News from the Peak

On this episode we welcome Author, Photographer and Restorative Justice Scholar Howard Zehr. This episode is focused on his book Still Doing Life, 22 Lifers, 25 Years Later which is a follow up to a book he published in the 1990's. In addition to the book, we talk to him about the concept of restorative justice, and get some insights into his other projects. A fascinating guest, and after you listen you will want to visit our website for links to all his work. Be sure to listen to the end! Real fans know... 

In this edition of our Community Table Talks series, we speak with 4 guests with different perspectives and experiences with the Child Welfare program. We start with Judge Ann Meinster from Jefferson County Colorado, Korey Elder, the Permanency Manager from the Colorado Division of Child Welfare, Ángela Quijada-Banks, author of The Black Foster Youth Handbook: 50+ Lessons I Learned to Successfully Age-Out of Foster Care and Holistically Heal (Soulful Liberation Publishing), and Bill DeLisio, the Family Law Program Manager at the Colorado State Court Administrator's Office. Each guest offers their own perspective on our two questions - What is the most pressing issue in Child Welfare Today, and What is the number one way we can make a substantial difference. The panel has a lot to say, and shares some big ideas. 

More information on the guests, and links to their other work, can be found on our website at Grayspeakstrategies.com in the News from the Peak section. We encourage you to also search for the Soulful Liberation Podcast to hear more from Ángela Quijada-Banks.

In this episode we proudly present the first podcast interview with the new OCSE Commissioner Tanguler Gray. In this episode we celebrate her success, talk about her background, and get just a little preview of her approach to this new and exciting role. We get to also get a sense of her warm and welcoming personality, her sense of humor, and her commitment to the program and child support professionals across the country. 

From the OCSE Website - 

Tanguler Gray serves as the commissioner of the Office of Child Support Enforcement at the Administration for Children and Families within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Prior to her appointment in the Biden Administration in December 2021, Gray was a deputy commissioner in the Georgia Department of Human Services.  She previously served as the director for the division of child support services in Georgia, with over 26 years of leadership and child support experience there.  Gray has served as a member of the board for the National Child Support Enforcement Association, including president and secretary, and is serving a second term as a board member of the Eastern Regional Interstate Child Support Association.

She graduated from Valdosta State University and has a daughter and a son.

On this episode we re-visit the topic of peer support groups first introduced on this podcast in April of 2020. At that time we had just begun working with the State of Colorado on a grant to expand the use of peer support groups and study their effectiveness. In this episode we are joined by three people who serve as coordinators and leaders of the group in Montezuma County, Colorado. We get a look at how this really works from the point of view of participants, group leaders and parents who have been through the system. 

In this episode we asked several members of the GPS team to talk about 2021 and how the work we did and the people we've been fortunate to cross paths with has made this a good year. 2021 had it's ups and downs and it wasn't the huge relief over 2020 that we may have expected, but there was a lot of good stuff. Thanks for spending this time with us, and we are very excited for what we have coming up in 2022, both on the podcast and with Grays Peak Strategies in general. Speaking on this episode - in order of appearance - Joe Mamlin, Maureen Leif, Robert Riddle, Jasmine Robinson, David Ramm, Liz Bullard and Puni Kalra. Listen to the end! Watch for more episodes soon! 

In this episode we welcome back wildlife artist Carl Ramm. As many listeners remember, Carl is part of a team that manages bears—Alaska Peninsula brown bears, to be exact—at Brooks Camp in Alaska’s Katmai National Park. As part of a team of bear techs, he helps track the bears’ movement and, as much as possible, guides them away from the camp’s many visitors and toward a place that’s safer for bears and humans alike. In this episode we hear all about Fat Bear Week from Explore.org. Visit the website soon – voting begins September 29 and ends on October 3. The episode begins with the conversation in progress – they got excited – and features Carl Ramm, David Ramm and Maureen Leif.

For many people, when you hear the term “Executive Coaching” you think of high powered CEO’s and tall office buildings and corner offices. I know I would have thought that too – until recently. I’ve learned that executive coaching is something that can be of great value to anyone in a leadership position – and can be particularly helpful in the public sector.

On today’s show, we welcome back Liz Bullard and Puni Kalra – who we have heard from on this podcast before. Liz and Puni, in addition to their other skills are both certified executive coaches. And today they talk to Maureen Leif about what executive coaching really is, how it can be applied in the public sector, and what they have seen in their combined experience coaching leaders across a wide array of programs.

After our conversation with Liz and Puni, we get a chance to also hear from Doug Gray, who was one of the leaders who has been working with Liz as his coach for quite some time. So hopefully it will give you an even better insight into why this can be so valuable.

As most of our listeners know, the child support program has been evolving since it’s creation as part of the Social Security Act in 1975. One of the most significant changes we have seen – and probably the hardest to accomplish – has been the transition from being focused on enforcement to being focused on families. The Child Support program, and the people we serve in the program, has contact with more families than any other social service program and with that we have both a great deal of responsibility as well as a great deal of opportunity.

On today’s show, we welcome Christine Wolf, who is a social worker from the Clark County District Attorney’s Office, Family Support Division – Christine works with child support cases in Las Vegas and throughout Clark County and she is the perfect example of what we can do when we focus on the opportunity we have in this program to help families find the resources and help they need to move forward.

For more information on the Clarke County program, or to share ideas on how you might start your own, Christine has generously provided her contact information - Christine Wolf, MSW, LSW, Clark County Office of the District Attorney, Family Support Division. Email [email protected]. 

This is a conversation about how to continue to grow as people and how we can always bring compassion to others. We talk about the examples through Black Lives Matter and Palestine but it’s really a story for living with a true purpose to care for others, to continue to explore the realities of what we hear on our chosen new outlets, to continue to listen to one another and stay engaged. The biggest take away for me personally is that we can not remain indifferent to injustice, we must all stand up for the vulnerable. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I loved having it!

They say time flies when you’re having fun. It seems like one day you are the new kid starting your first job at the local county office, then you wake up the next day and suddenly you are the wise veteran, with enough years of service to think about the next chapter. As retirement becomes a reality, what things should you be considering? What options are available to you, and how do you want the next few years to look?