AROUND THE CENTER
Staff Spotlight: Patricia Heilbron, Director of the Treu-Mart Youth Development Fellowship Program
Q: You joined the Mandel Center in October 2004 as the Director of the Treu-Mart Youth Development Fellowship Program. What career path has led you to this position?
A: I spent 30+ years working with youth in public schools. During the last years of my career in education I was a principal and spent a great deal of time on program design and implementation, as well as staff development. Working with the Fellowship was a logical next step for me after I retired from public education.
Q: How do you feel your previous experiences have helped prepare you for working with the Fellowship Program?
A: Many of the skills that I used in my previous work are skills that I utilize in my work with the Fellowship. The people I work with may be employed in a different arena, but the skills needed to work with youth are similar across environments.
Q: What is your favorite part about working with the Fellowship? What is the most challenging part?
A: I enjoy my contact with the Fellows. They energize me and I am in awe of the work that they do with youth on a daily basis.
The most challenging part of my job is watching Fellows and their agencies struggle over funding issues and sustainability. There are excellent youth programs supporting the needs of the youth of our community and they are often in crisis mode due to financial concerns.
Q: What are the goals for the Fellowship Program and how do you envision accomplishing those goals?
A: The goals for the Fellowship have been developed in partnership with the Mandel Center and the Treu-Mart Fund. The Fellowship is a professional development program geared toward assisting youth professionals to nurture the strengths of youth and to focus on those strengths when designing youth programming. We hope to make a difference in the quality of programming that youth in our community have access to during out-of-school time and to highlight the need for quality out-of-school programming in the larger community.
Q: What other organizations, hobbies, interests, etc are you currently involved in?
A: I have just completed a course on strategic planning through the Mandel Center and had the wonderful opportunity to work with a community agency that provides housing and services to women. In my "off time" I enjoy tennis and the company of my family and a wonderful network of friends.
Q: Anything else of interest that you'd like to share about yourself...
A: My husband and I are the proud parents of two adult daughters, one who resides in Washington, D.C. and works in marketing and development for a nonprofit organization. My other daughter lives in North Carolina and is employed at a marketing firm that specializes in college sports.
You can contact Patricia at 216.368.1916 or patricia.heilbron@case.edu.
