AshleyKuss Connections: What do you do at Evergreen? Ashley: I’m the Lead Community Nutrition Educator for the Nutrition Health Education Program. I educate clients about fitness, balanced meals, food safety, and healthy cooking. I work with clients both one-on-one and in groups. What’s your background? How did you end up working in nutrition? I’ve always had a love for all things wellness. I have a Bachelor’s of Science in Health and Wellness, and recently earned my Certified Health Education Specialist certification. I’m starting graduate school in the fall to earn my Master’s in Applied Clinical Nutrition. I had a six month internship with Evergreen (back when it was AIDS Community Services) in the Wellness Center. For that, I led nutrition and fitness workshops—something that I really enjoyed. About a year later, I was hired as the Nutrition Program Assistant, and the rest is history! In five sentences or less, tell us about Evergreen’s nutrition program. The main goal of the Nutrition Health Education program is to improve our clients’ skills, behaviors, and knowledge regarding healthy lifestyle choices. We use eight core modules, including addressing food insecurity through food vouchers and congregate meals. The Nutrition Team currently serves 76 clients (and counting!) who are seen monthly— whether it’s for fun and interactive workshops or individualized sessions. Clients graduate from the program with knowledge, confidence, and self-sufficiency to make the best choices that they can for themselves. What are some of the barriers to good nutrition that our clients face? Our clients often face financial limitations, transportation issues, and personal problems (like mental health issues, substance use, housing problems, etc.) that may take priority over good nutrition. The Nutrition Team uses a harm reduction model to work around these barriers to provide clients the best service possible. We meet clients where they are in their readiness
to improve their health. We encourage clients to take ownership of their health so that they are more invested and ready to make lasting changes. We also make referrals to additional services when needed. Tell us about a time when you really knew that you were making a positive difference in a client’s life. I know that I’m making difference when I see the smile on a client’s face when they’ve reached one of the goals that they set. I’ve had clients tell me that—without this program—they may have gone without food. Last week, a client stated that he had never eaten vegetables before starting this program! Why do you think he had never eaten vegetables? I don’t know exactly why that was the case for this client, but this isn’t an uncommon occurrence. Many of our clients haven’t been taught about healthy eating. They don’t know how to prepare vegetables, so they think that they don’t taste good. And, many of our clients believe that eating is too expensive for them. Lots of people adopt the eating habits of their parents and families. We help broaden our clients’ knowledge and experience of foods, and learn how to make healthy eating a delicious, affordable reality for them. What’s one thing you wish everyone knew about nutrition? Good nutrition is really important! Food can truly impact how you think and feel, and it plays a huge role in the delay/prevention of several chronic diseases. Try to make healthy choices that are right for YOU! What’s your favorite thing to cook up at home? I love to cook seasoned chicken thighs on my George Foreman, and have a nice side salad with some herbs. When you’re not at Evergreen, what are you doing? Any hobbies? I like to ride my bike, go for walks, read, and catch up on some good ol’ Netflix. What’s your favorite cooking/food-based reality show? I am not sure if this show is on anymore, but I loved to watch Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger. Also, I enjoy Master Chef Junior.
I was probably about 4 years old, on a family camping trip, going for a hike with my mom and picking black-eyed susans. To this day they are one of my favorite flowers. - Rob Baird r My earliest memory is watching my older brother and cousin play Street Fighter II on the Super NES. They would go at it for hours upon days, with my brother winning every fight. When my cousin finally beat him, he retired from playing. Good old carefree days. Hadouken! - Jasiel Guzman r My earliest memory was shopping with my mom at Filene’s basement, in my hometown of Paterson, New Jersey. My mom and I shopping nowadays takes all day and night! - Jackie Dixon r My earliest memory is a frozen image of my mom holding me in the hallway outside the apartment downstairs, while she talked to the woman who lived there. The woman has white hair, and she’s the oldest person I’ve ever seen. Recently I wondered if my perception was off because I was so young, and she was really thirty, but my mom said she was in her early 90s when we lived there. - John Carocci
My pro wrestler entrance song: Flight of the Bumble Bee - Rob Baird C My entrance song would be Ambition by Wale. - Carlos Paulino C Shawn Michaels HBK (Heart Break Kid) Theme Song, one of my favorite wrestlers and his theme song is one of the reasons why. - Jasiel Guzman C Tales of a Scorched Earth by Smashing Pumpkins. - Sal Sciandra C Artist: The Lady of Rage. Song: Afro Puffs. As everyone can clearly see, I have plenty of hair to go around, and most days it’s up in a Puffy ponytail. So, if you just heard a snippet of this song, one of its many lyrics “I rock rough ‘n stuff with my Afro puffs, rage rock on wit cha bad self”. My signature wrestler move would be knockin you out with a telephone. - Jackie Dixon C In These Shoes? by Kirsty MacColl. It opens with a distinctive guitar strum, so the audience would go wild, because hey, they love me. Then when the beat kicks in, I’d walk to the ring, and by the end of the first verse we’d all decide to cancel the match and just dance. - John Carocci
Connections AUGUST 2015
PUBLISHER/LAYOUT
John Carocci
COPY EDITOR
Martha Sawicki
CONTRIBUTORS
Tasheri Artis Martha Sawicki Kate Gallivan
Connections is a monthly newsletter for the employees of the Evergreen Association (that’s you). Send your suggestions, photos, story ideas, or a friendly hello to John Carocci. We’ll keep you connected to the Evergreen family! And, thank you for your patience with this shortened issue of Connections!
$500 IS A LOT OF EXTRA MONEY. WITH $500, YOU COULD BUY $......... 25 Fisher-Price® Snug-a-Monkey ........... Sleepytime Plush Toys at Target $......... 41.6 bottles of Debbie Gibson’s ........... Electric Youth perfume on e-Bay $......... 500 bags of pretzels at Dollar Tree ........... It’s easier than ever to earn ........... $500 from Evergreen’s ........... Employee Referral Program!
Here’s How: 1......... Refer a qualified friend 2......... Rack up your rewards! ........... $100 after referee is ........... employed for 30 days ........... $150 after referee is ........... employed for six months ........... $250 after referee is ........... employed for one year
Don’t Forget! $......... Tell your friend to write ........... your name on their application $......... Fill out the Employee Referral ........... Form, and return it to HR $......... Enjoy 32 large cheese & pepperoni ........... pizzas from Dominos on Evergreen!
Editor’s Note: Peer Review is a brand new feature in Connections! Each month, Michele Ogden will introduce you to one of the many Evergreen Peers. This month, we’ll meet Sergio, a Community Access Services Peer. Q: How long have you been a client at Evergreen? I’ve been a client at Evergreen since the summer of 2013. I previously lived in Queens (New York City), and I decided to move to Buffalo so I can be close to my son. My Case Manager in New York City linked me with Evergreen. Q: When did you transition from a client at Evergreen to a staff member? I began my position as a Navigation Assistant at Community Access Services in February, 2015. Q: How did you become interested in working at Evergreen? I was speaking with Joshua McClain, and he told me that he’d been to Cuba, where I’m from. We bonded over that. Josh invited me to a community event where I shared my personal story of living with HIV. This
motivated me to share my story with more people, so I can help stop the spread of HIV. This position has given me that opportunity. Q: What do you do in your role as Navigation Assistant? I do outreach at the Matt Urban Hope Center and in Evergreen’s Wellness Center. I tell people my story: that I’ve been HIV positive for 26 years, and how my faith has helped me overcome many barriers. I let others know that they don’t have to go through what I’ve been through; and there are other options to do the things they want to do while being safe and protecting themselves. I also co-facilitate groups, and assist with testing. Q: What do you enjoy most about your job? I love helping people and educating people in the community. I
also love my co-workers and feeling part of a team. Q: What has your experience been like as a client at Evergreen? I’ve had many people at Evergreen help me to get to where I am today. Cortney Anderson has been my Case Manager since I started coming to Evergreen. He asks me about my children all the time and has helped make my transition into care in Buffalo easy! I see Lolita for my medical care, and she is a beautiful person. I’ve also worked with Michele Ogden, Michelle Santos, Cord Stone, Tom Green, Rashida Williams, Andre Stokes, Grant Rogers, and Ashley Kuss. I’m grateful for my Evergreen family, and hope I can make a difference in someone life the way the staff here have made such a difference in mine.
1. New York State Assembly member Bill Hoyt (R) with Ron Silverio at a fundraising event on the Miss Buffalo for the Western New York AIDS Program (1989) 2. Jason Rein receives the agency’s Volunteer of the Year award from Christine Dulski, Director of Volunteers (1995). 3. What a difference 20 years makes! The 4th floor of the Roanoke before the space was built out for AIDS Community Services (1995). 4. Ron in the lobby of the Roanoke on the day of our grand opening and ribbon cutting. The lobby was renovated several years ago to create more space for Evergreen Medical Group and Project SAFE (1996).
1) Bear (father) and Tiger (son). Bear, who just turned 8 years old, is the proud father of six dogs. Photo by Jackie Dixon. 2) Shari DeMarco with her mom and sister at Delaware Park doing a Segway tour, which begins at the History Museum, goes to the Art Museum, and then all around Delaware Park. Very fun for all! 3) No caption needed for this one! Photo submitted by Jasiel Guzman. 4) GianLuca Carocci takes a break from baby stuff to let Uncle John take his photo. 5) Oops, a work photo slipped in! Here’s Emma Fabian waving from the back of Evergreen’s new mobile unit, which will be used by The Exchange for peer delivered services as well as Pride and CAS. Watch future issues of Connections for more! 6) Meet Alexander Miguel Paulino, born June 19 weighing 7 pounds and 10 ounces. Proud dad Carlos Paulino reports that Alexander has already urinated on 90% of the family.
Conflict of Interest
Conflict of interest is a common workplace issue. Most of us have heard someone say, “it’s who you know, not what you know.” Or complain that a manager’s relative always gets the biggest raise or best assignment. Maybe you’ve seen colleagues accept lavish gifts from potential suppliers or leave work 20 minutes early every day to get to a second job. A supervisor may give an employee time off to do volunteer work at his church, or allow employees to solicit donations and funds in the workplace. These situations are very different, but they all fall under the heading of “conflict of interest.” What is a Conflict of Interest? Conflict of interest occurs when an individual’s personal interests — family, friendships, financial or social factors — could compromise his or her judgment, decisions or actions in the workplace. Government
agencies take conflicts of interest so seriously that they are regulated. Industry organizations and corporations (including the Evergreen Association) follow that lead by including conflicts of interest in our Code of Conduct and standards of business operation. Conflicts of interest are not automatically illegal — but hiding them or allowing them to influence your professional actions is. Consider these situations: • A neighbor who regularly does favors for you and your family wants to apply for a job with at Evergreen. He asks if you would put in a good word for him with the hiring committee. • A former girlfriend is assigned to your department. The relationship had ended badly and remains a painful subject. You will be supervising her and submitting reviews of her work to HR. • A co-worker’s husband has started a new business and wants to publicize his services to our customers.
They’ve asked you to mention the new company to the clients and contacts you have through Evergreen. • You volunteer with a food bank that’s in dire need of donations. It’s a good cause and you’re sure your colleagues will want to contribute through a donation pledge at the office. • Your cousin works for a competitor and has been going through a difficult time at work. You know some of the problems at her company. Some of those problems could impact our company. • You have a bad personal relationship with a local business owner who is submitting a bid to provide services to our company. You know some personal details about him that could influence the decision to award a contract. Simply having a conflict of interest isn’t automatically illegal. In fact, most of us have interests that can influence our judgment, decisions or actions.
The examples noted above are all potential conflicts of interest. The important part is what you do in each of those situations. Do you allow your family, friendship, financial or inside knowledge affect your actions? If you do, you would violate regulations and our Code of Conduct. In our personal lives, we deal with personal interests all the time. We might shop at a store where a relative works and stay away from another shop where an employee has been rude to us. We share information among friends about companies as investment candidates. We recommend contractors who have done good work for us, and we tell everyone about a provider who has done a poor job or overcharged. In our business lives, we also have interests that could influence the way we do our jobs and the decisions we make in the workplace. Even if we never act on them, there may be an appearance that a conflict of interest has influenced our decisions. Consider this example. Your supervisor is promoted to department manager. His daughter-in-law is hired as the new supervisor and reports directly to the department manager. Now, maybe the new supervisor is the best candidate for that position; maybe the new department manager can maintain total objectivity in overseeing the work of his relative. Despite that, the situation appears suspicious and people could be forgiven for thinking that something was unfair or unethical about it. When it comes to conflicts of interest, appearance is as important as reality. Another reason conflicts of interest are taken so seriously by government agencies, industry organizations and corporations such as ours is that they are often “stepping stones” to more serious ethical misconduct and criminal activity. Often, conflicts of interest set the stage for crimes including theft, fraud, kickbacks and insider trading. Evergreen’s Code of Conduct contains clear policies about conflicts of interest and related topics such as how to handle gifts, hospitality and financial issues. Any potential conflict of interest should
be reported to your supervisor or Matthew John Pasquarella, Corporate Compliance Officer, who will determine whether it presents an ethical or compliance risk. In some cases, reporting the conflict is enough. In other cases, you will be asked to recuse yourself from any decision related to the conflict. For example, if you are on a hiring committee and are friends with one of the job applicants, you would be asked to remove yourself from that application review and interview. In a case where an individual has direct supervisory authority over a relative or friend, the CCO might require reassignment of those responsibilities. In cases involving financial interests, you might be required to divest investments that represent a conflict of interest. By following our conflicts of interest policies, we achieve important objectives: • Compliance with multiple federal, state and local laws governing conflicts of interest; • The appearance of favoritism or unfair advantage is eliminated, even if the conflict has never been acted on, as is preferential treatment and unfair advantages for individuals who benefit from conflicts of interest; • Prevent serious ethical misconduct and even criminal activity that starts with a conflict of interest and too often ends in theft, fraud, kickbacks and corruption. Points to Consider • Conflicts of interest are regulated by federal, state and local laws as well as by individual companies, academic institutions and nonprofit organizations. • Our company’s Code of Conduct specifically addresses conflicts of interest. Any questions about a specific situation should be referred to the Corporate Compliance Officer or reported on our Corporate Compliance Hotline: 716-541-0663. • Simply having a conflict of interest is not illegal — but letting those interests affect your actions, decisions or judgment are serious violations of law and our Code.
Liza Pereira (Hep C Retention Peer)
Rob Baird (Community Development)
B. Josephs (Sexual Health Counselor)
1. I enjoy all the line dances, and I have been known to get on the dance floor by myself. 2. I love cookouts with family and friends. 3. I jumped in the ocean to snorkle, and didn’t even know how to swim. 4. I like clipping coupons. 5. I am willing to try new things.
1. I just celebrated my 2 year wedding anniversary with my husband, Christian. 2. I have two rescue dogs: Henry and Daisy. 3. I love to travel, and have been to 17 countries so far. 4. I come from a big family of 6 siblings. 5. In my spare time, I build furniture out of reclaimed wood.
1. 2. 3. 4.
Jacob Perrello (Mental Health Counselor) 1. I spent my senior year of high school in Hong Kong. 2. I enjoy cooking and having friends over for dinner parties. 3. My Myers-Briggs personality type indicator is INFJ. 4. There are some people who might consider my humor as dry. 5. Each day, I set my intention on maintaining a reflective practice of gratitude.
Aeriq Turman (Sexual Health Counselor) 1. I pledged a fraternity in college, and can recited the greek alphabet. 2. I have a sister the same age as me, but we’re not twins. 3. I may be the youngest employee in my department. 4. My name is spelled with a Q.
I enjoy drag races and custom cars. I’m the only child from both parents. International traveler by age 16. Social butterfly.
Henry Jemison (Southern Tier SEP) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Love my grandkids. Love to go fishing. Love to go on vacations. Enjoy the summer. Love to help other people change their lives.
Emma Fabian (SEP Manager) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
I snack constantly. I played rugby in high school and college. I’m from Buffalo. I like to exercise. I have a cat.
The Place: Evergreen Commons The Year: 2015
THIS IS A REPORT ON OUR PRESENT FUTURE THAT IS THE EVERGREEN COMPUTER LAB. Penelope. Medent. AIRS. Outlook. Excel. To the everyday man, these words are gobbledygook. But, an Evergreen Information Technologist knows that these are sophisticated tools that can only be accessed through special training. Training that you can only host or receive if your department has been fully equipped to handle the technological advance that is the Evergreen Computer Lab. Come to a train-thetrainer workshop, and learn from a real, live Information Technologist how the Evergreen Computer Lab. During your training, you’ll learn
• • • • •
How to use the Computer Lab’s equipment How to access the wonders of our smartboard Where the fire exits are How to handle an emergency situation And, most importantly, the long-kept secret of the restroom locations
Once trained, you can host trainings for your staff and teams—helping all of Evergreen make the machine its friend. Please Note:
• • •
Your department must send at least one representative for training. Supervisors are responsible for appointing point people, or attending themselves. You CANNOT run a training in the Lab until you’ve been trained as a trainer.
The Evergreen Computer Lab holds great promise for the future—but the key to the future is human brainpower. Join us in the future today!
Doing Diversity - Events Off the Beaten Path August Edition | Presented by the Diversity Committee Live at Larkin: West Side Bazaar Featuring Drea N’Dur Larkin Square 745 Seneca Street Buffalo, NY 14210 5PM-8:30PM 8/5/15 Buffalo Vaggie Fest Adam Mickiewicz Library & Dramatic Circle 612 Fillmore Avenue Buffalo, NY 14212 1PM-11PM 8/8/15 Fashion & Art 2.0: Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum Porter Hall 453 Porter Avenue Buffalo, NY 14201 Doors open at 5PM $20
Jack Craft Fair Buffalo River Works 359 Ganson Street Buffalo, NY 14203 11AM-5PM 8/9/15
En Vogue Canalside 44 Prime Street Buffalo, NY 14202 6PM 8/20/15
Keb’ Mo’ Babville 341 Delaware Avenue Buffalo, NY 14202 7PM $37.50 8/13/15
Buffalo Irish Festival Buffalo Riverworks 359 Ganson Street Buffalo, NY 14203 $10-$15 8/28/15-8/30/15
Jo Koy Helium Comedy Club 30 Mississippi Street Buffalo, NY 14204 $25-$35 8/13/15-8/15/15
Under the Lights Hip Hop Festival Verve Dance Studio 160 Delaware Avenue Buffalo, NY 14202 $5 12PM-10PM 8/29/15