Deona Dorsey is a program specialist at the San Diego Workforce Partnership. Here she tells a little bit about herself, both personally and professionally.
What is a typical day like for you?
My days are filled with so much wonder! I like to start my days early since there is always something new and interesting to learn—plenty of email correspondence, workshops, meetings, community events and, of course, administration details. One of the highlights of any given day is building new, meaningful relationships with my colleagues, community partners and the individuals and families we support through our workforce initiatives—it doesn’t get any better than that.
What do you like best about working in workforce development?
Influencing practices that deliver positive impacts to the most vulnerable communities. I’m really proud of the work we do at the Workforce Partnership and had a blast filming the “about us” video that provides a great introduction to our services.
In my experience, I’ve had the opportunity to assist families who receive supportive services through the County. This may include transitional age youth, San Diego’s homeless community, veterans, individuals who are differently abled, individuals who are in need of behavioral and mental health support and our diverse immigrant and refugee community. Currently my focus is on supporting programs that deliver pre-release and post-release holistic services and resources to our justice-involved community. The ultimate goal for San Diego is to reduce recidivism through sustainable employment and career pathways.
I continue to learn that San Diego’s multi-dimensional communities intersect and it’s important to support solutions that are accommodating to their situation.
What do you enjoy doing when you’re not working?
It brings me so much joy to spend time with my husband, two kids and two dogs. From volunteering in the community to going fishing, eating at an outrageously good restaurant, or taking a trip, we have the best conversations and are always laughing together along the way.