Latest news with #Wysocki
Chicago Tribune
2 days ago
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
New chief legal officer, sustainability director for city approved by Aurora City Council
Two new hires for the city of Aurora were approved by the Aurora City Council on Tuesday, including a new chief legal officer and the city's first-ever director of sustainability. Since Mayor John Laesch took office in May, the city has hired a number of new employees in upper management to replace those who resigned or retired when former Mayor Richard Irvin left office. Following Tuesday's City Council meeting, the latest hires are Yordana Wysocki, the city's next corporation counsel, and Alison Lindburg, who will be taking on a newly-created position as the city's director of sustainability. The two appointments were on the City Council's Committee of the Whole meeting agenda last week, but aldermen did not discuss the matter publicly at that time, according to past reporting. Both hires were approved unanimously by the council on Tuesday evening. Per her resume, Wysocki currently works at Hervas, Condon & Bersani, P.C., an Itasca-based law firm that specializes in local government law and litigation. A partner since 2016, she represents local governments as general counsel, conducts employee misconduct investigations and gives recommendations to local governments on employee discipline and employment policy changes, among other things. She's also the incoming chair of the Illinois State Bar Association's Local Government Section Council and has been involved with local bar associations and The Legacy Project, which promotes women leadership in local government, her resume says. As the new corporation counsel, Wysocki will lead the city's law department, according to past reporting. Per the job description from the city, she'll provide legal advice and counsel to elected officials and upper city management, review contracts and agreements, draft and negotiate agreements for the city and represent the city for legal actions, among other responsibilities. At Tuesday's meeting, Laesch noted that outgoing corporation counsel Richard Veenstra will help with the transition. As for the newly-created director of sustainability job, Alison Lindburg comes from the Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance, where she's currently the director of building codes and policy, according to her resume. In that role, she helps several states and their municipalities implement energy efficiency policies like energy codes, leads research on decarbonization and energy efficiency in buildings, among other duties. According to her resume, she also currently serves on the Illinois Energy Code Advisory Council, Illinois Building Energy Hub Advisory Board, Chicago Sustainable Development Policy Committee and the International Code Council Sustainability Membership Council, of which she is the chair. Per the job description from the city, her responsibilities are set to include, among a number of other things, developing and managing a city sustainability plan, creating a 'public bank or green investment mechanism' for sustainability projects and assisting in updating Aurora's vehicle fleet to 'a carbon-free standard.'
Winnipeg Free Press
24-04-2025
- General
- Winnipeg Free Press
Digging for savings? Gardening experts advise patience, planning when growing food
CALGARY – The snow has only just melted in Calgary, but strawberries, eggplants, several kinds of tomatoes and even Meyer lemons are growing behind Donna Balzer's bungalow. Instead of buying a bag of dull spinach from the grocery store, she can go to her greenhouse and pick pert leaves with a glossy sheen — a sign they're abundant in minerals. And instead of a bunch of store-bought herbs that will mostly go limp after a few sprigs are used, she can pick what she needs when she needs it. 'It's never a bad time to have fresh basil leaf. It's never a bad time for fresh rosemary,' she says. With grocery prices surging, it may be tempting for newbies to take a crack at growing their own produce. Gardening aficionados say cost savings are possible, but it takes patience and planning. Balzer, a horticulturalist who teaches and writes about all things gardening, spent about $20,000 on a backyard greenhouse, an investment she says made sense after she moved from British Columbia to a smaller home. With her children grown, there was also ample time for the project, which she thinks of as an extension to her house. 'It's really worthwhile for me to have the greenhouse and it's so much more than just a place to grow plants,' she says, sitting in a patio chair as warm April light streams in through the glass. Another 'perfect splurge' was the $1,500 grow light setup she has in her basement, where trays upon trays of new plants are set out on two shelving units on wheels. While others may start seeds in a haphazard way with random reused containers, Balzer opted to spend on sturdy plastic containers of a standard size for efficiency's sake. For those who don't have the time and expertise, Balzer recommends keeping focused on one or two items they love. 'The worst thing is to get a seed catalogue and go through and get one of every category. Like, 'I want endive, I want cilantro,'' she said. 'Just pick your favourite category, and maybe it's just herbs. If you can grow amazing basil, just do that and then trade with friends for their amazing tomatoes.' Maggie Wysocki started out as a self-taught home gardener almost 12 years ago and has been documenting her journey on her website From Soil to Soul. She and her family live on an acreage outside Winnipeg, where they also have a greenhouse, chickens and hardy crops that can survive the tricky Prairie climate. Wysocki says one of the biggest mistakes she made in the beginning was going to the garden centre without a plan. 'It can be so easy to get excited when you're there and want to buy gadgets and tools and just plants that look exciting and new,' she says. 'But in my experience, going there without actually having a solid list of what can fit in my garden and what plants make sense for the little microclimate in my backyard, that's where you're always going to go wrong because you're just going to start overspending.' Wysocki says high-tech gadgets, like probes to gauge soil temperature, aren't usually wise investments. 'We kind of get wrapped up in the idea of thinking that technology is going to tell us how we can garden better,' she says. 'But I personally think that's kind of missing the whole point of gardening, which is to be out and observing nature and learning from it.' An irrigation system, on the other hand, has been a useful purchase for Wysocki. She also advises that the bulk of a gardener's budget should go toward making sure the soil is healthy, whether that's compost, mulch or a layer of topsoil. 'Your soil health is everything when it comes to your garden. It's the foundation of it all,' she says. 'So spend the majority of what you've set aside there and then things like seeds and transplants and material, that all should really just take up 15 to 20 per cent of what's set aside to spend.' During Elections Get campaign news, insight, analysis and commentary delivered to your inbox during Canada's 2025 election. Wysocki recommends planting crops that have a good return on investment. Instead of a little tomatillo plant that might yield five fruits, potatoes and onions can keep during the winter in cold storage. Tomatoes can be frozen and used in sauces and stews. She says growing her own food has yielded big savings on her grocery bill, but not right away. 'The reality is really you won't likely save money in your first one to two years of gardening because you're just learning and acquiring those skills and spending and investing money on building your garden's health and ecosystem,' Wysocki says. 'But if you keep at it for three, five years onward, I do believe and have seen myself that you gradually see the cost savings.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 24, 2025.
Forbes
14-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Advice For The Post-College Job Search
Careers by the People: Candid Career Advice from 101 Experienced Professionals It's April – for college seniors, that means graduation is approaching, and the job search is in full swing. Mike Wysocki's Careers By the People is a great resource for those students thinking about their first professional job. Wysocki's book stands out because it doesn't lecture—it listens. Instead of offering generic career advice or rigid checklists, it gives readers a front-row seat to 101 real career stories, from electrical engineers and tax accountants to journalists, farmers, and actors. Wysocki asks the questions we're all thinking about but often fail to ask, such as: What's actually frustrating about this job? What are your coworkers like? What are the biggest misconceptions about your field? And would you choose this job again if given the chance? The answers, straight from professionals themselves, are illuminating—and often surprising. Curious to learn more about Wysocki and his motivations for writing Careers By the People, I reached out with a few questions. I first asked him how his career journey influenced this book. Wysocki shared, 'In college and during my early twenties, I did not prepare for the workforce. I did try a few occupations and failed, but I didn't do any homework or prep work on what I should do with myself. My simple belief was to get a job, and the company will train you.' Wysocki was raised in a low-income area and was a first-generation college student. Like many first-generation college students, Wysocki lacked social capital and looked for 'jobs (not careers) that paid well.' His first job was selling computers, and as he shared, 'It wasn't a joy, but it paid the bills.' However, it didn't take long before he was 'fed up' with the job and quit. Mike Wysocki, author of Careers by the People Wysocki moved to Los Angeles thinking he could write a movie script and sell it for 'big cash.' When that didn't work out, he went back to tech sales. He shared that during this time, he was bored and decided to ask people about their jobs—lots of people. Over time, he spoke with more than 100 individuals in different professions, compiling their experiences and insights into what would become Careers By the People. His aim was simple: to help others, especially students like his younger self, make more informed, thoughtful career choices. The book features 101 different occupations. I asked Wysocki how he picked the particular jobs. He stated, 'I wanted to get occupations from all over industry; from CEO to actuary to accountant to farmer, … all parts of the US and all professions.' Of interest, Wysocki categorizes careers using a modern interpretation of Holland's Occupational Themes. For those not familar with Holland's theory, which is known as the RIASEC model, it is a theory that categorizes individuals and occupations into six personality types. These include realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising, and conventional. I was curious about how he believes this framework aids readers in understanding and choosing their career paths. He said, 'I always inform students to narrow their job search down to three industries they enjoy. Once they are in that industry, they can network and bounce around the company, so at least they know that industry well." Wysocki added, 'Holland made it simple with six easy-to-understand categories. I updated the categories with modern language" that would appeal to graduating students. An interesting aspect of Wysocki's book is that it includes careers that one could pursue without a college degree, as a new college graduate, and as one is moving up in their career. His approach is aspirational for the reader. Many career readiness books are written by educators for educators. These types of books are often resources for guidance counselors and career center staff. Wysocki states, 'This approach is needed as the divide between industry and education is huge. However, books also need to focus on the buyer, the 15-25-year-old student. You have to capture their attention and have fun. My book has quotes from rock stars to presidents to movie actors. Why not make career readiness fun?' The last question I asked Wysocki was what advice he would give educators, counselors, or parents who want to use his book. He shared, 'Careers By the People is a guide on preparing students for the workforce. There are many uses, so there are 'talking points' at the end of the book." He added, 'If a student meets a person in a field of interest, here are a few questions to ask. In the book, I ask 20+ questions; maybe they ask a few of them or go directly to the talking points.' Wysocki also thinks it is important to 'speak with people who have left the profession,' stating, 'Why would someone quit their job as a lawyer or a teacher" can tell you a lot about the profession. Wysocki sees the liberal arts as critical to broad thinking and meaningful work. But he's clear: a degree alone isn't enough. Colleges must intentionally connect academic learning to career readiness. Students deserve to graduate with both knowledge and the confidence to step into the world of work. In a time when career anxiety is high and the transition from college to career feels murky for many, Careers By the People offers clarity and honesty. The book reminds us that careers are not static choices but evolving journeys shaped by our values, experiences, and questions. And perhaps the most important thing we can do for our students is help them ask better questions.
