Fourteen executives, managers, and professionals graduated from the Flagler County Local Government Leadership Academy at a special ceremony at the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office Operations Center on Thursday February 15th at 4:30 p.m.
Steven Birdsong, Flagler County Tax Collector’s Office
Kory Bush, Flagler Schools
Joseph DeVita, Flagler County Supervisor of Elections
Tom Gillin, City of Flagler Beach
Cordella Justice, Flagler County Tax Collector’s Office
Jordan Myers, City of Palm Coast
Kristina Palacios, Flagler County Tax Collector’s Office
Kelly Papa, Flagler County BOCC
Brian Pasquariello, Flagler County Sheriff’s Office
Latisha Portier, Flagler County Tax Collector’s Office
Robert Rounds, Flagler County BOCC
Nolie B. St. Fleur, Flagler County Sheriff’s Office
Carrie Todd, City of Palm Coast
Joshua Walker, Flagler Schools
This leadership academy is the result of a partnership between local governments and Daytona State College. Graduates will receive a certificate of completion from Daytona State College. “Daytona State College is fulfilling its mission of ensuring the educational and career success of the many students we serve in Flagler County. This is a wonderful partnership and we are especially proud of these graduates,” stated Director Michael Nieto with Daytona State College.
In this four-month executive education program which meets weekly for two-hour classes at the Tax Collector’s Office, the graduates studied important topics like leadership, human resources, budgeting, risk management, customer service, program evaluation, teamwork, and organizational culture. Students read two highly regarded books on leadership and completed a series of real-world assignments. They enhanced their knowledge of successful leadership and strengthened valuable skills like research, writing, presenting, analysis, decision-making, teamwork, project management, communication, problem-solving, and planning. They learned best practices and to utilize data-driven decision-making to select policies and programs with proven performance.
“As leaders, we have to be thinking about today, tomorrow, and ten and fifty years from today. This academy helps our current leaders be their best and it effectively prepares emerging leaders for future roles. We congratulate all of our graduates on this accomplishment. We look forward to seeing your continued success as you and those you lead create a very bright future for Flagler County for many years to come,” stated Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly.
“We are grateful for the strong partnerships across local governments which make this program possible. By teaching best practices in successful leadership, we help ensure that local government always operates effectively and efficiently to best serve citizens,” said Dr. Joe Saviak who taught the leadership academy.
“Leadership is the single greatest predictor of how successful any organization will be. This academy teaches students the key subjects and specific skills to ensure these leaders excel in their roles and responsibilities. We teach everything that citizens and employees would want and expect in our leaders,” stated Flagler County Tax Collector Suzanne Johnston who organized and hosted the classes at her main office.
The next Flagler County Local Government Leadership Academy begins on February 29th.
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