Leilani Hammock, vice president of business development, and Lynn Jones, director of delivery services, were featured Monday in The Sacramento Bee. Check out the item here. It’s the latest mention for Leilani and Lynn, recent additions to M Corp.
Leilani Hammock, vice president of business development, and Lynn Jones, director of delivery services, were featured Monday in The Sacramento Bee. Check out the item here. It’s the latest mention for Leilani and Lynn, recent additions to M Corp.
Thuy Truong is like most college students – she carries a backpack filled with textbooks, depends on her smart phone and has an always-on-the-move schedule.
But her road to college took a different path than many of her fellow students and friends – and M Corp and the Guardian Scholars program at Sacramento State University have helped her in recent months.
“I was at cheer practice when I got the call,” says Thuy, then a 16-year-old junior at Florin High School in Sacramento.
The “call” confirmed what Thuy (pronounced “Twee”) already knew — her mother lacked many parenting skills to take care of her children. Social workers were at the family’s house and “took everyone away,” she says. Six of her brothers and sisters were removed from their Sacramento home.
Her oldest brother Michael, a former Marine and DISH Network employee, assumed responsibility and became the guardian of six children, including Thuy, when he was 21. (A younger brother, Austin, was adopted.)
“I’ve been cooking, cleaning every day for a long time,” says the 22-year-old Thuy, the second-oldest in the family’s Elk Grove home.
Thuy adds that her younger brothers and sisters know how to deal with many of the household chores, such as laundry and some meals, and are very responsible. But she admits that she has more chores and family responsibilities than many other college students.
“It sounds like a lot, but it’s really not that bad,” says Thuy, who has 10 siblings. “I have a weekly schedule for doing things … I like being busy.”
Indeed, Thuy balances family, a full-time course load as a junior majoring in psychology at Sacramento State University and two part-time jobs – 16 hours per week on the help desk at M Corp and weekends at Kohl’s department store in Elk Grove.
“M Corp is much different than any other job I’ve ever had,” says Thuy, who first heard about M Corp from the Guardian Scholars program at Sacramento State. “I felt super comfortable when I got there. I love it there.”And her fellow M Corp employees and supervisors enjoy Thuy, from her attitude to her dedication.
“She is always eager to help out other team members, learn new things and assume more responsibilities,” says partner Hung Lee. “Her teammates love working with her because she is responsible, dependable, a quick learner and upbeat.”
Guardian Scholars director Joy Salvetti applauds Thuy’s commitment to her education – and M Corp for participating in the program and hiring Thuy.
“For our transfer students, it’s really key to finding an employer,” says Salvetti, who started Guardian Scholars with 15 students in 2006 and now has 61 this semester. “Many of these students have been let down by their parents, their relatives. Many of them have had no childhood.”
Guardian Scholars offers a one-stop shop for former foster youth, from assisting with housing to tuition and books. They also match students with a mentor.
“There’s a lot of navigation that goes on at a college campus,” says Salvetti, who is always seeking funds for the nonprofit program, which relies solely on grants and donations. “It gives students guidance, and not just academically, but soft skills. We want them to be as ready as possible.”
Thuy, who was in a similar Enrich Scholars Program at Cosumnes River College before transferring toSacramentoStatethis semester, says Guardian Scholars and M Corp have been a big help.
“If you’re not motivated, you won’t go to school,” Thuy says during a two-hour break between her morning and afternoon classes on a recent Friday. “You have to be hungry.”
Her motivation for completing college and commitment to helping others stems from her past.
“I never got help, nobody ever paid attention to me,” says Thuy, who wants to be a high school counselor. “I don’t want to ignore the kids who need help.”
Our fast-growing company and large projects gained much attention recently in The Sacramento Bee. A front-page story in the Business section detailed how partners Alex Castro, Chuck Czajkowski and Hung Lee started the company in Chuck’s garage but has grown into a major firm for state agencies in the region. Reporter Mark Glover started the story by focusing on the massive Employment Development Department project and later detailed some of our other projects. The story gives us great exposure to the community – and our current and potential clients. Please, take a few moments and read the story.
Lynn Jones has recently accepted a position with M Corp as our Engagement Manager! Lynn isn’t new to M Corp projects as she has been working with the EDD Team as the Communications Manager since earlier this year. She has proven to be invaluable in her contribution to our team and has now officially become an M Corp employee. She has more than 15 years’ experience providing engagement and project management services in both public and private sectors. Lynn was most recently with Alexan International where she served as the Sr. VP of Delivery Services. She has served as an engagement manager or project manager for several State of California Departments to include: Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), the Employment Development Department (EDD), California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), Orange County and the Department of Health Care Services Medi-Cal program. She was with Deloitte for almost 10 years prior to that providing project management for clients including: Etrade, Microsoft, Washington Mutual, Blue Shield, Sutter Health, PMI, Longs Drugs, McClatchy publishing and the State of California. Lynn obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Written Communications from California State University, Sacramento and is a certified project management professional with the Project Management Institute.
M Corp leadership continues to invest in the future success of M Corp!
M Corp is pleased to announce that on November 1, 2011, M Corp launched the First 5 California Practice, Research & Outcomes 0-Five data system, more commonly known as PRO0F. This release captures data and information related to First 5 California’s Teacher Signature Program, CARES Plus. In the coming months, the data system will be enhanced to include First 5 California Annual Report data collection and First 5 County Commission Case and Program Management functionality.
The Comprehensive Approaches to Raising Education Standards Plus (CARES Plus) Program is a matching-fund program with First 5 county commissions. It is designed to increase the quality of early learning programs for children ages 0 to 5 and their families by supporting the education and preparation of an effective, well-compensated, and diverse early learning workforce. The “Plus” represents an enhancement of earlier CARES components, such as a strong focus on outcomes and accountability, an expansion of the Early Learning Workforce Registry database, and expansion of Higher Education Quality Pathway Partnerships.
The M Corp solution for the Practice, Research & Outcomes 0-Five (PRO0F) resolves the challenge of collecting complete and reliable evaluation data from the County Commission on programs serving California’s children ages 0-5. The new PRO0F system will support the following functions:
