PIMA COUNTY, ARIZONA — The new program manager of Pima County’s Las Artes Arts & Education Center has more than a decade of experience connecting people to jobs. But it was her own experience more than 30 years ago as a pregnant high school student that has led her to a job connecting at-risk students to brighter futures.

In early February, Patricia Gastélum took over as program manager at Las Artes, which combines structured coursework with community art projects while preparing students to earn their General Education Diploma (GED). Gastélum comes to the job from the business services team of the County’s Community Services, Employment and Training Department, which oversees Las Artes. She replaces Arnold Palacios, who is now director of Community Services, Employment and Training.

In her previous role in “Rapid Response,” Gastélum helped employers manage layoffs or downsizing efforts. She also assisted those displaced workers with everything from filing for unemployment insurance to polishing resumes to prepare them for new careers.

Now, she hopes to be the guiding influence on the lives of the youth age 17 to 22 who are coming to Las Artes, often after unsuccessful stints at traditional high schools.

“It’s about ensuring the safety of students,” Gastélum said. “I want to make this a welcoming environment and help them explore career pathways while pursuing their GED.”

At one time, Gastélum faced those same obstacles confronting today’s students. In the late 1980s, she was a junior at Sunnyside High School when she discovered she was pregnant. Dropping out of school seemed inevitable.

“But I had someone who believed in me,” she recalled. That year the school launched a teenage parenting program that enabled students like Gastélum, who got married in her senior year, to care for their children while finishing their degrees.

Now a mother of four and grandmother of three, Gastélum was able to graduate with her 11-month-old son at her side, thanks to that caring counselor. She wants to be a similar resource for the students at Las Artes, many of whom face challenges such as homelessness, pregnancy and poverty.

“I’d like to have kind of a mini-resource center here so they can do some career exploration,” Gastélum said. Her own work history has revolved around putting people to work. By connecting students with work experience programs or on-the-job training, she can continue the County’s mission of creating a strong workforce for the employers here now and those wishing to locate in Pima County.

Gastélum simply wants students to know, “I’m here for them. My job is to make the best of their time here.”

Phoenix, AZ – SCS Engineers has been awarded on-call contracts to provide environmental services to state agencies such as the Arizona State Land Department (ASLD), Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ), Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT), and Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs (ADEMA).

The environmental consulting and engineering firm has worked with ASLD since the early 1990s, starting with investigation and cleanup of pesticides at crop dusting strips. Most of these projects began with Phase I environmental site assessments to identify potential environmental concerns, continued through Phase II sampling, and concluded with remediation.

For ADEQ, the firm has performed removal of underground storage tanks and assessment and cleanup of soil and groundwater at 27 facilities located throughout urban and rural Arizona.  These projects have successfully removed known and potential sources of soil and groundwater contamination.

SCS has performed more than 75 projects for ADOT, including Phase I assessments of properties to be acquired for road construction projects throughout Arizona, most recently for the South Mountain Freeway. Many of these led to Phase II sampling and remediation.  SCS has also performed expedited removal of underground storage tanks and wells found during construction activities, asbestos and lead sampling of roadway structures and buildings, and remediation and habitat restoration of temporary road construction facilities

SCS Engineers is currently preparing and updating federally-required Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasures Plans (SPCC) at three ADEMA facilities in Arizona. SPCC plans help protect the environment from potential spills at oil and fuel storage locations throughout these facilities.  SCS has also assisted ADEMA with the cleanup of lead at shooting ranges, permitting and treatment of wastewater from equipment washing facilities, monitoring of drinking water systems, and cleanup of historical dumping areas.

“SCS Engineers has a long-standing record of providing sustainable environmental and solid waste services in Arizona, and for the federal government,” said Dan Sola, project director of SCS Engineers. “As solution-oriented leaders, we value these lasting relationships with our clients who are proactively protecting our environment.”

PHOENIX, ARIZ.  – We live in a data-driven world. Despite the significant number of quick decisions, we make based on of data on a daily basis, step into most offices today and you’ll discover that decision-making and change are a lengthy process.

Companies are changing the way they are designing their office space as people are working differently. Technology is playing a role in that space utilization.

AZCREW, the leading organization for senior-level executive women in the Metro Phoenix commercial real estate field, will examine workplace strategy at its April luncheon. The event is April 16 at the Phoenix Country Club, 2901 N. 7th St.

April’s speakers:

• Rae Laser, Smart+Connected consultant for Steelcase. Laser specializes in the space measurement solutions, IOT (Internet of Things), scheduling tools, and collaboration technologies for Steelcase. Rae has been with Steelcase since December 2017 and has 5 years industry experience.
• Anne Garbayo is leading a Workplace of the Future at APS, designed to transform how the company defines and uses space. Garbayo has a rich and varied career at APS, which includes work on several key initiatives such as helping to establish a customer experience team.
• Devon Martin is a strategic account manager with Steelcase, where she has worked for more than 11 years. She develops, coordinates and executes an effective workplace strategy to help her clients energize their workplace.

AZCREW’s April lunch begins with networking at 11:30 a.m. The program starts at noon. Member registration is $45; non-member pre-registration is $65. Lunch is included. Registration ends April 11. Register here.