Subject: [All Staff] Leadership Team Announcement
From: Presidents Office <[email-masked]>
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Date: Tue, 11 Aug 2020 09:21:41 -0700
List-Id: <allstaff.cca.edu>

Dear Colleagues,

I write today to share the bittersweet news that Leslie Gray, Vice
President of Human Resources, will be leaving CCA for another opportunity
effective August 20. While her departure is a great loss for CCA, I’m
thrilled that Leslie will be advancing her career in an exciting new role
as Vice President of HR Operations at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, a
mission-driven organization devoted to leveraging technology to help solve
some of the world’s toughest challenges in the areas of science, education,
and justice and opportunity.

Leslie joined CCA in 2015 as Associate Vice President of Human Resources,
and in 2017 was promoted as the first black, female member of the Senior
Cabinet. In this critical role, Leslie brought a new level of
professionalism to CCA’s HR services, building a talented team and
infrastructure to meet the college’s human-resource needs. She conducted
the college’s first comprehensive compensation study and implemented a
multi-year plan to bring salaries to market. She has been a strong advocate
on behalf of CCA’s employees, establishing a fund to support staff wellness
initiatives; promoting staff and faculty professional-development efforts;
and most recently, working with her team and Dr. Jimmie Turner to establish
emotional support groups centered on the concept of compassionate
witnessing to support employees in the midst of the pandemic and racial
violence.

As a leader of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force, Leslie
helped introduce the college’s first required unconscious bias online
learning tool. She revamped CCA’s Title IX policy and process,
reestablished a thriving Staff Advisory Committee to cultivate staff
culture, and provided consultation and coaching to the executive team,
leaders, and employees across the college.

I have had the opportunity to work closely with Leslie as she has served as
a valuable and respected member of CCA’s leadership team, and her
intelligence, compassion, and calm good humor have been especially critical
throughout the extraordinarily difficult period we are currently
navigating. On behalf of CFO Ed Prohaska and the entire CCA leadership
team, I wish Leslie nothing but the best as she moves on to this important
next step in her career.

Ed and I are also pleased to announce that Maira Lazdins has graciously
agreed to step into the role of Interim Associate Vice President of Human
Resources. Since joining CCA nearly four years ago, Maira has led core HR
functions across the college, including partnering with Leslie on the
college-wide compensation study and many other initiatives. She has
developed and implemented staff trainings, and has served as a leader on
the Staff Advisory Committee, working in partnership with others to develop
staff appreciation, staff advocacy, and community engagement initiatives
that contribute to the culture at CCA. She is excited to continue this
work, particularly with regard to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
initiatives.

While the pandemic prevents us from gathering in person to express our
heartfelt appreciation to Leslie for the extraordinary leadership she has
brought to CCA, I encourage you to send her a note or message. Leslie, we
wish you all the best—we will miss you!

With gratitude,

Steve