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The Big Picture: Salem, Sticky Notes and Seeing the Whole System
Season 1, Episode 91: July 8, 2026
Length: 26:57
This week, The Big Picture comes from South Salem, where we sit down with Kylie Pedraza, a lead worker at the South Salem branch, and Rodrigo Rodriguez, branch operations manager for District 2, to talk about a rapid process improvement event focused on eligibility interviews, triage and serving Oregonians at first contact.
The conversation starts with a very government-sounding sentence about RPI, eligibility scheduling and statewide workflow changes, then quickly turns into something much more human. Kylie and Rodrigo describe how staff from across Oregon came together to examine what was not working, including the time spent chasing appointments, the challenges of online applications and the gap between how a process is designed and how it actually feels for staff and customers.
They also talk about what made the event different: people from storefront offices, the Virtual Eligibility Center, support staff, eligibility workers, leads, managers, policy and labor all in the same room. With sticky notes, process maps and a shared goal, the group could see how one decision moves through many hands—and how a small pain point in one part of the system can become a much bigger challenge somewhere else.
For Kylie and Rodrigo, the experience changed how they look at the work. It showed them how decisions are made, how many people are affected by one process and why it matters to ask who else needs to be part of the conversation. It also reinforced that solving problems well is not about one office, one role or one perspective. It is about recognizing the whole system and making changes with the people who understand the work from the inside.
In the end, the conversation is about collaboration, curiosity and the value of bringing people together with a common purpose: making the process better for staff and for the Oregonians they serve. From South Salem to Gresham and across the state, it is a reminder that real improvement starts when people can see their piece, hear everyone else’s and understand how it all fits into… The Big Picture.
CreditsHost: Dr. Bethany Grace Howe, CommunicationsProduced by: Dr. Bethany Grace HoweContact: [email protected]
View all episodes
By Oregon Department of Human ServicesSeason 1, Episode 91: July 8, 2026
Length: 26:57
This week, The Big Picture comes from South Salem, where we sit down with Kylie Pedraza, a lead worker at the South Salem branch, and Rodrigo Rodriguez, branch operations manager for District 2, to talk about a rapid process improvement event focused on eligibility interviews, triage and serving Oregonians at first contact.
The conversation starts with a very government-sounding sentence about RPI, eligibility scheduling and statewide workflow changes, then quickly turns into something much more human. Kylie and Rodrigo describe how staff from across Oregon came together to examine what was not working, including the time spent chasing appointments, the challenges of online applications and the gap between how a process is designed and how it actually feels for staff and customers.
They also talk about what made the event different: people from storefront offices, the Virtual Eligibility Center, support staff, eligibility workers, leads, managers, policy and labor all in the same room. With sticky notes, process maps and a shared goal, the group could see how one decision moves through many hands—and how a small pain point in one part of the system can become a much bigger challenge somewhere else.
For Kylie and Rodrigo, the experience changed how they look at the work. It showed them how decisions are made, how many people are affected by one process and why it matters to ask who else needs to be part of the conversation. It also reinforced that solving problems well is not about one office, one role or one perspective. It is about recognizing the whole system and making changes with the people who understand the work from the inside.
In the end, the conversation is about collaboration, curiosity and the value of bringing people together with a common purpose: making the process better for staff and for the Oregonians they serve. From South Salem to Gresham and across the state, it is a reminder that real improvement starts when people can see their piece, hear everyone else’s and understand how it all fits into… The Big Picture.
CreditsHost: Dr. Bethany Grace Howe, CommunicationsProduced by: Dr. Bethany Grace HoweContact: [email protected]