Dear Volunteers,
CASA of Santa Barbara County has had a number of staff changes recently. And while change can be difficult, it also means opportunity.
Our Development Director left in late November for a great opportunity for him. We took that change as an opportunity to look at our fundraising department differently, and two of our staff were promoted to help create a new approach to fundraising. Kira and Crystal both received promotions, and they are already doing a great job learning and innovating, and they have big plans for the new year!
With Crystal moving to a new department, an opportunity was created for a new Recruiting and Training Coordinator position, and CASA volunteer Tina Fisher was selected for that important position. Tina shared that it is basically her "dream job" and we were excited to welcome her to the team earlier this month.
Kira's former position of Outreach Coordinator is currently posted and we hope to fill it soon. Fun fact: Kira, Crystal, and I have all held that position!
And this week, long time CASA Advocate Supervisor Tristin Sherman is leaving us, after nearly 10 years, for a great opportunity at UCSB. Again, while sad to see Tristin leave, we are excited for her and her new career move. This opening creates opportunity for some of our existing staff members to move to a new location that suits them better in terms of their commute and personal needs. Chantel, who had expressed a desire to move to the Santa Barbara office if and when there was an opening so that she could live closer to family and friends, now has the opportunity to make that move. And Britannia, who lives in Santa Maria, will now have a much shorter commute, as she takes over Chantel's caseload.
We are hiring for the position in Lompoc that is open now with Britannia's move to the Santa Maria office - so it's an opportunity to welcome a new person to our team. In the process of all this change, a few other volunteers will be assigned to a new advocate supervisor to help us with the transition.
I want to acknowledge that change can be difficult. In the past, volunteers have told us that they don't like having to change from one supervisor to another. And yet, I hope I can encourage you to embrace the opportunity to get to know new or different members of our team. Please bear with us as we work through all of this change together, and thank you for your patience!
Yours in Advocacy,
