News from the Peak

Part 2 of our series on the Good Life Camp features Andy Bachmann. One of our partners in this endeavor was Camp Highlands in Sayner Wisconsin. Andy is the third generation in his family to serve as the Camp Director at Camp Highlands, and he has been at camp as a camper, counselor and Director every summer for most of his life. When not in Sayner, Andy serves as Minister for Education, Outreach a...

This is the first in our multi episode series about the Good Life Grant, and the Culture Camp. This summer Lac Courte Oreilles Child Support Services (LCO CSS) launched its first ever cultural camp for youth. The camp is part of The Good Life Vision project, which brings LCO CSS together with community partners to preserve, strengthen, and renew Ojibwe values in the LCO youth by providing opportun...

During this time of high stress, organizations are finding it more important than ever to support employees and teammates and encouraging self-care. Organizations are realizing that employees that are take care of themselves and feel supported have reduced stress, are more efficient and productive. Employees that take care of themselves, take less sick time and stay at an organization longer. Self...

On this episode, Maureen Leif welcomes 4 outstanding leaders answer questions on the topic of women in leadership. We feel so lucky to have interviewed Betsy C. Donat - Ardita, Vice President of Compliance at Everside Health, Kim Newsom Bridges, Director of Child Support Services at Conduent, Keri Batchelder Jacobs, Programs and Services Section Manager, Division of Child Support Services at Color...

On this episode we welcome Author, Photographer and Restorative Justice Scholar Howard Zehr. This episode is focused on his book Still Doing Life, 22 Lifers, 25 Years Later which is a follow up to a book he published in the 1990's. In addition to the book, we talk to him about the concept of restorative justice, and get some insights into his other projects. A fascinating guest, and after you list...

In this edition of our Community Table Talks series, we speak with 4 guests with different perspectives and experiences with the Child Welfare program. We start with Judge Ann Meinster from Jefferson County Colorado, Korey Elder, the Permanency Manager from the Colorado Division of Child Welfare, Ángela Quijada-Banks, author of  The Black Foster Youth Handbook: 50+ Lessons I Learned to Succes...

In this episode we proudly present the first podcast interview with the new OCSE Commissioner Tanguler Gray. In this episode we celebrate her success, talk about her background, and get just a little preview of her approach to this new and exciting role. We get to also get a sense of her warm and welcoming personality, her sense of humor, and her commitment to the program and child support profess...

On this episode we re-visit the topic of peer support groups first introduced on this podcast in April of 2020. At that time we had just begun working with the State of Colorado on a grant to expand the use of peer support groups and study their effectiveness. In this episode we are joined by three people who serve as coordinators and leaders of the group in Montezuma County, Colorado. We get a lo...

In this episode we asked several members of the GPS team to talk about 2021 and how the work we did and the people we've been fortunate to cross paths with has made this a good year. 2021 had it's ups and downs and it wasn't the huge relief over 2020 that we may have expected, but there was a lot of good stuff. Thanks for spending this time with us, and we are very excited for what we have coming...

In this episode we welcome back  wildlife artist  Carl Ramm. As many listeners remember, Carl is part of a team that manages bears— Alaska Peninsula brown bears , to be exact—at  Brooks Camp  in Alaska’s Katmai National Park. As part of a team of bear techs, he helps track the bears’ movement and, as much as possible, guides them away from the camp’s many visitors and toward a...

For many people, when you hear the term “Executive Coaching” you think of high powered CEO’s and tall office buildings and corner offices. I know I would have thought that too – until recently. I’ve learned that executive coaching is something that can be of great value to anyone in a leadership position – and can be particularly helpful in the public sector. On today’s show, we welcome back Liz B...

As most of our listeners know, the child support program has been evolving since it’s creation as part of the Social Security Act in 1975. One of the most significant changes we have seen – and probably the hardest to accomplish – has been the transition from being focused on enforcement to being focused on families. The Child Support program, and the people we serve in the program, has contact wi...

This is a conversation about how to continue to grow as people and how we can always bring compassion to others. We talk about the examples through Black Lives Matter and Palestine but it’s really a story for living with a true purpose to care for others, to continue to explore the realities of what we hear on our chosen new outlets, to continue to listen to one another and stay engaged. The bigge...

They say time flies when you’re having fun. It seems like one day you are the new kid starting your first job at the local county office, then you wake up the next day and suddenly you are the wise veteran, with enough years of service to think about the next chapter. As retirement becomes a reality, what things should you be considering? What options are available to you, and how do you want the...

In this episode we talk about hobbies people have outside of work. This topic was of particular interest to me as I know how important my time away from work is, and how it makes me better at my job and in so many other ways. In fact, everyone at Grays Peak has some kind of interesting hobby that they are passionate about. In the GPS Family, we have people who enjoy skiing, hiking, traveling, musi...

We were so pleased to welcome to the podcast Ángela Quijada-Banks. Ms. Quijada-Banks is a NAACP Image Award–nominated, American best-selling author, Founder and C.E.O of Soulful Liberation (a Book publishing company and podcast), and Consciously Melanated Queens, a community to support young women of color to uncover their divine purpose and holistically heal. She came to our attention as the auth...

In our second Community Table Talks episode, we ask about leadership. This is one of the topics we tend to hear a lot about but can never get enough of. There are certainly plenty of books, trainings, articles, and other podcasts dedicated to this topic, but today we get perhaps a more practical view on some specific leadership questions – and some great conversations that came out of them. This e...

In a conversation with David Ramm, Maureen Leif and Robert Riddle, Dr. Karen Mahler combines the passion and acuity of a skilled psychologist with an educator’s unstinting concern for the interests and strengths of young people. She drives home the importance—really, the sheer practical necessity—of listening to young people at every stage in the process of creating programs intended to serve them...

To kick off Season two, we bring you our first edition of a community table talk format that we hope to use occasionally. The longer conversations are really great for getting into the details of a topic, but this is a good way to gather a multitude of perspectives on one or two questions. Today we welcome 6 great guests including Tanguler gray, the Deputy Commissioner of the Georgia Department of...

We were pleased to welcome Mike Smith to the podcast for a number of reasons. First, I was so interested in the creative outlet he has maintained over the years, and I think a lot of us can relate to the need for something aside from work and chores and responsibility to focus on. Of course, given the year we have all had, this need has become even greater. On this episode we get a chance to talk...

Since mid-March our lives have been much different trying to adapt and be safe while living through a pandemic. Everyone has a different story, different stressors and a different experience but it’s probably safe to say we have all had periods of feeling down and stressed. We have been wanting to better understand the common questions of "how can I take care of myself, my family and my team durin...

In this episode we have a conversation with the brother of our own David Ramm, the  wildlife artist  Carl Ramm. Among other things, Carl is part of a team that manages bears— Alaska Peninsula brown bears , to be exact—at  Brooks Camp  in Alaska’s Katmai National Park. As part of a team of bear techs, he helps track the bears’ movement and, as much as possible, guides them away...

Our team developed a bond with Dr. Wedding and after the amazing attendance on the WICSEC Micro Learning we asked her to be on our podcast to which she quickly agreed. She’s also agreed to facilitate a WICSEC book club on the topic in the early part of 2021 (so stay tuned). In this podcast episode we delve deeper into systemic racism and why it is so important to be having these conversations and...

In this episode of News from the Peak, Maureen Leif speaks with the leaders of the Leadership Pulse, Liz Bullard and Puni Kalra. They talk about the origin of the idea, the intended audience, and what to expect when you participate.  As always… listen all the way to the end for some bonus content. (#outtakes)

On this episode of New from the Peak, we hear from David Ramm about Behavioral Economics, how we can use these concepts to improve services and how it impacts our daily lives. As a compliment to the episode, David has provided us with  some great resources to learn more about the topic. To find these please visit our website , and click on "News from the Peak".  Don't forget to stick aro...