After getting my insurance license to practice in Wisconsin, I was immediately contracted to represent Aflac. Every supplemental insurance company talks about being in the business to help consumers, but Aflac really speaks through action. I sit down with small business owners, identify what problems the changing health care market has caused for each company on an individualized basis, and construct a unique benefits package to address these concerns.For business owners, my involvement commonly leads to lower costs, reductions in taxable income that lead to FICA savings, and a notable increase in employee retention, satisfaction, and productivity. For employees, I provide education on how to navigate the complex world of health insurance, solutions to address high deductibles and co-pays, and specialized coverage for paycheck protection.

Genesee Lake School is a residential treatment facility serving children and young adults who are dually diagnosed with learning disabilities and emotional disorders. A large portion of the population also carries Axis-I and Axis-II psychiatric diagnoses, as well as severe trauma histories. I worked for three years in a group home for adolescent females. These were students who had progressed in their treatment beyond the need for residence in the inpatient units. Treatment emphasis was on independent living skills, community integration, and continued development of lagging skills, with the ultimate goal being a return to the family home, or a less restrictive therapeutic environment in adulthood.

My years of experience at the adolescent female group home led to a promotion. I became second in command in charge of a girls' residential unit, a more contained living environment housed in the company's main building. This caseload was comprised of more severe cognitive and behavioral challenges, with an increased need for structure and stabilization before returning to the community. In addition to working shifts of direct care and providing coverage for open shifts on the unit, my responsibilities included communicating with key members of each client's expanded treatment team (doctors, social workers, parents, guardians ad litem, etc), attending meetings and taking a more influential role in each client's treatment. We constantly reviewed the treatment program offered on the unit, analyzed how it was impacting the girls on an individual and group basis, and making changes as we saw fit to improve success. I was also responsible for overseeing the staff of Direct Support Professionals that worked on the unit, including hiring, team meetings, and biweekly one-on-one reviews to ensure that each team member felt supported and concerns could be addressed.

Here I got my first taste of direct sales and interaction with the everyday customer. Along with my general duties at the cash register, I was responsible for recruiting our customers into the Kohl's charge program. Instead of simply opening accounts and moving on, I made it a priority to assist my customers in any way possible. This included proactive information about savings, and applying them immediately during checkout if applicable. I also provided patrons with instant credit card pay, returns, and customer service directly at the register. I was grateful that Kohl's advocates putting the customer first, and gave me the tools to meet these needs.I was hired on as a seasonal employee, and when the Christmas rush ended I was one of only a handful of temporary workers offered a permanent spot on the team. Directly after being hired on, my customer service and high rate of credit card account activations earned me recognition as Employee of the Month. Regular shoppers at our branch began requesting me by name for my attention to customer satisfaction.

I truly love the work this company is doing to help children in need, and I wanted to see it succeed in every way possible. During my years there, I was extended invitations to participate in several committees addressing treatment focus for clients and internal challenges relating to the company itself. The Collaborative Problem Solving (CPS) method of behavioral care really gets to the heart of why children with cognitive and behavioral challenges struggle sometimes - moving away from the thought that these kids are "manipulative" or "acting out" and emphasizing lagging skills that simply need to be developed. By the time I started at Genesee Lake School, the transition from behavioral conditioning to CPS had already begun, but the process was ongoing. We constantly reviewed implementation of the treatment method and ways to improve the transition.The other two committees addressed more general concerns that I feel every company has, and it was great to see a workplace that not only acknowledged them, but invited employees from upper management to floor staff to engage in conversation about how to resolve those challenges. The R&R board explored staff support, safety, and personal fulfillment in an attempt to increase staff retention. The Interoffice group analyzed communication challenges between departments (school, unit/foundations, group home network, and home care) and how to improve cohesion.