To listen deeply, to ask thoughtful questions with an open mind, to facilitate meaningful conversations so that our individual spirits and local communities might thrive.
Responsible Growth
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I moved to Colorado Springs 30 years ago with my husband, and we’ve lived in the same house since 1991. We came without jobs, knowing we wanted to raise a family in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. For me, it was a homecoming. My dad, Joe Henjum – a career Air Force pilot who taught at the Academy when I was in kid – retired in Colorado Springs where his legacy of community service inspires me every day.
A mom of two children now grown and married, I’ve been a licensed clinical social worker, and chief operations officer for a public/private partnership managing behavioral health. For the past 18 years to present I have been an executive coach and leadership consultant who has worked in a wide array of industries (energy, arts, foundations, non-profits and many more) for organizations sized from 5 – 15,000 employees. I’ve also served as a leader-volunteer, including as board president for CASA (Court-Appointed Special Advocates); facilitator for the Illumination Project that helped police and citizens build stronger relationships; and as moderator of the council of a downtown church. I believe in the power of deep listening, of building trust, and working collaboratively with mutual respect to accomplish our goals for our community.
When people ask why I want to serve on our City Council, it’s clear. Strong communities and neighborhoods need a strong voice in the decisions that impact them. I am ready to be that voice: to bring the skills I have built over these past 30 years and give back. We face many challenges, and they are challenges we can manage when we work on them together. I will listen. I will collaborate. I will bring the value of neighbors serving neighbors to my service in local government. I will serve on City Council to help Colorado Springs be a place where the land is revered, and its citizens can thrive.
o Self-awareness, vulnerability and empathy are key to connection
o Assume good intention
o Listen – Be Curious and Seek First to Understand
o Lead by Example: If we want to create the conditions for building engaged, trusted and ethical leadership, we need the unshakeable confidence that people can be creative, generous and kind. Leadership work is in the “can be”. And we must start with being generous, kind and creative ourselves.
I have just taken an oath to faithfully perform the duties of Council Person for the City of Colorado Springs. My hand was on the Bible that belonged to Joe Henjum – my Dad, and it was held by my brother, Mark. Like many in our community, my nuclear family chose Colorado Springs to be our home after a lifetime of moving every few years by order of the Air Force. And I was inspired to run for this Council seat in large part because of my Dad’s legacy of service – service to our country as an Air Force officer and, in the last 30years of his life, as a tireless leader-volunteer in this city he loved so well.
I am humbled by the duties and responsibilities of this office, which must deliver on the twin promises of good governance and leadership with integrity. What does that mean to me?
o Good governance is participatory, consensus-oriented, accountable, transparent, responsive, effective, efficient, equitable, inclusive and honorable.
o Good governance assures that the needs of ALL community members, including the most vulnerable, are respected in decision-making.
o Good governance is responsive to both the present and future needs of Colorado Springs.
I believe that good governance should be power with – not power over. We benefit from attending to all perspectives. The voice of every resident should be heard. I intend to lead first by listening and asking questions.
I believe that we are all connected. What impacts one, impacts all of us. I intend to lead on behalf of each of the neighborhoods in District 5 as well as the City as a whole.
I believe in collaboration, in reckoning with differences to forge joint solutions. I intend to lead by assuming good intention and prioritizing relationships.
So, as we celebrate 150 years as a City, I ask - what can we learn from our history:
* That will help us determine what no longer serves us and that we should therefore leave behind?
* That will help us identify the best of who we are to carry forward?
* That will help us plan for a future Colorado Springs that is resilient, vibrant, thriving and that lives the Olympic values?
* That will ensure we are respectful of the land, her beauty, gifts and resources that make our life here so extraordinary and that obligate us to be good stewards on behalf of generations to come?
Representing all the people of Colorado Springs, the 9 of us – in partnership with the Mayor and the city staff – will be living and working these questions and more as we step into a future whose promise is ours to create together.
“Finally, thank you, Dad.I know you are present with me. I feel your pride and your love. I am serving in memory of you.”
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