Joe Erpenbeck

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Community Development Director Job Opening


By Joe Erpenbeck, 2017-02-06

Community Development Director

 

Community Development Director will provide strong visionary and collaborative leadership in community development across many sectors in Brantford and Brant County. The person will be a leader who has an understanding of the principles and application of community development and a passion for social innovation.

 

The ideal candidate will demonstrate an entrepreneurial spirit and a forward-thinking philosophy with an ability to engage and inspire across a broad spectrum. This leader will provide guidance and have an awareness of social issues in the community and the impact of isolation.  A results driven individual with outstanding interpersonal and communication skills, a history of community involvement and leadership experience, ability to work in a diverse community and a team-oriented approach will excel in this position.

 

Position will work in a supportive, innovative, team oriented atmosphere with excellent pay and benefits.

 

Applicants are invited to submit their resumes and cover letter by February 21, 2017 to:

 

Email : communitydeveloperbrant@gmail.com

 

We thank all applicants for responding, however we advise that only those to be considered for an interview will be contacted

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Treasures in Our Neighbourhoods


By Joe Erpenbeck, 2016-07-26

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I have seen this guy biking around town riding an unbelievably decked out bicycle. It appeared to have flashing lights, music playing and all types of decorations. The cyclist often appeared in a hurry and as if he did not have time for conversation. The seat looked like one you would see on a chopper type motorcycle. The bike was without a doubt attention grabbing.

One evening I saw the bike parked by a fence near the railroad tracks and noticed the guy nearby and thought I should meet him and see this treasure of a bike. I was unsure if he would want to speak but I really wanted to meet him, so I did a U-turn and biked up near him.

I commented that his bike looked so amazing and he seemed appreciative. He said that the bike was a work in progress and that he had it for 15 years. He proceeded to show me some of the many treasures on this rolling amusement park / museum.

There was a dashboard complete with lights, music, statues, a disco ball, a coffee maker and even a bubble machine. He had assembled what appeared to be a very comfortable seat starting with part of a grocery cart. This was just the beginning as I noticed a Spider Man lunch box, golf clubs, Mardi-Gras masks, flashing lights near the chain, horns from a bull, games to play and a Salvador Dali clock melting over the chain.

He goes by the nickname Captain Kaleidoscope. I was struck by this amazing builder, artist, and engineer and felt lucky meet him and to hear his story and to hear about his gifts.

Is there someone in your neighborhood you have wanted to meet?

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Writer, determined, and knitter are all words to describe a person. Negative labels have power to stigmatize and make it difficult to see the gifts, talents, and passions. When we increase stigma we lose the opportunity to see the amazing gifts around us.

Read about an amazing artist, engineer and builder :http://www.joeerpenbeck.com

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Portrait of a Connected Neigborhood


By Joe Erpenbeck, 2013-11-11

40_blogs.jpg?width=750Stories and pictures build community and create understanding. Through them, people who have taken different roads to create a home in Vancouverare sharing memories and creating a lived history of place and space.

Project CLIC:Creating Liveable and Interactive Communities was aimed at creating more welcoming and inclusive neighbourhoods by exploring the stories, photographs and experiences of citizens, one clic at a time.

On October 4th, twenty-two people came together to share pizza together and talk about the ideas of the project. Each person was paired with a partner, given a disposable camera, a list of suggestions to guide them and a Photo Story form to record their experiences and stories. Suggestions from the list included things like: something that makes you laugh, a place you love to go, something you would love to learn more about, what this community needs. Throughout the next two weeks, each photojournalist would choose 4 topics from the list of questions and take 12 photographs. Then they arranged to get the camera to their photo buddy so they could shoot their 12 images.

As a wrap up and celebration, each of the photographers and their guests were invited to a dinner and Sharing Circle to view the photographs and share stories. In small groups people discussed the photos and reflected on what they say about the community we live in and the experiences of our neighbours. The conversation was lively, emotional and supported everyone in getting to better know one another.

Project Clic was animated by Little Mountain Neighbourhood House, with support from Van City, Fresh Slice Pizza, ABCD Vancouver and the citizens of Mount Pleasant.

If you would like more info or are interested in hosting a similar event, please contact me.

Joe Erpenbeck

www.joeerpenbeck.com

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An Asset Based Interview


By Joe Erpenbeck, 2013-10-28

Selecting and hiring people to be Community Connectors can be a difficult task. What type of experience and education should the applicant have? Should the person be out spoken? How can I find the right person? Should he or she be an extrovert?

I recall John McKnight telling me that I should look for 3 traits:

- fearless

- well-connected

- passionate about people, neighbourhoods and the power of citizens

Unfortunately, working with agencies that provide services there is often a different set of hiring criteria. Also, a typical interview process does not lend itself to clearly identifying people with these types of characteristics. Even the job description and ads tend to be confusing and not reflective of the real nature of community work. Spending time in neighborhoods and meeting people are seldom mentioned in descriptors that I have seen, but are 2 key components of this work.

I have struggled for years about how to create an interview process that identifies characteristics fearlessness and passion for connecting people in the community. Out in neighborhoods I have met citizens that are passionate about people and community and have met people who I thought would be amazing Connectors, but very few interview questions and responses have left me with that same feeling.

This led to an idea: what if we did a slightly different type of interview and invite applicants to spend time in a neighbourhood, meeting people as part of the interview process? Would this provide information that was useful in selection? If nothing else would it share clearly what our mission is? Would it be a positive experience? What if it was a disaster? And what if it rained buckets?

We recently had an opportunity to hire a new Connector and this would provide a great opportunity to showcase key ingredients of Asset Based Community Development (ABCD). It would also provide a great chance to practice radical hospitality, welcoming each applicant and sharing and reflecting on this experience with him or her.

We started by rethinking the job posting. We left out the system words and lingo and focused on people, neighbourhoods, hospitality and invitations. Within a week, we had received close to 80 applications.

The selection process started with the phone call to invite 20 of the applicants in for the revamped interview. I told them why I was calling and offered them an invitation to meet. At that point everyone seemed excited and eager to be invited. Then I told them that we were trying something new and what we hoped would be fun. I informed the applicants that part of the interview would be spent outdoors so to dress comfortably and for the weather. Most of the applicants were very excited to be invited to do something different and what was being described as fun.

However, there was a percentage (15-20%) that seemed alarmed by the invitation and would ask nervous questions about the job or then politely say they had a conflict that day. In all of the cases that people sounded apprehensive, they declined my invitation for the interview. Coincidently, each of the applicants that withdrew also had experience working in the disability services field. Self-selection out served as a helpful tool.

Here is a brief summary of the process that we developed:

Six to ten applicants would arrive for an interview at the same time. They would be greeted warmly and engaged in conversation as they arrived. Once all had arrived I would describe the initiative we were embarking on and then describe the neighborhood experience they would set out on.

The applicants then spent time 45 minutes to an hour in the neighbourhood with the following guidelines:

- Meet one to three people and learn about their gifts and what they are connected to

- Be as natural as possible (taking notes was discouraged)

- Do not saturate a person or place

- Have fun

Each person was told that we thought they would have a great experience connecting with welcoming people and places, but that sometimes it does not go so well and that would also be okay. They were told that its no reflection on their ability to connect, it just happens sometimes. I gave each applicant my phone number in case they got lost or ran into any difficulties. And they all headed out. In most of the sessions one person would inform us after the introduction that this job was not for them and leave

The return of the group was an exciting experience. They came back one by one and were eager to share stories. Some people even returned with items they had been given or picked up on along their journey. When each person returned, we had a discussion around 3 questions:

- Tell us about one person you met?

- What struck you about this experience?

- What surprised you about this experience?

The hope of the discussion was to gain insight into applicants ability to listen, tell a story and be a contributing team member. As we proceeded through the discussion the other team members were paying attention to assess each applicant on:

- Did they appear to have a gift focused approach?

- Were they able to effectively build relationships?

- Do they communicate effectively?

- How do they appear to function as a team member?

- Did the applicant appear to enjoy the activity?

The discussion was lively, interesting and at times very emotional. Each person had a story to tell and the applicants were able to engage with one another versus just answering interview questions. There was a buzz and excitement to the group. We tried to keep the discussion to an hour but I think they group may have stayed for hours.

Later that week, five of the twenty applicants were invited back for a more in depth individual discussion. These conversations felt as if we were reconnecting with friends. The applicants were still telling stories about their experiences during their neighborhood exploration. Some had even connected again with people they met during the first interview. One thing for sure is that an asset-based interview creates a space for people to share their gifts. This is what we are about.

Joe Erpenbeck

www.joeerpenbeck.com

513-646-9493

Director of Asset Based Community Development

Vancouver, BC

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