Public Employee Press

Climbing the career ladder: JTP to Supervisor

Libertad Fernandez entered Queens Theater in the Park Aug. 24 with a broad smile and a bounce in her step, her olive Parks Supervisor dress uniform neatly pressed and her father at her side, reserved but proud.

"This has been a long journey," said Libby, a Bronx native and single mother of two who started as a Job Training Participant in 1999 and two years later became a City Seasonal Aide. When Commissioner Adrian Benepe called her name, she bounded proudly up the stairs to receive the certificate that said she was promoted to Parks Supervisor - a momentous career achievement.

Hard work paid off in her ascent from public assistance to public service and now a civil service supervisor.

"When I started I did not know anything about what it took to be a city employee or to hold a job," Fernandez confessed. In the JTP program, thousands of welfare recipients are given six-month work assignments at city agencies to help them get work experience.

Fernandez served at city pools and parks, her outstanding success an exception as many JTPs languish in the system, getting experience but not jobs. DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts has pressed the city to hire more JTPs in civil service jobs instead of contracting out work and dumping the JTPs back on welfare.

DC 37 organized and represents the JTPs. Fernandez is now a member of Parks Supervisors Local 1508. She says she is ready for the challenges and responsibilities of her new position, which include supervising JTPs.

"I had to teach myself to type, write memos, file and interact with people," said Fernandez, who attended the Parks Academy and kept abreast of promotional opportunities. Studying with co-workers helped her pass the Associate Parks Service Worker exam. Then she got the commercial driver's license that enabled her to take the Supervisor test.

Fernandez credits Queens Borough Commissioner Dorothy Lewandowski and the late John Bachman for seeing something inside her and helping her to reach her potential.

"It took many baby steps to get here," she said. "I did it for myself and my two kids and here I am. Wow, this is a great day!"

—DSW