Can you share a little bit about your journey to Valley Youth House and what inspired you to join the organization?

My initial introduction to Valley Youth House was actually during college. I was a psychology major with a women & gender studies minor, and I wanted to do an internship to see if working with people – helping people – was really what I wanted to do. And although I now live in Philly, I’m actually from Bethlehem, so when I was looking for internships, I was looking for them in the Lehigh Valley for when I moved back home during the summer between junior and senior year of college. I was accepted as a counseling intern at the Lehigh Valley Shelter in Bethlehem. And I thought it was a perfect fit just to kind of get my feet wet, especially in the counseling field. 

I remember it being very client centered, which I really liked. Years later when I was searching for a job towards the end of my Master’s Degree, I recalled that summer internship and I looked up Valley Youth House. There were a few positions that I was considered for and ultimately the Clinical Intake Specialist for the Independent Living program in Chester County and Delaware County just “fit”. So it was definitely a journey, but it was kind of serendipitous in a lot of ways too.

Can you share just a little bit about the different roles you’ve had here at Valley Youth House? I know right now you are the Associate Director of Training and Talent Development, but of course you just mentioned that’s not where you initially began.

Yes, so starting off with being on the program side, I was a clinical intake specialist for our Supervised Independent Living programs, which we call SIL. I was there for a few years acting as a clinical lead for our youth who were entering into that program. I helped to process referrals, complete intakes, work with youth in crisis situations, and introduce a wellness program too. Then I transitioned to the training department as a lead agency trainer. Since then, I’ve been promoted to the Associate Director of Training and Talent Development, which still includes a lot of the facilitation of our trainings, as well as some strategic planning with agency initiatives. I really enjoy this role and it varies day to day, which is my favorite part. It always keeps me on my toes!

I know you said it varies. But is there any way you could describe a “typical” day in your role?

I guess a typical day would include anything from actually running or facilitating trainings, to sometimes just working on scheduling them. A lot of times I also meet with staff or supervisors to help with anything training related. And there’s also my favorite part, which is curriculum design which allows me to create new trainings and enhance or update some of our current trainings. There also might be training initiatives that come down from either program specific requirements or region specific requirements. So being able to create or design curriculum is definitely something I enjoy and happens pretty frequently. 

There’s also the administrative side of things like our learning management system, Relias, and being able to handle anything from transcripts or enrollment, to troubleshooting questions. Also on a typical day, in addition to wearing the trainer hat, I also manage Valley Youth House’s internship programs. So I review applications for our interns or potential interns, which includes connecting with supervisors, connecting with students directly or even schools, and talking through prospective internship opportunities. So there’s definitely a lot!

What qualities do you think make someone successful in a role at Valley Youth House? Whether it’s the interns that you’re working with or full-time or part-time employees?

I think what makes someone a good fit for Valley Youth House is someone who’s personable. That doesn’t necessarily mean extroverted, but I think just being able to recognize that you’re in the people business. 

Another quality is to be flexible. I think that no matter your role or program or department, there can be many things to balance, so being flexible is definitely a good quality, which can be challenging for some who may like a lot of structure, and routine. But I think flexibility even within structure and routine can definitely make someone a good fit. 

The last quality would be empathetic – even trauma informed. But I think it really does help to be understanding and thoughtful and respond in a way that’s supportive and helpful. That applies to folks even outside of our client facing program staff. I think anyone and everyone really benefits when we’re all trying to be supportive and helpful.

Is there anything you would say that sets Valley Youth House apart from other organizations in terms of our workplace culture and the work that we do here?

I’ve felt the mission driven work ever since my start, even as an intern. I think even before we developed our current mission statement, people here really show up to do the work. And I think in a field where there are a lot of obstacles, barriers, and challenges that our youth face, our families face, and a lot of our staff face too – as well as challenges that are global or local – I think no matter what, people here really show up to do the work. When thinking about being mission driven, it’s not just like “talking the talk”, it’s really about walking the walk and doing the work.

In your role, you’re working directly with staff, both new and tenured – people who have been here for 25 plus years and people who just started a week ago. So I’m sure you hear a lot of different things from them. How do you see the organization supporting employees in both their professional growth and their personal growth as well?

I think at Valley Youth House, we recognize that the personal is also the professional. I think that there’s a really big overlap. There’s a reason why one of our core values is dedication! But the reason why we have the quality staff that we do is because people not only believe in the mission, but want to show up and do the work each and every day. Our teams and committees really pride themselves in making sure that their members feel heard and seen. We are really committed to making sure that the people who are doing the work have the support that they need. 

I think that kind of overlaps, both personally and professionally balancing things, with the tangible things like time off and flex scheduling, but then also on shift work, right? To be able to do the work. And I think that sense of community really permeates throughout our entire agency, but you really see that in the connections and relationships that staff build with one another.

What do you personally enjoy most about working at Valley Youth House?

What I enjoy most about working for Valley Youth House is the flexibility, especially when it comes to schedules. But also the creativity that that flexibility provides, too. I think about all of the problem solving that everyone has to do, no matter your role, and just being able to pivot as needed helps to create a culture of creativity. 

But I think I’d be remiss to not mention the staff – the people who work here either on my immediate team or all of the other various teams throughout the agency. I get to know almost every single person in the agency. For me, I like that in and of itself, but I think it’s so great to be able to meet and to learn about people’s experiences, what they bring to the table. And again, we’re in the people business. So especially in my role, just being able to meet everyone who’s coming from all sorts of different backgrounds and experiences and bringing all of their breadth and diversity of experience to the table in order to help meet the mission truly is one of my favorite things.

What advice would you give to someone who is considering applying at Valley Youth House?

My advice for someone considering applying for a job at Valley Youth House is twofold. One, I would say immerse yourself in our website so you’re familiar with who we are, our mission, our vision, our values. I think it’s really good to do your homework. It’s good to know who we are, what we stand for, and even the scope of programming too. Just to be able to understand our agency history and footprint is helpful too. 

But the second part is that we ask a lot of people upfront – clearances, paperwork, sometimes multiple interviews. So because we ask a lot of people upfront, my advice to folks who are interested in applying is definitely to be patient, and don’t be afraid to ask questions. I think that, again, all of us who work here are all in the people business. We’re “people people”. So being able to ask those questions about community and agency culture, and not being afraid to really get the answers that you’re looking for too is worth it.

How has working here impacted you personally and professionally?

I think working at Valley Youth House has impacted me personally and professionally in ways that I don’t think I knew it could. It’s helped me define and redefine what help and support means in this field. Starting with direct service and then moving towards more of this kind of administrative support role, it’s definitely helped me develop facilitation and trainer skills. It’s helped me to really feel confident and craft my own style of engaging with people. But it has also reaffirmed my interest and passion in spending time in truly trauma-informed spaces and being around people who are also interested in helping others. I think I’ve always known that, but it really helped to reaffirm it.

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Are you looking to take the next step in your professional journey? Visit ValleyYouthHouse.org/Careers to view available openings and apply today! At Valley Youth House, it’s not just a job – it’s a calling.