We are excited to be launching our Service Alternatives blog as a new feature for making a difference to our communities, our customers, our clients, and our employees. Through sharing resources, ideas, stories, and inspiration, we hope to inspire you, our readers, to make a difference in your communities as well! Below are the people you will be hearing from on our new blog!

My name is Belinda Kindschi and I am CEO of Service Alternatives. I have been with SA since 1991 and have had the privilege of working with and for our wonderful staff, clients, and communities in a variety of roles. I prioritize team collaboration, critical thinking, strong customer orientation, and decision making that lead to teams meeting and achieving excellent results.

I have a BS in Business Administration & Psychology and a Masters Degree in Social Work. I am a certified Team Spirit and Noble Purpose facilitator and have co-authored a number of curricula including Elemental Leadership®. With more than 25 years of experience leading teams, I hold a steadfast commitment to valuing all employees as essential team members and recognizing the strong connection between satisfied employees and excellent work.

Rob Hays is the Director of the Training Institute. Rob focuses his work on system development, organizational compliance, and training delivery. Rob has a passion for training as a key to unlocking a person’s potential. Rob draws inspiration from evidence-driven innovation, critical thinking, and passionate work. You can expect Rob to share tools and insights to help individuals walk their purposeful path.

Rob has a BA in Philosophy and is a certified learning program manager. He holds a breadth of experience in community organizing, education technology, youth mentorship in speech and debate, and has contributed in the development of our trainings in communication, leadership, contract compliance, and critical thinking.

Sandra Cohen is Master Coach-Executive Development with more than 25 years of experience in senior leadership roles. Sandra combines multicultural experience with an extensive knowledge of leadership development, individual development, and group dynamics. Sandra’s clients describe her coaching style as an artful weaving together of in-depth methodology with direct, candid, honest, and compassionate communication. Above all Sandra is passionate about helping people advance their potential and is a true “change agent.”

She holds an MA in Human Development with an administration/multicultural focus and is a PCC Coach. She is also certified in Fierce Conversations, Dependable Strengths, and has co-authored several Emotional Intelligence trainings.

Anna Halleen, the ‘Story Whisperer,’ enjoys using the written word to inspire and encourage those in her community. She will be sharing a variety of stories that highlight successes of individuals and staff our organization has the privilege of working with. Anna has a BA in Linguistics with a minor in French. One of her passions is editing, and she has enjoyed managing the Essay – Service Alternatives’ external newsletter. Gathering articles for the publication allows her to feel more connected to the company although the employees are spread all over Washington, and beyond!

In addition to introducing your bloggers, I wanted to share a few interesting facts about Service Alternatives.

1. Service Alternatives started in 1983 in the historic town of Coupeville on Whidbey Island, Washington.
2. We have a number of multi-generational families working as employees of SA. The Betheas, Halleens, Saunsauncies, and Watts are just a few! It is pretty amazing to have parents and kids working and/or retiring from the same organization.
3. We are excited to be launching an Emerging Leader Series called Rising Stars!
4. Our longest term Direct Support Professional has been here for 27 years. Way to go Bob Cameron!
5. Our Technical Assistance program coordinated 343 different training/consultation events in 2016. And 2017 is shaping up to have even more!
6. We have two trademarked training programs: RIGHT RESPONSE® and Elemental Leadership® that benefit our own employees and hundreds of other organizations.
7. Service Alternatives is women-owned.
8. Administrators and Directors have a total of 313 years of experience at SA (that is an average of 18 years!).
9. We have one employee each in the states of Idaho, New Jersey, and South Dakota. The remaining 500+ live throughout Washington State.
10. Our longest served client has been with us for 34 years (since 1983!).

Until next time!