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Happy New Year. We hope everyone had time for rest and relaxation with friends and family this past holiday season. January is usually a time of new beginnings and setting intentions for growth and accomplishments in the new year. Last week, the Capitol was attacked, leaving us angry, hurt, and in shock. This is not the way we want to begin a new year that we’ve had so much hope for, and we must remember our mission of resilience in the American people, and most especially, ourselves. As we wave goodbye to 2020, let us look at the next 51 weeks of 2021 with hope, excitement, and courage. Hope for a day free from COVID-19; excitement for new ideas, initiatives, and progress; and courage to persevere through the days that challenge us.
“The time is always right to do what is right.” These words of Martin Luther King Jr., whom we celebrate each January, encourage us to embody our core values of compassion, fairness, integrity, and respect. To make certain our intentions, whether new or old, are for the greater good. As a FEMA employee, our everyday duties are a call to service for the American people and have an impact on lives. No matter how dark the days get, we must always do the right thing for the greater good.
This year, the ORR Core Values team will continue to bring you the monthly ORR Core Values Chronicle with resources and upcoming events for FEMA staff and supervisors. We will continue to advocate for our policies to inform and direct through our core values. We hope to highlight and identify human-centric leadership trainings that help us successfully achieve our mission of helping people before, during, and after disasters. And we want to further recognize and congratulate FEMA staff, especially in the field, for their exceptional service to the American people.
Here’s to a new year and doing what is right. Always.
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This month's employee spotlight comes to us from FEMA Region 6.
Mike Lambrecht, DSA Branch Director, nominated David Lebsack, Region 6 Mission Resilience Team Lead.
“Dave embodies the respect core value. I’ve known him for ten years and observed his interactions and communications with very high senior leaders down through entry level personnel and Dave’s delivery does not change or fluctuate. He treats everyone with the same admiration and due diligence they deserve, regardless of their position, title or status. More importantly, because of the way Dave carries himself, he is a role-model to peers and subordinates alike and has earned their respect through his day-to-day actions, not just his supervisory duty titles.”
Would you like to nominate an employee or colleague who exemplifies FEMA Core Values? Email FEMA-ORR-CoreValues-Team@fema.dhs.gov to have them featured here.
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By: Latoya Bullard
Respect is the practice of acknowledging the value of the people we work with and serve. We are committed to active listening and welcoming diversity of thought, opinion, and background.
What does Respect mean to me?
“Show respect even to people who don’t deserve it; not as a reflection of their character, but as a reflection of yours.” - Dave Willis
I am honored to be a part of the front office where I service and support over 128 staff members in some capacity. My role as a Reports Specialist allows me to see the big picture of Consolidated Resource Center (CRC) Centrals’ overall goals and thus the importance of each staff members’ contributions relative to the success of the Program Delivery Branch. This awareness of our individual talents, skills, and differences has played a part in me showing respect intentionally. Hopefully my intentional efforts influence others to join along in moving our organizational culture on a continuum toward an imagined work environment.
An imagined work environment to me involves treating others the way I would want to be treated. Therefore, ideally, there would be no place for harassment, discrimination, bullying, workplace violence, unethical behaviors, or other disrespectful/illegal actions. Also, an imagined work environment involves: valuing the input of others regardless of their role; using appropriate body language when communicating; building accountability; using overall manners; engaging the interests and abilities of others and creating an atmosphere of openness relative to my own differences and the identity of others. One day, I hope to see this, but I know it will require a group effort and I believe FEMA is moving in the right direction by incorporating RESPECT as a core value.
Latoya Bullard Reports Specialist Consolidated Resource Center (CRC) - Central HQ Public Assistance Division
Would you like to share what FEMA Core Values means to you? Email FEMA-ORR-CoreValues-Team@fema.dhs.gov for more information.
By: Loralyn Smith
Building Inclusive Teams
FORGET “What Fits” and FOCUS on helping employees thrive
“What Fits” can exclude. The norms, power structures, and inequalities in society can easily become a part of our agency through hiring practices, select training and rewards for those “Who Fit." We need to refresh our values, mission and purpose, and define “What Fits” differently.
A starting point for this process looks like cultivating a culture where everyone has opportunities to contribute their full potential. We need to put a magnifying glass on the systems and processes in our agency and uncover sore spots and blind spots, and then find ways to rework them.
3 ways to create a work culture that brings out the best in employees | Chris White | TEDxAtlanta
Link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2y8SA6cLUys
Loralyn Smith Management Analyst RTPD | Recovery Directorate
Introducing FEMA Forward ADR Listening Sessions!
The FEMA Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Division is rolling out ADR listening sessions at disaster operations preparing to return to a physical worksite. Neutral ADR Advisors facilitate conversations around employee issues and concerns related to reentry into the physical workplace during COVID conditions. With support of the Field Operations Directorate and disaster leadership, ADR Advisors invite deployed individuals and teams to engage in open and honest discussion about the impact of returning to the workplace. Through conversation and the chat feature of MS Teams, participants are encouraged to share their thoughts and concerns. Links to resources are also shared in the presentation chat, along with any relevant leadership messaging. In addition to an open forum, ADR listening sessions also provide employees with the ability to provide 100% anonymous feedback using the interactive presentation platform, and anonymity extends to how the results are shared during the session for discussion purposes. After the ADR listening session, themes and trends are gathered and shared, without individual attribution, to field leadership who are committed to taking appropriate action based on the feedback. Employee feedback also helps to guide leadership re-entry planning and messaging. ADR listening sessions are one hour long, with up to 25 participants per session, and can be open enrollment or targeted to a particular team or work group. After a successful run in Puerto Rico, ADR listening sessions are currently being piloted at DR-4562-OR as the ADR Division works to ramp up capacity to expand to all open disaster operations.
If you are a part of JFO leadership, please contact Maile Beers-Arthur at maile.beersarthur@fema.dhs.gov to schedule an ADR FEMA Forward Listening Session. If you are a responder and would like to have an ADR FEMA Forward Listening Session scheduled at your event, please forward this information to your supervisor and express interest.
How to Demonstrate Respect in the Workplace - Create a Positive Work Culture for Your Employees
Respect is a key requirement for a healthy work environment. It promotes teamwork and increases productivity and efficiencies in the workplace. It lets employees know they are valued for their abilities, qualities and achievements, and that their role is important to their company's success.
Link to blog: https://www.thebalancecareers.com/how-to-demonstrate-respect-in-the-workplace-1919376
30 New Year Resolution Ideas for Employees
Find your best fit for 2021!
It is that time of the year where you make new year resolutions that can bring more inner peace and overall well-being. Simply put, it is the change that you want to get into your lifestyle or habits to live a better life. Check out new year resolution ideas for employees to help them build a more productive and healthy lifestyle.
Link to blog: 30 New Year Resolution Ideas for Employees (Find Your Best Fit for 2021) (vantagecircle.com)
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National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month
"Human trafficking is a horrific assault on human dignity that affects people in the United States and around the world. It tears apart communities, fuels criminal activity, and threatens the national security of the United States. During National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, we reaffirm our commitment to eradicate this abhorrent evil, to support victims and survivors, and to hold traffickers accountable for their heinous crimes."
Read the entire Proclamation here: Proclamation on National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, 2021 | The White House
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January 11 National Human Trafficking Awareness Day
DHS BLUE Campaign is a national public awareness campaign, designed to educate the public, law enforcement and other industry partners to recognize the indicators of human trafficking, and how to appropriately respond to possible cases. Blue Campaign works closely with DHS Components to create general awareness training and materials for law enforcement and others to increase detection of human trafficking, and to identify victims.
BLUE is the international color of human trafficking awareness. Wear BLUE on January 11, 2021, and share a photo on social media with #wearblueday to call attention to this crime.
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January 18: Martin Luther King Jr. Day
This day commemorates the birth of Martin Luther King Jr., the recipient of the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize and an activist for nonviolent social change until his assassination in 1968.
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Webinar: MLK Day of Service in the time of COVID-19
The Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Jan. 18, 2021, is the 26th anniversary of the day of service that celebrates the Civil Rights leader’s life and legacy. Observed each year on the third Monday in January as “a day on, not a day off,” MLK Day is the only federal holiday designated as a national day of service to encourage all Americans to volunteer to improve their communities. AmeriCorps has been charged to lead this effort for the last quarter century.
Link to webinar: MLK Day of Service (nationalservice.gov)
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African American FERG
Food for The Soul
African American FERG held a successful event in December called Food for the Soul. Recipes from this event are available here: Food for the Soul of FEMA Recipes
The Book Club will meet the last Wednesday of every month, from 12:00 – 1:00 pm, EST. (January 27th).
For more information about the African American FERG, click here: Intranet Site
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PRIDE FERG
The PRIDE FEMA Employee Resource Group will be having leadership elections in January. Currently, Alex Sachs and Jamie Casterton are co-chairs of FEMA Pride.
For more information about PRIDE FERG, click here: Intranet Site
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Veteran’s Advisory Council FERG
If interested in joining the VAC, send a message to FEMA-VeteransCouncil@fema.dhs.gov with Membership as the subject and include your branch of service, years of service, and rank at the end of service, if applicable. If you did not serve in the U.S. Military, you can still join. Just state you have not served, but would like to join the VAC. Semper Fidelis.
For more information about VAC FERG, click here: Intranet Site
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FEMA Women’s Forum
FEMA Women's Forum's mission is “to partner across the agency to engage, educate, and empower FEMA employees to advance the interests of women.” The Women’s Forum will have a new panel of officers for 2021, which we will announce next month.
For more information on FEMA Women's Forum, click here: Intranet Site
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The ORR Core Values Team appreciates your participation and feedback. We want our content to be concise, interesting, and useful. Please send your comments, ideas, and content to the ORR Core Values Team inbox at: FEMA-ORR-CoreValues-Team@fema.dhs.gov
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