Community Partner Spotlight: Q&A with Geoff Wilcox from VT's Office of Economic Opportunity
This project really was a refreshing and rejuvenating part of my work life during its duration. It was nice to go to the school and meet with [students] and see the work they’d done and work they wanted to do next. What a great class, group, advisors, and overall experience from my perspective.
-Geoff Wilcox
Q: Can you explain the project that the State of Vermont’s Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) and students in Environmental Studies collaborated on?
A: The Middlebury students helped us revise, update and evolve a part of our Weatherization Program process, called the One Touch Survey, which is an important part of our program and helps us ensure holistic and comprehensive service to our low income clients. The One Touch is an integral part of our Efficiency Coaching step of the Wx process, and helps connect clients to any and all other available resources in a manner that results in those clients being able to access services from the other programs. We started the One Touch process about 14 years ago and it was in significant need of updates, not only the contacts from the other programs but also changing and updating the process to make it better and more successful.
Q: What did the students accomplish on the project with your organization?
A:They accomplished a lot. They updated contacts, suggested more, and provided key suggestions for enhancement and improvement. They put a lot of time and thought into this.
Q: What impact did the project have on your organization and community?
A: It will have a significant impact soon, when we implement many of the changes [the students] suggested. To be honest, we have been inundated with work that has taken our bandwidth away from implementing this work. This winter, our state office (OEO) will be working with the Wx agencies Efficiency Coaches (the folks who use the One Touch and who the students interviewed) to implement the work the students did. I am confident it will result in more connections of our clients to other resources that will help improve their lives.
Q: What advice do you have for other community partners looking to work with Middlebury students?
A: Do it! This was a great experience. The four students I worked with were very, very professional, smart, and wise beyond their years. One example, they suggested they interview and get our Weatherization clients perspective on how the One Touch has worked for them. AKA “nothing about us, without us”. Too often the government thinks it knows what is best for its citizens and doesn’t get their input, feedback and get their involvement. These four realized that isn’t how it should work.
Q: What made this partnership successful?
A: The skills and attitude of the students and the two advisors I worked with (Mez Baker-Medard and Diane Monroe). They were all awesome. This experience gave me faith that our future is a lot brighter than we sometimes feel it is (I’ll keep politics aside). It was clear to me from day one that the students and advisory were taking this seriously and were interested and excited to do the work for this partnership and project. They were communicative with me at just the right level.
This project really was a refreshing and rejuvenating part of my work life during its duration. It was nice to go to the school and meet with [students] and see the work they’d done and work they wanted to do next. What a great class, group, advisors, and overall experience from my perspective.