WAEF's New Boss Pt 1
With today’s Fruit Grower Report, I’m Bob Larson. In February, we introduced you to the Washington Apple Education Foundation’s new Executive Director, Dr. Faviola Barbosa. Now that the transition from past E.D. Jennifer Witherbee is over, we decided to check back in with her.She says she’s excited to be there and believes her 18+ years working in higher education has prepared her well …
BARBOSA … “I have worked with higher education at three different community colleges, both on the student services side and the instructional side of the house, and I feel that that provides me a very good foundation for WAEF.”
And, Barbosa says WAEF is not just a one-stop shop …
BARBOSA … “Not only do we provide scholarships to students, but we provide wrap-around services making sure that they have a mentor to work with, that they access internships so that upon graduation they can have a job secured. So having those connections within the 34 community colleges is really an asset.”
Now, she says it’s time to get to work …
BARBOSA … “The last couple of weeks I began working with the staff, learning the internal structure, learning about the different events that we host, and now I’m going out into the community and meeting the directors and the donors that work with us here at WAEF.”
And getting to know her team, Barbosa says has been a dream …
BARBOSA … “That is going great. We have an amazing team here. Every day I am just in awe about their ability to do so much with so little. And, I’m just proud of the team and I’m glad to be a part of it.”
Tune in tomorrow for more about WAEF and their new Executive Director, Dr. Faviola Barbosa, or go to www.waef.org .