Having spent the better part of her professional life counseling individuals in career development, Cindy knew that volunteering at Chrysalis would be a natural fit… But perhaps even more than that, Cindy is no stranger to hardship nor the resilience and support it takes to overcome life’s challenges.
“I think I was very fortunate; I had role models. I grew up with a mother who, no matter all the tragedies that were going on in our house, always created a positive environment and pushed me to succeed every step of the way,” she recalls. “A lot of the people we work with at Chrysalis don’t have those role models. They don’t know what they can do or how to do it, but we can try to provide that for them.”
Cindy began her undergraduate education at UCLA and completed her degree at CSU Northridge. Attending college while working and raising two sons was difficult, but Cindy reflects on the experience positively as an opportunity to celebrate her hard work and accomplishments. While working in Human Resources, Cindy discovered her love of training and career development and returned to school to attain her Master’s Degree in counseling. After briefly working in UCLA’s Career Center, she created, developed, and directed the UCLA Alumni Association’s career program, which is nationally recognized today. Now retired, Cindy spends much of her free time with the CSU Northridge Alumni Association and volunteering.
“Everybody does different things with their life when they retire, but my husband and I made it our mission to use our expertise to give back wherever we can.”
Though volunteering became Cindy’s main focus upon retiring just a few years ago, her relationship with Chrysalis began over a decade ago when two of her close friends introduced her to the organization. She began by conducting practice interviews with clients, and eventually shifted to facilitating job readiness classes. She explains, “I felt I could reach far more people as a class facilitator.”
Eventually, Cindy became the main Job Prep 1 facilitator, covering topics such as hard and soft skills, where to find job leads, networking, and the importance of having an elevator pitch – though she has experience leading nearly all of the program’s classes!
Cindy builds her lessons on a foundation of the importance of self-confidence, helping clients recognize their own accomplishments and skill sets. From Cindy’s perspective, improving a person’s view of themselves and their life is the first step to getting out of a negative place. Not only does she want clients to secure work, but she also encourages them to search for jobs they want so “they can open themselves up to all sorts of opportunities.”
“We take ourselves for granted and we forget all the things we’ve done in our lives. It’s difficult to market yourself and tell everybody what you’re looking for, what you can do, or what you want to do. [The clients] have to give themselves permission to start doing that.”
Cindy looks forward to encouraging women and femmes in her workshop on personal branding and networking at Chrysalis’ first Women’s Empowerment Conference – a revitalized version of the Women’s Empowerment Program – this April. As a long-time participant of the Cal Lutheran Women’s Conference, Leadership California, and the annual L.A. Women’s Conference, she was more than happy to get involved. She believes empowering other women is not only pushing them to succeed as individuals, but encouraging collaboration and supporting one another in their journeys. When someone finds success, it can be easy to forget how they arrived there. Cindy hopes environments like the Women’s Empowerment Conference will remind everyone of the importance of paving a path for those to follow.
“I’m looking forward to seeing the women connect with one another; there’s this comradery that’s really important. There’s a great sense of empowerment when women work together and other women can see what they’ve been able to succeed in. We’re so much more powerful when we’re helping other people.”
Thank you for your dedication to Chrysalis, Cindy! We look forward to seeing you at the Women’s Empowerment Conference!