Page 6 - Mid Valley Times 1-9-20 E-edition

Thursday, January 9, 2020 | A6 | Mid Valley TiMes
Oftedal inducted to SCCCD Muro de Honor
MVT Staff, Contributed
James Trevino Oftedal, a manager for the U.S. Forest Service with a long connec- tion to Reedley College, was honored last month as one of three State Center Community College District Muro de Hon- or (Wall of Honor) inductees for 2019.
Oftedal — the Region 5 outreach, recruitment & work- force diversity program man- ager for USFS — was joined by Monica Criado (Fresno City College) and Sergio Sa- linas (Clovis Community Col- lege) as the most recent class of inductees. They were hon- ored Dec. 11 during a special ceremony at Arte Americas Casa de la Cultura in down- town Fresno.
The Wall of Honor was es- tablished at Arte Americas
in 2011, and is sponsored by SCCCD. The wall recognizes the contributions of outstand- ing Hispanic/Latinos who ei- ther have attended or worked on behalf of the district, one of its five colleges or the district office.
Here is a brief biography on Oftedal:
James Trevino Oftedal
James Trevino Oftedal is the Region 5 outreach, recruit- ment & workforce diversity program manager for the U.S. Forest Service. Prior to this position, he was instrumen- tal in establishing the Cen- tral California Consortium, serving as its director for 18 years. In 2006, the Consortium expanded to include northern and southern California sites to become the California Con- sortium.
Currently, he oversees the
James Trevino Oftedal
California Consortium, re- cruiters and the mentoring program. He serves as a re- gional and national advisor for cultural transformation, out- reach and recruitment, youth engagement and workforce diversity. Through the Gener- ation Green program, a K-12
minority environmental edu- cation program, he provides leadership and employment opportunities to underserved students, leading to natural resources related careers.
During his 38 year tenure with the U.S. Forest Service, he has developed strategies to increase workforce diversity and has helped countless stu- dents gain temporary and per- manent employment with the agency. Ofterdal has watched student interns become deputy directors, regional staff lead- ers, lead engineers and more.
For more than 20 years, Of- tedal has been a member of the Reedley College Natural Re- sources Program Professional Advisory Council. During this time, he led a group of youth from multiple ethnic back- grounds to Washington D.C. to work on the Forest Planning
Rule. It was here that outreach to underserved communities, youth and multilingual candi- dates became a requirement. By leveraging grant funds, he provided high school summer crews employment as they im- proved public lands and gained environmental education as well as exposure to natural re- source careers.
Oftedal has successfully dedicated his career to serv- ing as an agency leader, a community partner and a mentor. Affectionately known as “Padrino” to his students, he has instilled in them the U.S. Forest Service mission: the importance of being a good steward of the land.
Oftedal earned his A.A. de- gree in business administra- tion from Fresno City College and has received countless lo- cal, state and national awards.
Alta Family Health
hosts Community
Christmas event in
Dinuba on Dec. 19
Members of the Dinuba community turned out for the 18th annual Community Christmas event hosted by Alta Family Health and held in Dinuba on Dec. 19. A long line of community members waited patiently as children had the opportunity to take a picture with Santa as well as selecting a toy or coat at the event. Pictured at the event with holiday mascots are Valley Health Team members (from right to left) Theresa McGee, Regional Di- rector of Operations; Eva Granados, Health Cen- ter Manager; Soyla Reyna-Griffin, CEO of Valley Health Team; Dinuba Mayor Kuldip Thusu; and Marti Shirley, Director of Corporate Events.
Photo Contributed