Taipei Times: How has the role of the center in the community changed during your time there?
Mary Chua: The mission of the Community Services Center has always been to provide support services to the international community in Taipei. With that in mind, the role of the center did not change under my leadership. Keeping to the center’s mission, I focused on our core service, counseling, to ensure that we had a strong team to respond to the needs of the community. The number of counselors on the team increased from two to seven, and the number of counseling sessions provided from 1,200 to over 2,500 annually.
In addition, to support information services to the community, the center also increased the range of publications to include not only our magazine, Centered on Taipei, and book, Taipei Living, but also a series of hiking guides by Richard Saunders, a city map including the northern suburbs, and taxi cards. I was very gratified to see over time that those who visited the center and used its services represented a more diverse range of community members, people from all over the world, of all ages and from all economic sectors.
TT: What accomplishments are you most proud of with the center?
Chua: During my tenure as director, I witnessed once again a diverse group of very talented and dedicated people come together to support and revitalize the center: volunteers, donors, consultants, contributing writers and photographers, and staff.
These stakeholders, working together toward a common purpose, made the entire organization stronger. Financially, the center is healthier and is in a better position to weather external emergencies that would adversely affect revenue from programs or advertising.
Center premises, while still modest, have been improved to look more welcoming and organized. We updated the center logo and tagline to provide a more contemporary, welcoming and dynamic image. New ideas for classes, programs and publications were embraced and many of these initiatives have had staying power.
Additional events have raised awareness about the center, as well as improved the organization’s financial health. Among them, the ECCT ICRT International Charity Golf Cup figures most prominently. Several sections to the center Web site were added to provide more information to the community: disaster preparedness, considering a move to Taipei, lists of charities, mental health resources and our magazine, Centered on Taipei. I am most proud that these efforts were collective and cooperative.
TT: How do you see the center developing in the future?
Chua: An organization like the center is in a perpetual state of making available its unrealized potential. How it develops depends on the resources of time, talent and funding, the vision of key stakeholders and the will of the community that the organization relies on and serves. Given the highly transient nature of the community, these conditions are ever changing.
In my view, the calibration of a general plan is more appropriate than implementing a detailed strategic five-year plan. With that as a background, I think that the center’s welcome services and counseling program must continuously improve. Amy Liu, the center’s newcomer orientation and cross-cultural trainer, has developed new programs for local professionals working for multinationals and these workshops have been very well received. She has also started training for those who plan to repatriate to their home country.
Her programs can be more aggressively marketed. The center Web site can be further improved. Services for teens can be reconsidered. The potential impact of direct flights and other circumstances on community demographics can be discussed for ways the center can best respond.
TT: What are some personal qualities that Steve Parker, the new director, will bring to the job?
Chua: Steve is insightful, articulate and a good listener. I understand from those who know him well that he has a very good sense of humor. Each of these qualities will serve him well.
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