Sometimes a Great Podcast

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TGIP! It’s Must-See OD-TVI Sep 30, 2025

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Season 1, Episode 14

September 17, 2025 · 44 mins

This week on Sometimes a Great Podcast, we bring a full ’90s sitcom lineup—without the canned laughter. Acting Director Liesl Wendt opens the show (2:01), followed by Deadline: ODHS, it’s a clips-show mix of Out of the Darkness community walks, Orange Shirt Day, the PMA fall conference, and Disability Employment Awareness webinars. (5:42) FACT of the Week highlights the Oregon Eligibility Partnership, making benefits easier to access with dignity (10:37). In Mission: In Policy, we cover Trauma Aware’s growth, Transformation alignment, and a leadership transition at ODDS. (12:30) Finally, the Big Picture is a very special episode: a reflective conversation with retiring director Fariborz Pakseresht on curiosity, dignity, and leading with humanity (17:01).

No sharks jumped. No spinoffs launched. Just stories worth coming back for.

“P”s - and a bunch of other letters - in a Pod! Sep 30, 2025

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September 17, 2025 · 44 mins

Season 1, Episode 13This week on Sometimes a Great Podcast,

This week on Sometimes a Great Podcast, we’re packed with Oregon-grown goodness. In Deadline: ODHS we’ve got three dates poking their heads up into your calendar, (7:52) while the FACT of the Week blooms bigger than ever as part of The Big Picture (24:29). But first, there’s “Design, Real, Delivered,” where we’ll be harvesting stories from across the state. From Bend Pride to Polk County’s Relay for Life, then into Salem, for their co-location partnership with Union Gospel Mission. Then we’ll make time to plant some trauma-informed seeds in North Portland, and onto leadership transitions in Public Records —stories that show how ODHS values come alive in real time through staff action and community connection. (12:13)

EEEEK! It's a Podcast! Sep 30, 2025

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September 10, 2025 · 50 mins

Season 1, Episode 12

This week on Sometimes a Great Podcast, we get our “E” on in both FACT of the Week, and Deadline ODHS. There’s the everyday things you need to know - even if we need you to do something a little abnormal to find them. (4:38) Then, we’ll preview next week’s interview with one of the leaders of the Federal Action Coordination Team—aka the folks behind the FACT of the Week. (6:40) Then, in Mission: In Policy, we’ll break down two key updates: the expansion of Service Equity Councils across ODHS, and the newly approved $7.5 billion General Fund budget for 2025–27. (8:20) Finally, in The Big Picture, we return to our conversation with Sylvia Ceron from the Office of Resilience and Emergency Management. From evacuation to empowerment, Sylvia shares what true recovery looks like—and why preparedness is personal. (13:03)

Whether you’re looking for deadlines, disaster plans, or just a place to submit that one burning question, this episode is your friendly reminder that no matter the inquiry this is the pod to be.

It’s Pod to School Time! Sep 30, 2025

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3 Sept · 53 mins

September 3, 2025 (Season 1, Episode 11):

This week on Sometimes a Great Podcast, Deadline: ODHS rings the bell on two key dates — the agency-wide Rebranding Webinar happening today and Florence’s “Beat the Wave” Tsunami Evacuation Quest coming September 7 (4:59). In FACT of the Week, we highlight how you can be a part of the messages we share with our communities. (13:52) Then in The Magnificent Seven, we showcase three stories of teamwork and creativity: the launch of the new SAGE Employee Resource Group, a community mural project at Portland’s Alberta office, and major updates to ODHS workload models. (16:54) Finally, in The Big Picture, we sit down for the first of two interviews with Sylvia Ceron, a Social Services Emergency Liaison, to talk about resilience in the wake of the 2020 wildfires and what recovery really looks like five years later. (24:25)

From deadlines to data, murals to models, this week’s episode is all about sharpening our pencils, comparing notes, and showing how ODHS learns, adapts, and grows — together.

ODHS Poad Trip! Sep 30, 2025

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27 Aug · 40 mins

August 27, 2025 (Season 1, Episode 10):

This week on Sometimes a Great Podcast, Deadline: ODHS drops some dates for a virtual Spanish-language emergency-preparedness event. (6:01) In FACT of the Week, we unpack the potential $15 billion federal budget cut announced by Governor Kotek, what it could mean for Oregon programs, and the reassurance that SNAP benefits and ODHS staff positions remain steady for now. (7:01) Then in Ready: Staffer One, we roll through three big digital updates: smoother meetings in Microsoft Teams, faster and smarter searches in OWL, and new multi-factor authentication options to keep accounts secure. (9:28) Finally, in The Big Picture, Bethany sits down at the Bipartisan Café in Portland with Monique Woods, a Resource Parent Retention and Recruitment Champion for District 2. Together they talk about why retention is the best recruitment, how cultural humility shapes engagement, and why simply showing up makes all the difference. (16:30)

From clear roads to new routes, this week’s episode is all about navigating change with confidence, consistency, and care.

Pod-laaaaaaaaxxxxx! Take it Cheesy! Sep 30, 2025

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Relaaaaaaax! Take it cheesy!

This week in “Sometimes a Great Podcast: The Voices of ODHS” have all kinds of news for managers, and those hoping to become one or just a better one. We’ll also head down the river and down the beach, where we’ll pop the Cork on life in a rural - but not definitely not small - district.20 Aug · 41 mins

August 20, 2025 (Season 1, Episode 9):

This week on Sometimes a Great Podcast, Deadline: ODHS has reminders about upcoming Transformation Project Office Hours and the Hiring Manager Recruitment Series. (5:20) In our FACT of the Week, we continue to connect the dots between federal actions in Washington, D.C., and the work we do in Oregon. (6:39) Then, in Survivor: Oregon, we look at new wellness tools on tobacco cessation, stress management, and harm reduction, plus the Community Resiliency Model (CRM) training and iChill app, all designed to strengthen staff readiness in emergencies. (10:05) Finally, in The Big Picture, we head to District 1 to talk with District Manager Tim Cork about leadership in a diverse region, how the Transformation is taking shape on the ground, reducing burnout, integrating Vocational Rehabilitation and making resource shifts that change lives. (14:09)

Bring Pod a HIRED Love! Sep 30, 2025

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Bring me a HIRED love!

All kinds of news for managers, and those hoping to become one or just a better one.This week in “Sometimes a Great Podcast: The Voices of ODHS”13 Aug · 50 mins

August 13, 2025 (Season 1, Episode 8):This week on Sometimes a Great Podcast, Dateline: ODHS includes the search for a permanent head of the Developmental Disabilities Services, and some quick reminders about upcoming All-Staff Office Hours and Hiring Manager Recruitment Series events. (5:43) In our FACT of the week, we’ve got more updates from D.C. (8:36) Then we’re off to “The Head of the Class,” with reminders and updates about all kinds of things for careers in ODHS. Including more information about ODHS’s four-part Hiring Manager Recruitment Series, and Hiring Manager Office Hours. There’s also info on the fall sessions of Career Advocate Office Hours designed to teach you about résumé-building and interview prep. Finally, we’ll show you how to learn about self-care via the New Trauma Informed Care Video Series Offers Flexible Learning (10:08). Then, we’ll close as we always do, with The Big Picture. This week, we’re headed down to Gold Beach and Brookings, where Mike Leaver and Teri Moore are making Family Preservation work and showing that at ODHS, our best resources are the people we work with. (18:25)

Another Week on the Pod Because There's an Awesome Truck! Sep 30, 2025

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WOWI That’s an awesome truck! It’s another week on the roads to TransformationSometimes a Great Podcast – The Oregon Department of Human Services 6 Aug · 52 mins

“Sometimes a Great Podcast:” August 6, 2025 (Season 1, Episode 7):We kick off “Deadline: ODHS,” with a retiring director and a VERY exciting truck in Roseburg, (3:26) followed by our “FACT of the Week,” (6:37), we’ll roll into “The Magnificent Seven,” where stories range from a wellness truck in Roseburg and a statewide rebrand to new trauma-informed offices in Astoria and Portland and the launch of a new peer-to-peer video series, “Real Questions, Lived Answers.” (7:38) Then, in “The Big Picture,” we head back to District 15 to speak with District Operations Officer Dani Harris. It’s a conversation about shifting culture, empowering staff, and what it actually takes to transform a system—not on paper, but in practice. (16:30)

We're one Pod-dy Family! Sep 30, 2025

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Christine Warner: One Family Coach, Two Programs, No Wrong Door

Sometimes a Great Podcast –

The Oregon Department of Human Services 23 Jul · 46 mins.

“Sometimes a Great Podcast:” July 30, 2025 (Season 1, Episode 6): After our regular “Deadline: ODHS,” (4:23) and “FACT of the Week,” (6:09) segments, we’ll get into the next edition of “Survivor, Oregon.” This month: Emergency Kits for In-Home Medicaid Recipients, a New EBT Skimming Prevention Toolkit, and more information about upcoming Trauma Aware Community Groups. (7:15). Then, in “The Big Picture,” we’ll talk Transformed, cross-district collaboration between the beach and the Portland ‘burbs, as we follow up with last week’s interview by chatting with Victoria Neal, a Child Welfare case worker in Astoria who practiced real-world integration, as she and a family coach navigated issues of consent, funding boundaries, and family-centered teamwork to make a difference. (11:33)

Every-pod-y ready? Get Set... Tech! Sep 30, 2025

Show notes

Deadline: ODHS

Hiring Manager Office Hours – July 30 Virtual Q&A with Recruitment, Classification & Compensation, and Workday teams Topics: full-cycle recruitment, post-reference check steps, documentation, Bench List Covered in: Discover, July 9 Next session: September 24

Email Retention Changes – August 1 Automatic deletion of non-compliant emails begins Originally set for July 1; postponed for final checks Guidance and links in: Discover, June 30

FACT of the Week Topic: ODHS response to federal changes Includes:

Director Pakseresht’s July 11 email to staff (search: “ODHS & Federal Changes”)
Upcoming OHA/ODHS community partner webinar on federal changes – July 22
Ongoing updates and guidance posted to OWL by the Federal Actions Coordination Team

Ready Staffer One: Tech Updates Windows 11 Rollout – In Progress New smart screen sharing now available Hover on taskbar, click “Share this window,” go live More features to roll out over time Covered in: Discover, June 16

OWL Feedback Button Launch – June 23 Website feedback link added to all Hub-associated pages Allows users to flag errors or suggest improvements Covered in: Discover, June 30

🧩 The Big Picture – Time Cue: 13:05 Interview with Christine Warner – District 15 Family Coach Cross-program, cross-district collaboration with Child Welfare peer in District 1 Co-case planning to support a family navigating eligibility, services, and safety Focus on real-time teamwork and transformation-driven system navigation Themes: Relational coordination, SSP–CW alignment, and dignity-centered service

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