Wendy Blanco
Director Of Clinical Services, Peace Over Violence
Candidate Responses:
Please summarize the reasons you are submitting this nomination.
It is very important for me to be of service in any way that I can be in this time when many non-profits in our field are being faced with budget cuts. The partnership has already been at the forefront of some great advocacy efforts, and I want to use my skillset to help further those efforts. I have been in the field of domestic violence for over 20 years and have worked in all different capacities including a peer counselor, prevention educator, case manager, therapist, clinical supervisor and now a director of clinical services. I believe that I could be helpful with the engagement committee because I believe that I work well in a team, and I pride myself in motivating others and helping bring folks together. I am excited about the prospects of helping with the engagement committee because there are so many Angelenos in the field that are struggling with the changes in funding, the changes that they see in the trends in the field, the nexus between domestic violence and litigation abuse and this is an incredible time to do research, to write white papers to educate and impact politicians.
Describe your participation in the Partnership’s regional networks, policy committees, peer learning circles and other components of our Membership community.
I have not been involved in the past as consistently as I would like to be.
Describe your skills, experience or interests that can benefit, strengthen or increase capacity of the Board.
I have been in the field for 21 years and I believe that I have good experience and good insight on primary care and needs that we are seeing in the field. I believe that it is important to that there be a mix of people on the board, folks that can contribute in different ways to impact the work and each other.
What does leadership mean to you? How do you demonstrate leadership?
Leadership to me means motivating people to find their strengths and being able to utilize those to build efficacy and create impact. Leadership is a great responsibility and a privilege. I believe that a good leader is someone that is empathetic and fair. I am a therapist by training and so that impacts how I function in the world and how I engage with others. I currently supervise about 20 people at a time and I believe that I am a fair leader and I believe in collective practices to encourage the team to feel a sense of agency of our clinical program.
Describe how your relationships can enhance the work of the Partnership and the Board (for example, with policy-makers, media outlets, culturally specific communities, and the broader community). Tell us how you intend to cultivate those relationships on behalf of the Partnership.
I have great relationships with people across many agencies in Los Angeles. I was mentored as a teenager by folks who are now executive directors of domestic violence agencies and I have maintained great relationships because I feel like people see my passion for this work and my desire to help. I feel like my career trajectory and my reputation allows me to bring likeminded folks together to build community events, to facilitate warm hand offs, to help create collaborative projects and mostly to be in community with each other and help support one another.
