Employee of the Quarter

Kerim Abadalecha
Employee of the Third Quarter 2011

Shortly after he and his brother arrived as refugees who had fled their native country of Ethiopia, Kerim started working at the Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest Refugee Program in 1999.  In his 12 plus years at LSS-SW, Kerim has been continually promoted to his current position as Resources & Pre-Arrival Coordinator. Kerim is responsible for placing newly arrived refugees in their initial housing. Kerim places new refugees close to their ethnic community as he understands the importance of being safe and comfortable in your initial apartment. Kerim directs a team that furnishes and prepares each apartment for the new arrivals. Some of the furnishings are solicited through church and community partners. Kerim supervises this range of welcoming refugee services. Kerim is recognized for his dedication of helping refugees re-establish their broken lives. Additionally, Kerim assists other programs of LSS-SW with resource development. Kerim has proved himself to be the ultimate team player.

Maricela Rincon
Employee of the Second Quarter 2011

Maricela works with an “at risk” population as a Program Director in Youth Services.  Her passion makes those she serves strongly connect with the program.  She goes the extra mile to cut programmatic costs and has been known to cancel her personal plans to cover a shift.  In May, Youth Services added two new programs and accompanying staff.  The program space needed to be set up from scratch, employees needed to be hired and trained and holes needed to be filled in the program schedule.  Maricela stepped up and did whatever needed to be done to successfully launch these two new programs and did this above and beyond her regular day to day responsibilities. Without compliant, she handled whatever task came her way and excelled at it.  Maricela is an integral and important member of the Youth Services team.

Erika Saavedra
Employee of the First Quarter 2011

Erika Saavedra became a team member of Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest in December 2008 as the Home Care Supervisor for Cochise County. Erika coordinates In Home services for the frail, elderly and persons with disabilities. She helps individuals to live at home and maintain their highest level of independence. Erika is dedicated and passionate for the work she does and makes a positive difference in the lives of all she touches. She has built an excellent reputation with case managers, clients, and their families; ensuring that the clients receive the best possible care. Erika is always willing to take on additional responsibilities. Her love and commitment to excellence is evident in everything she does. Erika has helped to create a dynamic team of employees and is a star karaoke singer!.

Bryan Kaplan
Employee of the Fourth Quarter 2010

The economic crisis made Bryan Kaplan, a retired school administrator; want to help his neighbors so he tried out a new career with the Refugee and Immigration Program as an Employment Specialist.  The program has seen record high number of arrivals during a stagnate job market making the task of an Employment Specialist overwhelming.  Bryan has remained positive and focused on assisting refugee clients.
He gets to know clients, finding their strengths and addressing anything that might interfere with them potentially getting a job.  He is known to spend the afternoon with a client practicing the bike or bus route so the client will make it to and from work without problems on their first day.  In under two years with LSS-SW, Bryan has found 200 jobs for refugees in Tucson.  He was recently promoted from Employment Specialist to Employment Coordinator, not only for his strong work ethic and skill set, but for his character.  He believes in empowering those he works with and inspires others take a chance.  During a visit to Capital Hill during a conference, Bryan asked a staff member at Gabriel Gifford’s office if they would send thank you letters to employers who hired refugees.  They agreed.  Each month Bryan provides them with a list, and they send letters of appreciation to employers.  Bryan connects refugees with employers in a way that leave both feeling hopeful and appreciative.  Bryan truly embodies the mission of LSS-SW.

Rose Davis
Employee of the Third Quarter 2010

Rose Davis has been with Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest for just over 3 years as an Accounts Payable Specialist.  She gladly assists employees throughout the agency by educating them on procedures, solving problems, and resolving issues sometimes at a moments notice.  Rose does all this with a positive attitude.  With respect to her position in the Finance Department, she is clearly a team player, willing to take on additional responsibilities without hesitation when asked, and is valued for her accuracy and ability to meet deadlines.
As an Accounts Payable Specialist, she has built positive relationships with employees and vendors.   Rose was selected as Employee of the Third Quarter 2010 because she does all this with a helpful attitude and a smile.

Nancy Clark
Employee of the Second Quarter 2010

Nancy Clark was hired in 2007 as Transportation Coordinator to assist clients with Transportation Services through our Resident Opportunities Self Sufficiency (ROSS) Program.  Nancy was able to engage greater program participation within the Hispanic community through her bi-lingual talents; this engagement was instrumental in attaining programmatic goals.  In 2009, Nancy was promoted to Volunteer Program Manager.  Nancy engaged new community partners and volunteers to work with program participants in Pima County and not only met, but exceeded the volunteer goals for the program.  Because of her abilities, Nancy has been offered other opportunities and has stayed in her current position because she is passionate about the work within the community.  It is because of Nancy’s passion for the work that she does that she was chosen the Employee of the Second Quarter.

Grace Zatarain
Employee of the First Quarter 2010

Grace was selected as Employee of the First Quarter 2010 because of her selfless dedication to ensure agency payroll is accurate and on time every pay date.  Grace does all this hard work with a helpful attitude and a smile.