Get to Know DiverseAbility ERG Secretary Valerie Prado
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The County has 10 great Employee Resource Groups (ERG). They are each led by a respective board who all demonstrate commitment and stewardship of its members to the various sectors of our community.
Get to know DiverseAbility ERG Secretary Valerie Prado, an administrative analyst with Behavioral Health Services.
Q: How long have you worked for the County and what departments have you worked for?
A: I’ve worked for the County for almost a year and a half now. I started off at the Document Processing Center, became an administrative secretary for Chief Darlene Beltran, and then promoted into my current role as an administrative analyst within Behavioral Health Services.
Q: What do you do in your role/what are your job responsibilities?
A: As an admin analyst on the contract support team, I assist in the coordination and facilitation of our monthly COR (contracting officer representative) meetings, support with the BHS procurement board letters, provide access to CAMs (a program used for contracts) and our SharePoint, and in general assist the admin analyst III with any project that comes our way.
Q: What’s your workplace superpower?
A: I believe my workplace superpower to be a mix of three things: my ability to connect with others, my commitment to building team spirit and my desire to see people succeed!
Q: Tell us a little bit about yourself outside of work.
A: Playing at parks and playgrounds was something I adored as kid and now that I have my own spunky toddler, I get to enjoy what San Diego has to offer in a new lens! San Diego has inclusive playgrounds with adaptive equipment that are ADA-accessible. It’s great to see that our parks welcome a large population of children and families who just want to have fun.
Q: What are you passionate about?
A: I am passionate about helping other people achieve success. It is one of the main reasons why I enjoy my job so much, I get to provide vital resources and training to all our CORS and Analysts while also looking for way to improve on delivery.
Q. What is the best advice you have received from a mentor?
A: Do not underestimate yourself.
Q: What are some resources that you find useful and recommend to others?
A: LMS is a treasure. The course on Emotional Intelligence improved how I communicate in the workplace and at home—I highly recommend this class.
If you can, sign up for UC Davis’ LEAD San Diego. An eye-opening course that my first supervisor pushed me to take and I’m grateful she did! The course supplemented the knowledge I had on my own Gallup Strengths, with the DiSC model. Since taking the course I feel that I can connect better with colleagues and people whose priorities and preferences differ from my own.
Q: Tell us about your ERG.
A: Our mission statement is to advance awareness and inclusion for people with disabilities, provide and promote professional development and leadership opportunities, and advocate for inclusiveness in and support of County initiatives.
Q: Why are ERGs important?
A: They help to create a better workplace for everyone as they strive to break down physical and mental barriers to inclusion, diversity and equity.
Q: What is your ERG looking forward to this year?
A: We recently planted trees at Dos Picos County Park, alongside EWA and CSDFEA. We are hoping we can collaborate on similar events soon. We have a virtual Lunch & Learn Series in the works, so stay tuned!
Also Read:
Get To Know MEERG President Mehdi Khalili
Get To Know EWA Board Member Diana Eid-Chammas
Get To Know SDCLA Secretary Alex Talaro
Get To Know LGBTQ&A ERG Board Member Ryan Trabuco
Get To Know APACE Vice President Annamarie Hernandez
Get To Know PISCE Treasurer Isobel Kinsang
Get To Know AAACE Secretary Nikki Horton
Get To Know VALOR Secretary Thomas Velasquez