Access Services Desk Coordinator Leslie Settle recently received her certification as a systemwide facilitator for the University of California.

She joins an elite group of ten people who are certified to provide UC systemwide professional development programs, including the award-winning University of California Women’s Initiative (UCWI) CORO.

At present, Settle is the only UC Riverside-based certified UC Facilitator for the UC Women’s Initiative.

In spring 2018, Settle first participated in CORO UCWI, which aims to establish a pipeline for advancement and to promote women in leadership at the university. CORO exists to open doors to women in any stage of their careers, not just in senior-level positions within the university, Settle explained.

After completing CORO UCWI, Settle was one of four applicants chosen to become a UC facilitator, trained at UCOP through a partnership between CORO and Systemwide Talent Management.

“The biggest transformation, personally, was learning to break my imposter syndrome and value my skills and abilities,” Settle said. “To be put on the same playing field as women whose titles held more prestige than mine, and then realize that they wanted to learn from me, was an honor.”

During CORO, Systemwide Talent Management staff remarked on Settle’s charming use of colloquialisms in facilitating, something she felt would not have been a factor if she had equal professional status to those in management. “This experience helped me to learn that taking constructive feedback means knowing what to adjust and what not to fix, so it doesn’t change who I am,” she explained.

CORO UCWI also helped Settle to achieve greater confidence and skill as a trainer, and increased clarity on her career goal: to become a national leadership program facilitator.

From April to June at UC Riverside, Settle will co-lead CORO’s UCWI 2019 southern cohort, a group of 30 mid-career women from across the UC system who have demonstrated potential for advancement in staff, faculty or academic roles. Topics will include growth mindset, intersectionality, balancing advocacy and inquiry, emotional agility, negotiation, writing professional narratives, and more.

Professional development and mentoring student employees are high priorities for Settle, who also served as the first chair for the UCR Library’s Professional Development Committee. “At work, I get to bring joy to the students I serve and the people I work with. Outside of work, I love to pay it forward. I’m a giver at heart.”

As a UC facilitator, Settle’s role is also to educate people on who is eligible and how to apply for programs like CORO UCWI. “All UCR women employees who have been working in a career position for seven to 10 years – not just at UCR – should be encouraged and welcomed to apply.”

CORO UCWI is sponsored by the Systemwide Advisory Committee on the Status of Women (SACSW) and the UC Office of the President, and administered by Systemwide Talent Management.