Complete Story
Teleconference Reaches Out
by Ed Colozzi
Teleconference Panelists (right-to-left) Darrell Luzzo, Mark Pope followed by Jane
Goodman and then Mark Savickas.
NCDA hosted an exciting new two-hour teleconference activity at its annual conference in San Francisco as part of an effort to reach out to those members who were unable to attend. Teleconference chairperson, Ed Colozzi, also the NCDA Membership Committee Chair, explained, �This event was an extension of NCDA�s Each One Reach One (EORO) campaign instituted by past president Spencer Niles and designed to enhance member recruitment and retention activities.� The teleconference theme was �Career Counseling for Career Services Providers: Practical Techniques That Improve Our Performance.�
Several hundred participants gathered at 16 sites nationally as the panel fielded questions dealing with diversity concerns, counselor workload, narrative therapy, spirituality and testing. A panel of five joined Ed including ACA past presidents Mark Pope and Jane Goodman, Mark Savickas, Darrell Luzzo, the moderator, and Michael Hall who was in North Carolina. NCDA president Janet Lenz opened and closed the event and included an invitation to attend the NCDA 2005 conference in Orlando.
Practicing career services providers, graduate students, counselor educators, representatives from One Stop Career Centers, School-to Work Programs, Workforce Development staff, Departments of Labor and Education staff, and human resources staff from corporate settings were among those present at participant sites representing twelve states.
CEU credits were available to participants through NCDA, and several sites in Hawaii and Georgia planned a half-day training and provided snacks. The Hawaii partners on behalf of the three participant sites on Oahu, Maui and Kauai sent beautiful leis to all the panel members. On Oahu, over 60 participants signed up for the event, and over a dozen had to be turned away due to limited room capacity.
Panelists developed a handout that described techniques and suggestions that can improve the performance of career services providers. These handouts were presented to all attendees at each participant site as part of a packet of information sent by NCDA Executive Director Deneen Pennington.
The event was also designed to provide exposure for NCDA to a national and international audience of non-NCDA practitioners who might have an interest in the topics and in joining NCDA.
Many positive responses from the various sites included comments such as, �Excellent opportunity-do it again!� and �Wish more agencies could have participated�. A master audio copy of the teleconference was produced for persons interested in the discussion. Further information can be obtained from Deneen Pennington at 866 FOR-NCDA. A second teleconference will be included as part of the NCDA 2005 Orlando conference next June.
Edward A. Colozzi, Ed.D.,
NCDA Membership Chair
Career Development and Counseling Services
165 Washington Street
Winchester, MA 01890
(781) 721-1200
edcolozzi@verizon.net
NCDA urges its members to log onto www.NCDA.org and get involved in the "Each One . Together, we can make a difference!
