When employees are promoted from technical roles into management or managers move into significantly more senior roles, they often need to learn new ways of working. It can be difficult to develop these new skills and support can really make the difference. Additionally, studies show that not only are those who get coaching more likely to stay with an organization, but their direct reports are 30% less likely to leave.
New managers to the County and current managers that are promoted into a more senior (management) role will be provided with the opportunity to select an internal coach that will support them during their first six months as part of their on-boarding/transition experience.
100% of the program participants would recommend this program to their colleagues.
How it works
Please review our coach profiles below and contact the coach you are interested in partnering with. You will partner with a coach for 6 months and have bi-weekly meetings with your coach.
Partner with a coach to experience a thought-provoking and creative process that will inspire you to maximize your personal and professional potential.
Our Coaches
Our coaches have completed 60 hours of coach training conducted by the College of Executive Coaching. Coaches are limited to 2 clients at a time to ensure a quality coaching experience.
Anessa Farber has worked in San Mateo County for eighteen years in multiple roles, including Health Administration, Probation (Juvenile, Adult), and Mental Health. Anessa spent eight years working in County Health’s Public Health, Policy and Planning (PHPP) and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Departments as the Fiscal and Administrative Officer.
Bill Massey has been with the County and the District Attorney’s Office for over 16 years and has over 28 years of total law enforcement experience, all in San Mateo County. Bill is passionate about leadership training and came through the Executive Coaching Program as a client in his first year as a new manager.
Conrad has over 16 years of experience in the County in a variety of roles including serving as a Budget Analyst in the County Executive’s Office, an Administrative Services Manager and a Health Services Manager at County Health. This has given him a broad insight into program management and operations and has served him well in his current role as the Organizational Development Manager in Human Resources. He also worked for two other public sector agencies for 10 years prior to joining the County.
Donna Vaillancourt served as the Director of the Department of Human Resources with San Mateo County until July 2018. During her tenure, she spearheaded new workforce planning efforts, leadership development and wellness programs to attract and retain talent in a dynamic organization consisting of over 5,500 employees. She served in various leadership positions during her 37-year career for San Mateo County including Deputy Director of Public Works.
Emily Weaver is the Clinical Services Manager of Rehabilitation Services at San Mateo Medical Center (SMMC), the largest division in County Health. She leads a team of approximately 35 professionals and oversees both inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation services in the County’s hospital/clinics. Emily came to the County in 2012 as a traveling physical therapist and fell in love with the mission and values that the County, SMMC, and staff possess.
Gina Wilson is the Chief Financial Officer for San Mateo County Health. She has held this role since 2010 and has over 30 years in county government experience. During her tenure with the County, Gina returned to school while working full-time to obtain a bachelor’s degree and then again a few years later to obtain a master’s degree in Public Administration with an emphasis in Health Care. Throughout her career, Gina has supervised, mentored and coached many.
Chief Keene views public service as the highest of callings. He values teamwork, leadership, excellence, professionalism and integrity. John’s passion for coaching and mentoring has its foundation in his long, personal and professional, history of receiving formal and informal support from others throughout his life. He enjoys supporting the growth of others through instruction, inquiry, and development.
Michelle Blakely, the Deputy Director of First 5 San Mateo County, has over 30 years’ experience in the non-profit, private philanthropy and public service sectors in child and family serving organizations. She provides executive leadership in all aspects of the agency’s work including strategy, program development, budget planning, communications, advocacy, and Commission/Board engagement.
Priscilla Romero (She/Her) is currently employed as the Director of the San Mateo Medical Staff Services/Provider Relations. She has over 16 years of experience in the public sector and prior to working in government she worked in the private sector for 10 years. Priscilla strongly believes in the importance of staff engagement, well-being and staff development to reach both personal and professional goals.
Rana Naser is currently a Classification and Compensation Analyst with the Human Resources Department. She previously worked as a Program Services Manager for the County’s Department of Public Works, managing the Job Ordering Contracting Program for the delivery of various maintenance and construction projects for the improvement of County facilities and infrastructure. Along with 13 years of public sector experience, she also has 10 years of private sector experience, including as a Business Manager for a specialty foundation contractor.
Shireen Malekafzali (she/her) is an experienced and passionate leader dedicated to advancing equity for over 20 years. She is the inaugural chief equity officer for the County of San Mateo, working to build more equitable structures and systems to advance equitable outcomes for our communities.
Trish Erwin, PhD, is the Clinic Manager for Fair Oaks Health Center and Sequoia Teen Wellness Center. Prior to this position, Trish was the manager for Family Health Services (FHS) Immunization Branch, Covid-19 Response Unit and Quality Improvement Team. She was heavily involved in the Covid response, including running the operations for all of the County vaccination sites. Trish is an Advanced Certified Personal and Executive Coach from the College of Executive Coaching.
Valissa Mathewson is currently the Director of Health Information Management at San Mateo Medical center where she oversees Medical Records, Coding, and Clinical Documentation Improvement. She began employment with the County in 2016 as the Manager of Coding Operations before accepting her current role in 2018. Prior to working for San Mateo County she was employed at a private facility in Central California. She has been in healthcare for over 20 years and holds certifications in Health Information, Coding, and Revenue Cycle operations.
The Coaching Program has provided me tools that I will use long after the coaching is finished and confidence that I’ll make it in my new role.
After each session, I either gain a new perspective, discover ways to do things, or learn something new about myself.
This experience was the best experience I have ever had transitioning into a new management role.
Having a supportive coach provided me with tools to excel in my new position.
I could not ask for a better coach! Her professionalism and sincerity put me quickly at ease. She is organized and was a big help in keeping my goals in sight and holding me accountable for my actions. I had an open, supportive, and authentic coaching environment.
Thank you so much for the program to be part of such an impactful program.
Being assigned a coach from a different department and a different field (not fiscal) was very valuable. This provided me with a different perspective outside of my fiscal cohort and department.
This program provided for learning what other departments have done to solve or approach similar problems and I was able to implement some process improvements to core admin procedures very quickly by leveraging items that we discussed.
The experience underscored the fact that across the county departments have found efficiencies and creative solutions to what are probably common issues and this was one means of leverage those experiences and perspectives to problem solve/work through issues.
I think my coach did a great job of assessing how the program could be helpful to me and tailoring the experience to my situation. She was a pleasure to have as a coach and get to know better.