Featured Member – Visionova HR Consulting
Bernadette Jones is the co-founder of Visionova HR Consulting, a firm that has served nonprofit and for-profit organizations across the East Bay since 2012. She is recognized as a visionary leader with experience supporting organizations in the areas of small business development, healthcare, community arts, philanthropy, and public works. “As a small business owner, my struggle with employee management was overwhelming. Hiring, and managing staff, compliance and discipline. Those challenges inspired my journey to education and certification as a human resource professional. I developed a passion for HR after experiencing firsthand how it empowered our company and could inspire our employees”.
Bernadette partners with a team of certified HR professionals alongside company co-founder, Muskie Jones, a certified HR Auditor. “My husband and I have created a great company culture. We understand and have been working with each other and employees for years. In five to ten years, we’re looking to grow to become the go-to HR consulting firm in the East Bay, building strategic and day-to-day HR solutions to help improve company cultures and boost their bottom lines.”
As a woman business owner, Bernadette shared some insight into the challenges of obtaining contracts. “Prior to starting our HR firm, I was in a male-dominated industry which was a challenge. I’d talk to owners of businesses who were accepting proposals and not be taken as seriously as a male who was offering the same proposal. Often, business owners were surprised to learn that I was a co-founder of the company and not an employee.”
In spite of these challenges, Bernadette has become well-respected in the human resource field, speaking at national conferences regularly to expand her network and cultivate leads. “There are not as many challenges for women in HR as other fields. Seventy-six percent (76%) of HR leaders are women.The main challenge in my field is helping small businesses realize that they are not immune from HR issues. Due to size and resources, small businesses may face even greater challenges than larger businesses. As a professional continuous learning – keeping up to date with laws, policies/procedures and best practices is a constant effort. You always have to be willing to improve your knowledge base and share that with your clients.”
Bernadette has bright aspirations for the future of HR, detailing how Visionova will capitalize on the trend of outsourcing administrative labor. “A lot of HR processes are being outsourced and automated. This will free up internal personnel, allowing them to become strategic members of their teams. This is good for us because organizations are looking to outsource some of their (HR) processes and training. Visionova is planning to help these companies, especially small businesses and nonprofits by empowering them to achieve their visions with win-win HR solutions.”
Upcoming Events
- Bernadette will be featured in the 2017 Nonprofit Talent & Culture Summit on April 5-7. This session will be an inspiring and interactive discussion of how bold leaders build a culture that ignites engagement and supports organization values.
- Visionova is hosting a workshop at the Richmond Chamber: Small Business Handbooks: The Good, The Bad and The Critical on April 25. RSVP Today!
Proposed new Pt. Richmond housing development reviewed by Pt. Richmond Neighborhood Council
A Guest Blog by Michael Fitzgerald
The Point Richmond Neighborhood Council spent nearly an hour and a half Wednesday, March 15 grilling representatives of the New West Development Corporation of Las Vegas about a proposed 270-unit housing project.
The Bottoms Quarry project would be located off Seacliff Drive in Point Richmond and would contain approximately 60 townhomes with the balance of the housing in a five-story condominium building.
At the PRNC meeting, questions were raised about increases in vehicle traffic, impacts on downtown Point Richmond parking, the housing density (270 units on six acres) and the need for rezoning.
The proposed 68-70 foot height of the condos – which exceed the City of Richmond’s 35-foot height limitation – was also discussed. A full report on that meeting was published on The Point website.
About the Author
Michael J. Fitzgerald has been a journalist for 40 years, working as a writer and editor for newspapers, magazines and web publications in California and New York.
He currently publishes a news website about Point Richmond, Richmond and West Contra Costa County called The Point. Fitzgerald also writes a weekly column for the daily Finger Lakes Times newspaper in Geneva, NY.
He is drafting his third eco-thriller novel – The Devil’s Pipeline. In 2014 he published his first novel, titled The Fracking War” In 2015 his second novel Fracking Justice was published by Mill City Press of Minneapolis.
Fitzgerald and his wife, journalist Sylvia Fox, reside in Point Richmond. He can be contacted by email at: frackingjustice@gmail.com.
Featured Member – CASA
How CASA of Contra Costa County is Changing the Lives of Foster Children and Youth
Each year, over 1,000 abused or neglected children and youth in Contra Costa County come under the court’s care because they are unable to live safely at home. Imagine what it would be like to be removed from your parents, not because of something you did, but because they cannot, or will not, take care of and protect you. Then into the lives of these children and youth come dozens of strangers: police, foster parents, social workers, judges, lawyers and more. For some, one of these may be a Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) volunteer.
In 1992, after the first of her three kids left for college, Sue Woolwine began her search for a meaningful and substantial volunteer opportunity. As a former children’s educator, she was most drawn to the prospect of working one-on-one with children. Fortuitously, Sue found CASA of Contra Costa County and began a journey that would forever impact her life, the lives of numerous children in foster care and their families, and the CASA program.
During Sue’s 24 years of service, she has been appointed by the juvenile court as the volunteer advocate for 13 children and youth. She has advocated for children who successfully reunified with their biological family or were adopted by a forever family, as well as youth who emancipated from the foster care system at adulthood. Her impact on their lives and futures is unquestionable.
Jose, one of her former CASA “kids” who is now 24 years old, credits Sue with helping him to succeed in high school and find a job – two serious challenges for a youth exiting the foster care system. Although their court dependency cases may have ended, and many of them are no longer children, Sue remains in contact with eight of her former “CASA kids”. She has transitioned from their CASA volunteer to a “great aunt,” mentor and friend, and has been an honored guest at their weddings, celebratory meals, and holiday gatherings. Click here to watch Sue and Jose’s story.
Sue contributes in many other significant ways to the CASA program as a Team Leader, a volunteer trainer, an interviewer, and as a donor.
The work that CASA volunteers do to help these foster children become productive adults, benefits future generations and our entire community.
If you are interested in becoming a CASA volunteer, please click here to sign up for one of our upcoming Informational Sessions.
If you cannot volunteer, please click here to make a donation to support the work CASA does.
For more information on CASA of Contra Costa County, please visit www.cccocasa.org or call 925-256-7284 ext. 7.