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Photo by REED HUTCHINSON
Shelley Brown is the new head of Staff Assembly
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Staff leader’s a ‘cheerleader’ at work
BY WENDY SODERBURG
Today Staff Writer
Cheerleader … mother … student … dragon boat racer? Implausible as it sounds, UCLA Staff Assembly’s new president, Shelley Brown, is all that and more.
Brown comes by her “cheerleader” title from her work as an administrative analyst for Corporate Financial Services (CFS), where she and her colleagues help clients — including the Office of the President and UC Merced — with accounting, purchasing, payroll and travel, among other services. Within CFS, Brown encourages her co-workers to develop and meet their strategic and organizational goals by creating incentive programs such as “Great Performers” and the “All-Star Award Program.”
“Shelley is just exceptional,” said Sue Abeles, CFS assistant vice chancellor/controller and Brown’s boss. “She does such an outstanding job of supporting her internal colleagues, and she’s also been a real cheerleader and champion of customer service to our external customers; that is, the campus community we serve.”
That enthusiasm will serve Brown well as she embarks on her presidency of Staff Assembly, Abeles added. “Shelley has a very good sense of staff needs and concerns, and she’ll be a good representative for the staff in terms of bringing those concerns forward to the leadership of the campus.”
In addition to organizing such popular events as the “Learn-at-Lunch” series and the All-Staff Picnic, Brown and her board will cap off the academic year in June when they host the annual Council of UC Staff Assemblies (CUCSA) meeting at UCLA.
“Staff Assembly’s reputation is growing,” Brown said. “People know who we are now, and they want to do volunteer work. They ask all the time how they can get involved, and it’s wonderful.
“We definitely couldn’t do all that we do without them.”
Brown began her UCLA career 21 years ago as a senior clerk typist in Housing Administration,
moving to Business Policy and Planning in 1993. After returning from maternity leave, this mother and stepmother of two assumed her current position in CFS.
During the last three years, Brown’s also been a student, working toward a B.A. in marketing. She’s currently enrolled at Santa Monica College.
With all this, it’s hard to imagine Brown having time for anything as off-the-wall as her new love: dragon boating. But last month, she competed in her first race at the Long Beach Dragon Boat Festival with 17 other “paddlers” in a 40-foot-by-3-foot boat, colorfully rigged with dragon head and tail.
“My family thinks I’m nuts,” Brown said, laughing. “But oh, it’s so much fun!”
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