Who Am I?
I worked at Fire Safety Systems testing and installing fire alarm, communication, nurse call, CCTV, card swipe, and media retrieval systems. This helped to prepare me for understanding multiple construction projects across several years at two different schools.
Kevin
“I worked for a general contractor, mainly hauling, pouring, and finishing concrete. I also worked as an electrician’s assistant and for an HVAC contractor; we mainly did commercial and industrial work. These jobs were my first exposure to labor relations and union versus non-union work.”
Jess
Before joining BCPS, I worked as a Distribution Center Manager for a global healthcare medical and surgical supply distributor. This role prepared me for my current position by developing my ability to lead multifaceted and complex operations, coordinate across multiple facilities, lead large diverse teams, and maintain a strong focus on customer service, all of which are essential in my current position at BCPS.
Liz Becker
I was Deputy Director for Facilities Management at DC Public Schools. I had to appear before the school board and city council. I learned how to prepare for such sessions and how to manage my communication with elected officials.
Paul
U.S. Naval Officer. This job prepared me well to deal with uncertain situations.
Whit
Prior to my role in BCPS, I was the head if IT in three other Maryland School Systems (Kent, St. Mary's, Washington). Those roles are identical to the one I hold now with the exception of scale. What they taught me is that regardless of size, decisions, leadership, and transformative vision ialways occurs in groups of 5-10 people. Even in BCPS, 5-10 people can make a decision to dramatically change the direction of 20,000 employees. The underlying lesson is that the variable is time. In a system like Kent, a decision can be implemented in days; in St. Mary's and Washington, weeks; and Baltimore County, months to years.
Jim