| Wayside 2008 Staff Awards |
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Wayside Youth & Family Support Network is pleased to announce the winners of this year’s Wayside Staff Awards. Staff are nominated by their peers for work that exemplifies Wayside’s commitment to building strength, hope and resiliency in the youth and families we serve!
And the winners are…
Suzanne Boucher, Wayside Multi – Spirit of Excellence
Aaron Boykai, ShortStop – Spirit of Positive Attitude
Anthony Capraro, Malden Area Lead Agency – Spirit of Community
Maureen Carville, Family Works – Spirit of Teamwork
Daniel Clionsky, 12 Prescott – Spirit of Positive Attitude
Kristen Cockshaw, Home Base/Take Charge – Spirit of Excellence
The Nonpareil Hilario, Boys Program- Harbinger House – Spirit of Priorities
Eboni Hobbs, Home Base/Take Charge – Spirit of Teamwork and Positive Attitude
Rachel Hypolite, Framingham Area Lead Agency – Spirit of Positive Attitude
Greg-Jean Joseph, Boys Program – Spirit of the Essence of Teamwork
Robin Joyce, Worcester Area Lead Agency – Spirit of Teamwork
Colleen Kelly, Home Base/Take Charge – Spirit of Excellence and Integrity
Eugenia Kourlos, Administration – Spirit of Excellence
Oscar Landaverde, Community Links/Tempo – Spirit of Respect
Amy Leone, Wayside Community Counseling – Spirit of Community
Graciela Lugo, Home Base/Take Charge – Spirit of Positive Attitude and Integrity
Rebecca McCall, Trauma Intervention – Spirit of Respect
Kathleen McNamara, Wayside Academy – Spirit of Teamwork
Amy Michaels, MetroWest Counseling Center – Spirit of Teamwork
Jamal Moore, Wayside Day Center – Spirit of Positive Attitude
Pat Moran, Sudbury Street – Spirit of Teamwork
Emily Niejadlik, Family Works – Spirit of Excellence
Angela Pascoe Mullins, Esperanza – Spirit of Courage and Integrity
Christine Poirier, Wayside Community Counseling – Spirit of Teamwork and Respect
Jeshialix Ramos, Family Works – Spirit of Positive Attitude
Dena Rentumis, Harbinger Edgell – Essence of Teamwork
Jeff Roberts, Arlington Area Lead Agency – Spirit of Integriy
Liora Schmidt, MetroWest Counseling Center - Spirit of Positive Attitude
Anne Sullivan, Lois DeRusha, Dana Farley & Yolanda Ortiz, Parent Partnership – Spirit of Community
Zelita Vieira, South Central Area Lead Agency – Spirit of Diversity
Gini Woodrum, MetroWest Counseling Center – Spirit of Teamwork
Thalia Vitikos, MetroWest Counseling Center – Spirit of Integrity
Suzanne Boucher, Wayside MultiSpirit of Excellence: Suzanne embodies the spirit of excellence in many ways and she is a shining star at the Multi and in the field of prevention. Suzanne works hard and is successful at bringing in grant monies for innovative projects that advance the work of the Multi. Her excellence impacts the entire Multi team and enables us all to be excellent as well. She brings an abundance of creativity and beauty to our work and to the lives of those we serve.
Aaron Boykai, ShortStopSpirit of Positive Attitude: Aaron is a veteran at ShortStop. He is always uplifting and helps participants get through tough times through his positive outlook on life. His peers admire his attitude and enjoy working with and learning from Aaron.
Anthony Capraro, Malden Area Lead AgencySpirit of Community: Anthony has worked hard to become more organized while juggling the many changing tasks and expectations of the Service Coordinator position. Throughout this he continues to bring levity and humor to the workplace while remaining clinically focused. His sense of humor and playfulness creates a more enjoyable work atmosphere as well as creating moments of stress relief for his co-workers. While often playful with co-workers, he is skilled at using this quality in a professional manner in meetings with families and collaboration with DCF.
Maureen Carville, Family WorksSpirit of Teamwork: Maureen has been an amazing addition to the team. She immediately reached out to others both within the program and outside to develop positive and productive relationships. She puts a lot of work, effort and care into her job, and is often sought after by colleagues as someone to “team” cases with. In addition, many outside collaterals have been impressed with her work and collaboration skills. Maureen is constantly coming up with ideas to promote unity among all team members. Maureen genuinely lifts up all around her.
Daniel Clionsky, 12 PrescottSpirit of Positive Attitude: Daniel Clionsky always brings a positive, strength-based approach to his work as a residential counselor at 12 Prescott. He is willing to pitch in whenever he is needed. He always engages residents with optimism and respect. He organizes program activities with enthusiasm and is greatly appreciate by residents and staff alike for his can do spirit.
Kristen Cockshaw, Home Base/Take Charge Spirit of Excellence: Although still relatively new to HomeBase, Kristen has already made a significant impression in the program for her level of creativity, energy, and level of hard work. She clearly goes “above and beyond” in her efforts to assist client families in achieving their goals and she does so with a level of professionalism and clinical acumen that belies her “newness” to the position.
The Nonpareil Hilario, Boys Program- Harbinger HouseSpirit of Priorities: Hilario comes to work everyday with the hope of making difference in the lives of our clients. Hilario brings many years of experience to Wayside and he is a true asset to the boys program.
Eboni Hobbs, Home Base/Take Charge Spirit of Teamwork and Positive Attitude: Eboni exemplifies what “teaming” means. She is supportive, goes the extra mile for her clients, and communicates regularly and frequently with her team-mates. She is noted to have a style in her work that ALWAYS, ALWAYS highlights her clients’ strengths and in which she demonstrates grace and tact in the most difficult and complicated situations. Without exception, other staff with whom she shares clients enjoy their collaboration and note how much they appreciate her perspective, her sense of team work, and her sense of humor.
Rachel Hypolite, Framingham Area Lead Agency Spirit of Positive Attitude: The Framingham Family Networks team would like to nominate Rachel Hypolite for the Spirit of Positive Attitude! "Rachel is always a constant positive to the team and to all that come to the unit @ DCF. Although she has only been with us for a short time her positive attitude, professionalism and spunk has been contagious."
Greg-Jean Joseph, Boys ProgramSpirit of the Essence of Teamwork: Greg has been a dedicated team member for over five years, and has worked extremely hard integrating the two boys programs into one program that provides two different services. Greg is an asset to the boys program, and the agency is extremely fortunate to have him as an employee. Greg is truly committed to his team and lives by the value that “we believe in each other” and that is how the work get’s completed on a daily basis.
Robin Joyce, Worcester Area Lead AgencySpirit of Teamwork: Robin made up half the team of two for the first two months of the Worcester Area Lead, which was doing the work of eight, and Robin did much more than the Education Coordinator role she was hired to fulfill. When new staff joined the team, Robin was responsive to orienting and training the Service Coordinators and the Care Manager while continuing to coordinate educational services for youth. Her professional and approachable manner helped her forge a strong partnership with the Worcester Public Schools, a very important and strategic relationship. Robin helped the program get off to a strong start and with her as a member of the team, it is sure to continue!
Colleen Kelly, Home Base/Take ChargeSpirit of Excellence and Integrity: Colleen is a clinician who goes above and beyond to help the families with whom she works. She forms strong relationships with her clients and with her high level of commitment, creativity, clinical skills, and integrity, she helps clients to achieve their goals. At the same time, Colleen constantly works to grow her repertoire of skills so as to be the best clinician possible and, at the same time, to be able to share her growing skills with her colleagues. She constantly shows clear commitment to her own growth and is a tremendous asset to the HomeBase Program! Eugenia Kourlos, AdministrationSpirit of Excellence: Eugenia is incredibly helpful and friendly. She is clearly a hard worker, and yet she is always quick to answer questions and respond to requests for information from her co-workers with a smile. She is a wealth of information on everything, and is a wonderful face of Wayside.
Oscar Landaverde, Community Links/TempoSpirit of Respect: Oscar started with CommunityLinks street outreach and immediately earned the admiration, respect, and trust of the whole Tempo program. In his calm, intelligent, deeply caring way, he has helped to ground the young adults who bring drama and challenges to the program. As the newest Transition Facilitator, he has clearly made his mark with co-workers as well! “Everything – seriously everything!” – Oscar does is out of pure respect for co-workers and young adults. He will always say ‘yes’ when asked to do something and will offer when no one else can.
Amy Leone, Wayside Community CounselingSpirit of Community: Amy demonstrates excellence on a regular basis. She has written grants, developed new programs and created an area-wide Advocacy Group. Amy gives everything her 100%, achieves her goals, always has a positive attitude, and is well-liked by her peers. Amy is determined and dedicated to making a difference in the community, and is the face of Wayside in the Milford area.
Graciela Lugo, Home Base/Take ChargeSpirit of Positive Attitude and Integrity: One of her colleagues who nominated Graciela says it best when she states “Graciela lives up to her name, as she is filled with grace.” Graciela is a committed and compassionate clinician and extremely caring colleague. She is noted to always see the positive side of things with the most challenging of clinical situations, and demonstrates a gentle yet very uplifting spirit that can easily calm family members during a difficult home visit.
Rebecca McCall, Trauma InterventionSpirit of Respect: Whether she is working with children or adults, Rebecca is always respectful of her clients. She is a natural counselor. Her compassion extends to her clients in the court and with her individual clients in the office. Rebecca never leaves a call unanswered or a client alone during their greatest time of need. She is well respected and admired by her clients and her peers.
Kathleen McNamara, Wayside AcademySpirit of Teamwork: Kathleen brings a passion for art and shares her wealth of information not only with her students, but with her teaching peers. It is not atypical for her to inquire with her peers as to how she can be supportive to them. She is always looking to problem solve and take on new team tasks which enrich the school community. Kathleen engages in daily conversations with students about art contests, expanding their skill sets and showing the world their artistic abilities! By far, Kathleen demonstrates the cornerstone of Teamwork at the Academy!
Amy Michaels, MetroWest Counseling Center Spirit of Teamwork: Amy is always thinking of her colleagues and offering assistance before anyone asks. She is easy to collaborate with, and continuously compromises to put her colleagues’ needs with hers, is not before. Amy also goes out of her way to work on behalf of clients. Her clients are well served, and for Amy, it’s not just a job. Jamal Moore, Wayside Day CenterSpirit of Positive Attitude: Jamal is an unusually upbeat person that sets a humorous tone and builds strength in the community with his commitment to positive thinking. He demonstrates his commitment to the clients by spending quality time conversing about life and what’s important to them, allowing them to speak freely and express all their thoughts and opinions. Jamal appropriately challenges the youth to reach their individual goals and does not back off setting boundaries and enforcing values, even when this appears to be less than upbeat and positive to them. Jamal is a favorite for most clients and staff!
Pat Moran, Sudbury Street Spirit of Teamwork: Pat has been a dedicated Wayside team member for many years. She consistently offers guidance, resources, and support to her teammates. She regularly covers on-call and is the first to offer help with planned events, meetings, improving component clinical documents or covering for someone. She is known to come in on days off and has always helped out over the summer when the clinical team has less support. She works collaboratively towards improving the lives of our clients.
Emily Niejadlik, Family WorksSpirit of Excellence: Emily is dependable and hard working and is able to see strengths and hope in even the most difficult situations. She always gives 100% both to her clients and colleagues, and is able to work effectively with both parents and kids, balancing clinical and case management responsibilities seamlessly. Emily is a very talented worker with superior clinical instincts and impressive professionalism, and is gifted with amazing positive energy that is contagious. Whether it is volunteering to pick up Toys for Tots or Take Charge, Emily is a strong part of our team and in invigorating team member.
Angela Pascoe Mullins, Esperanza Spirit of Courage and Integrity: Angela is the picture of Courage and Integrity. She displays this to the clients and the staff on a daily basis through her actions, words and the decision to follow through with what she knows is right and just. Angela has always been dedicated to sharing her strength and courage with others in a way that is natural and second nature. This is purely because of who she is.
Christine Poirier, Wayside Community CounselingSpirit of Teamwork and Respect: Christine always goes above and beyond, and always with a smile! Her helpfulness is greatly appreciated by her peers, and she is well-liked and respected by her team.
Jeshialix Ramos, Family WorksSpirit of Positive Attitude: Jeshia has filled the large shoes of her mother in the administrative assistant role. She is one of the first faces to greet me in the morning and always has encouraging words to share. She is truly a “Ramos” when it comes to her optimism and strength based approach to most any situation. Jeshia always faces new challenges with a smile and “can do” attitude. he always has her finger on the pulse of the department, and knows what is going on and the answers to every question.
Dena Rentumis, Harbinger EdgellEssence of Teamwork: Dena has made the transition to the challenging role of Residential Supervisor with a steadfast effort to improve herself, the team, and the program. Dena works hard to incorporate all of Wayside’s values into each shift that she leads ensuring that the clients feel safe, supported, and challenged to reach their goals. Dena values every member of the team and works hard to unify the team. She supports each individual team member’s work, no matter what shift they work or role they play in the program. Dena’s teammates hold her in high regard and describe her as consistent, respectful, helpful, positive, and dedicated.
Jeff Roberts, Arlington Area Lead AgencySpirit of Integrity: Jeff has been a steady, calming force through that many ups and downs of Family Networks and his dry sense of humor keeps his team going. He maintains a soft presence in family meetings, which social workers have reported to be very comforting to the family members he serves. Jeff is great at supporting whoever is on duty, understanding and following protocol, and offering encouragement to peers. Jeff is true and genuine in all his interactions with clients, providers, social workers, and colleagues alike.
Liora Schmidt, MetroWest Counseling Center Spirit of Positive Attitude: Liora is genuine, warm, empathetic, and intelligent. She is a unifying force that allows her team to feel good in her presence.
Anne Sullivan, Lois DeRusha, Dana Farley & Yolanda Ortiz, Parent PartnershipSpirit of Community: We would like to nominate all the team members of the Parent Partnership Program for our Spirit of Community. Each one regardless of position within the program has energy of a common purpose through enthusiasm, abilities, attitudes, tolerance, motivation and professionalism. We help young adults, parents and families connect and feel accepted. Our relationship with these people helps to provide a sense of belonging in the larger community. We are a team working together to serve the community.
Zelita Vieira, South Central Area Lead Agency Spirit of Diversity: Zelita displays a strong commitment to diversity, ensuring that the families we serve are treated with respect and dignity. She provided training to DCF on enhancing cultural sensitivity and respect for families of diverse backgrounds, and to dispel some beliefs that workers may have. Zelita is working on a new collaboration with DCF staff to start a series of workshops to further staff knowledge and openness towards people of diverse backgrounds. Zelita actively advocates for families she meets with to make sure that their cultural differences are accounted for in service delivery and treatment planning.
Gini Woodrum, MetroWest Counseling CenterSpirit of Teamwork: Gini has volunteered at the MWCC for the past four years, after working for Wayside for over 30 years. Gini likes to keep busy, is always looking for more work to do, and is very agreeable when asked to do any task. Gini, at age 83, is an inspiration to us all with her energy, commitment, positive attitude, and sense of humor.
Thalia Vitikos, MetroWest Counseling CenterSpirit of Integrity: Thalia has demonstrated a persistent commitment to work creatively with one of our agency’s most vulnerable, marginalized populations: developmentally disabled individuals. She works to give them self-respect, dignity, and joy in artistic musical self-expression, and always with humor, respect, and good naturedness.
Congratulations to all the winners! |