The building of a resume

I like to call my work and academic experience a Swiss Army Knife for D3’s problems. And by that, I mean that I’ve had a wide range of experience in business, mental health, education, housing, and community advocacy.

Now that we are campaigning for the General Election, I’d like to discuss in more detail some of my work experience, beyond the cursory descriptions provided on my website https://www.irenesmithd3.com/experience

Academics:

I received my PhD in Counseling Psychology in 1995 from Northern California Graduate School. My original research dissertation was on Neurolingistic Programing Techniques in Attorney Mediations to Enhance Rapport in Communications and was published in 1995. NCGS was a great school for me, as I took night classes as I was working full-time at IBM while getting my degree. The school required a masters in psychology prior to admittance and was soley focused on Counseling Psychology and offered both a PhD and Psy.D. for hardworking night students around the Bay Area. NCGU had great teachers from Stanford and other local Universities and I especially enjoyed experiences shared by professors of other students at other Universities. And because this was night school we had an exceptionally diverse class of experienced therapists.

Founder Dr. William Evraiff was a visionary and helped untold students become well educated in mental health. Unfortunately NCGS ceased operations after over a decade in business in 2006 for financial reasons. I am a very proud alum of NCGS and greatly appreciate the education and high level learning they afforded me and many others during their tenure. https://westerndatalynx.com/ncgu-index.html

I received my Masters in Marriage, Family, Child, Counseling (MFCC) from the University of San Francisco prior to attending NCGU and also received that degree while working full-time at IBM.

I received my Juris Doctor (JD) from Santa Clara University and passed the California bar exam immediately upon graduation. I worked full-time at IBM while going to law school at night.

My undergraduate degree is from Villanova University and I received a Bachelor of Science (BS) in Accounting.

Mental Health experience:

For several years, I worked in the psychiatric wing of San Jose Hospital, working with children with severe mental impairments. This was a tremendously important experience for me, as it taught me so much about the importance of caring for our impaired neighbors and family members, the importance of compassion for their families, and most important: the importance of persistence and patience. This experience has greatly influenced my Incremental Ladder of Success Housing plan https://medium.com/@irenesmithd3/incremental-ladder-of-housing-success-5cebce8a88f7.

My supervisor at SJ Hospital Gina Earle commented on my tenure at San Jose Hospital that “Irene’s work in mental health showed great thoughtfulness and compassion”. I am always caught short when I re-read that quote, I often think that experience was the most important work I have ever done.

Legal Career:

Immediately after graduating from Santa Clara University I passed the California bar exam and started looking for ways to apply my education. I worked with the Pro Bono Project of Santa Clara County and was able to assist low income clients to access the legal system. My cases included political asylum, dissolution, and contracts. I soon founded the Mediation Project for the Pro Bono Project because we had more cases than attorneys and mediation was a way in which the parties could create their own solutions. The Director of the Pro Bono Project, John Hedges, said this “Dr. Smith is a practicing attorney with a Masters in Marriage Family and Child Counseling as well as a PhD in counseling psychology. She works at IBM and has extensive experience with negotiations and interpersonal communications.” And he wrote an article for the Santa Clara County Bar Association magazine regarding the Mediation Project found here https://medium.com/@irenesmithd3/founding-the-mediation-project-29c17657a7f3 I am most proud of the innovative mediations we did with LACY helping runaways come to agreement in order to come back home and helping three-strikes children back into the school.

I have been a Pro Tem judge for Santa Clara County for over 15 years. And I have heard well over 2,000 cases, often going to court three and four times a week. One of my most frequent courtroom clerks had this to say “Although she was in a position of authority, she easily connected with both plaintiffs and defendants making sure they felt heard. Often these cases were high conflict and Irene was able to maintain control over the court room while keeping rapport.” Kim Palmer, former SCC courtroom clerk, SEIU Chief Steward & Executive Board Member

As a board member and current treasurer for Sentencing Alternatives Program (SAP) I’ve been exceptionally pleased to work with a diversion process which helps folks contribute back rather than imposing mandatory prison sentences. The current SAP President had this to say “Dr. Smith has the personal and professional experience to advocate for families and the welfare of workers in downtown San Jose.” Dan Peak, MA, JD, former Public Defender

I have been an Administrative Law Hearing Officer for several years for Santa Clara County. This administrative law covers such cases such as: dangerous dogs, illegal fireworks, and code enforcement. These decisions require lengthy and substantive written judgements.

I have my own mediation and negotiation consultancy firm which started 33 years ago. I have worked with issues such as: real estate contracts, start-up formation, dissolution, neighbor disputes, and patent issues.

I am currently not actively practicing law. However I remain a member of the California Bar Association in good standing. This inactive member status allows me to continue the work I prefer most.

Housing experience:

I have been a housing provider for rent controlled apartments in San Jose D3 for 33 years. We have never had an eviction. But we have had some memorable events. Like the time the San Jose sewer pipes burst under the street and flooded the basement with black water. This was made interesting because it was Christmas Eve and we were with family. When we got the call from residents regarding the terrible stench we realized that no one could wake up Christmas morning to that odor. We quickly hired a hazmat team, worked alongside, and removed 12 drums of sewage. We have met some truly amazing people over the years, kept in touch with many, and learned so very much about housing

“ Having rented an apartment from Irene for over a decade, I have no qualms voting her into City Council. She has consistently delivered well-run, well-maintained housing while keeping a personal, caring touch that makes her pleasure to work with.” Nica, current long-term resident

“Irene wasn’t just a responsive, knowledgeable landlord, she was my neighbor. I felt respected and valued as her tenant, and confident in her expertise in both property law and tenants rights. She will work to improve our city to be a better place for all of us to call home.” Jen, 20+ year SJUSD teacher and San Jose resident

IBM

I worked 18 years at IBM in a wide variety of positions from cost accounting and finance to marketing and sales.

“ During my 26 years at IBM I had the opportunity to work closely with Irene on highly complex technology projects and high impact marketing initiatives. In all of my experiences at IBM, Irene stood apart for her excellent management skills, her collaborative leadership style, her smarts, and her innovation. She was transformative and inspired all of those who had the privilege to work with her.” Paul Ortega, technical engineer

“Irene’s collaborative management style gave her team the guidance, support but freedom to utilize our skills to overachieve in an emerging, complex, high technology marketplace.” Randy Kum, technical engineer

“Irene Smith knows how to collaborate to get results. She has both the experience and wisdom to manage complex situations and bring people together. Elect Irene to serve, and she will use her leadership skills and her strong character to deliver for the City of San Jose.” M. Suzanne Y. Korinke, Business Unit Executive — Complex Solutions

“Irene worked with me as both my peer and my manager over several years at IBM. Her management style is friendly and engaging, but always focused on longer-term goals and targets. She’s a good listener, and does an excellent job of balancing sometimes competing objectives: performance goals from higher-ups, financial needs and technical expectations from customers, and encouraging teamwork and positive outlook among her employees.” Ed Wagstaff, technical engineer

“Irene was able to get the most out of her team of highly skilled technology experts in a complex and challenging environment utilizing a collaborative management style that kept everyone involved and focused on both team and individual objectives. Irene’s positive and inclusive approach made her a popular leader amongst her team members while generating highly productive results.” Dennis Stoller, technical engineer

“Irene was often our “go to” person because she had a keen ability to take a complex situation, break it down into manageable parts, drive consensus on how best to resolve and to deliver. These are all traits that would serve her constituents well as she works to earn their trust to become the next Councilwoman for San Jose’s District 3.” Stacy Hunter, sales leader.