Economic Support Supervisor, Adam Chorlton
The Capital Consortium includes staff from 8 counties (Adams, Columbia, Dane, Dodge, Juneau, Richland, Sauk and Sheboygan) that cooperate to provide economic assistance and work services to our residents. For the past 5 years we have had interested staff participate in a Leadership Academy to build skills through interactive trainings, participate in a project management team, and build relationships with others across our Consortium.
The Academy meets one day a month for 8 months and consists of ESS (Economic Support Specialists), support staff, new leads, and new supervisors. FEI provides training on the topics below for half of the day, and the other half is used for follow up discussion on those topics and project management. We have worked with FEI over the years to tailor their trainings for our staff to make them more relevant to the work they do. The project for all of the participants is to work throughout the year to design an activity to engage about 180 people at our November Consortium meeting.
Trainings provided by FEI:
The Academy has 10-15 participants each year from the various counties in the Capital Consortium. While the formal training and project management are the focus of the Academy, we have found that the relationships that are built between staff both within Dane County and across our entire Consortium are the most valuable piece. With so many staff working remotely and with the nature of working with people across the large geographic area of 8 counties, we have found the bonds built through the Academy have served us well.
