time to share their stories with me so that I could then share them with you. I want to also express how thankful I am that with shelter in place orders and having to work from home, we have all found ways to adapt, move forward, and stay connected — and that is the most important thing so we can navigate through this pandemic together. Whether through switching your programs to a digital platform, embracing your inner creativity, finding your familiar routine to keep you centered, hosting virtual meetings to stay collaborative and connected, creating a side hustle, or embracing this new flexibility work from home offers, the common theme from each Emerging Leader’s personal account above is the same. We can be grateful and appreciative of what we do have, adapt to the new normality and learn from it, and we will not only grow stronger from this experience – we will thrive and continue to serve our greater community.
These are trying times, but we adapt, we move forward, and we continue to find ways to thrive and serve our community. I have the pleasure of working at the Chamber to partner with our local businesses and organizations ensuring that Santa Cruz County is a great place to live, work, and play. I also have the honor of chairing the Emerging Leaders Circle (ELC), a group of 100+ young professionals that volunteer year-round under United Way of Santa Cruz County with the ultimate goal of creating a positive impact in our community. Why mention the ELC? I saw it only fitting to reach out to some of my fellow Emerging Leaders to get a personal insight as to how this new normality of work from home life has impacted young leaders from a multitude of industries throughout Santa Cruz County.
Shannon Stabler, Community & Public Relations for the Santa Cruz Warriors, is responsible for bringing events to life and creating an experience fans will not forget which she found was difficult to do while working from home but not impossible. Being part of the live entertainment industry, she has had to adapt her entire workflow to stay connected with colleagues and fans. She told me, “[The Santa Cruz Warriors] have been able to adapt a majority of our community programs to a digital platform. For example, we have created a Mav’Rik Kids Corner for our GetFit and Math Warriors programs. Mav’Rik, the Santa Cruz Warriors mascot, has supplied worksheets and activities for kids to complete at home! We may not be going to classrooms, but kids can still stay connected to the Warriors.” While I know the community at large, just as the entire Warriors organization, is waiting for the day live basketball can resume – Shannon and her team have found an inventive way to keep everyone connected.
Ash Gonzales, Donor Engagement Manager for United Way of Santa Cruz County, found that it was not easy at first to shift immediately to a work from home model but there are two major things everyone should focus on when needing to create a new work routine that works. She told me that new habits require a positive mindset and patience. And to make this work transition easier, she shifted her mindset from thinking "what I have to get done" to "what I get to do" now that she is home. A major benefit from working from home during this global pandemic is that she now has the opportunity to spend more time with family and invest in herself by learning new skills online. So, if you find yourself feeling challenged having to create a new work routine, do as Ash did — bring your creativity out and shift to a positive mindset!
Ashley Holmes, Marketing and Brand Coordinator for the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History (the MAH), has a unique experience as she had the opportunity to work remotely prior to the Shelter in Place. For three months last year she worked remote while traveling, where every 4-5 days she was off to another city. At this point, it was easy to have everything blend together (life, work, eating, play, social time) and she acknowledged that one could feel overwhelmed by everything you could do in a day or then feel disappointed by night thinking you did not spend your daytime wisely. But she told me that “what kept her sane on the road was finding moments and routines that still feel familiar despite all the change.” For example, while she was traveling and now today while working from home — her day does not start without first enjoying a cup of coffee. It is this small relaxing routine that allows her to ease into her day, reflect on the highs and lows of the day before, and then take an honest look at what she wants/needs to accomplish today. So, if you find yourself feeling overwhelmed, do as Ashley did — find that familiar routine that works for you!
Joey Coffman, Technology Operations Manager at Bay Federal Credit Union, has found it has been a smooth transition to the work from home. He was fortunate that his employer (Bay Fed) was able to adapt and stay proactive by developing ways to not only keep their staff employed and working, but most importantly keep them all safe at home. Within a 30-day span his team set up over 100 users to work from home until further notice, which is nearly 50 percent of their staff. He told me the key to empowering staff to work from home effectively is to provide them with “different tools and technologies — such as Microsoft Teams for communication and collaboration — so that groups, teams, and individuals can still strategize and have video conferences to communicate effectively (with the occasional funny GIF of course).” Joey states, he “can’t help but see how well this could work in better global times.” I think we can all take a page from Joey’s book, take away the positives from the situation we are in and utilize technology to be proactive now and in the future.
Jenna Rodriguez, Development Coordinator at Digital Nest, found that it was a smooth transition to working from home and therein lies opportunities. She has been very fortunate to work for a nonprofit that had the ability to create a virtual workspace so that all of their staff had the resources they needed at home and, going one step further, continues to check-in with each one of their team members individually on personal needs. Separately, Jenna is able to spend her evenings and weekends working on her “side hustle” which is a fun way to follow one’s passion and make a supplementary income. Seeing so many people she works with lose their jobs due to this pandemic has made her realize how valuable a side hustle can be as this is an online business opportunity that can be done from your home. Ultimately, she feels extremely blessed to be working for Digital Nest, continuing to support our youth and greater community during these trying times — but she also feels fortunate to have her side hustle which can provide relief in terms of worst-case scenarios like the pandemic we are facing today. If you are looking to create an online business or find a way to make a supplementary income, do as Jenna did and find a side hustle.
Lastly, I heard from Laurie Egan, Programs Director for the Coastal Watershed Council, and I will leave you with the tips I learned from her. These turbulent times have her looking around the world and feeling a huge swell of gratitude for the people, pets and places in her life. While her day-to-day work has completely flipped on its head with hands-on environmental education and volunteerism moving to virtual venues, she is working on striking a new balance. She told me she is “striving to embrace the flexibility that work from home offers and challenging myself to use this as an opportunity to examine my work from a new angle and think about things differently.” A few recommendations she has: Read Nina Simon’s (former Executive Director of the MAH) recent post, “How Can I Contribute? Four Steps I’m Taking to Figure it Out”, explore nature wherever you are by utilizing the Coastal Watershed Council’s Watershed Rangers activities as your guide, and try something new like the Yoga For All Movement’s mindfulness resources.
I want to express my thanks to the Emerging Leaders who took time to share their stories with me so that I could then share them with you. I want to also express how thankful I am that with shelter in place orders and having to work from home, we have all found ways to adapt, move forward, and stay connected — and that is the most important thing so we can navigate through this pandemic together. Whether through switching your programs to a digital platform, embracing your inner creativity, finding your familiar routine to keep you centered, hosting virtual meetings to stay collaborative and connected, creating a side hustle, or embracing this new flexibility work from home offers, the common theme from each Emerging Leader’s personal account above is the same. We can be grateful and appreciative of what we do have, adapt to the new normality and learn from it, and we will not only grow stronger from this experience – we will thrive and continue to serve our greater community.