When Mokelumne Hill resident Jeanne Boyce isn't traveling the world, pursuing her love of the great outdoors or polishing her photography skills, she is usually found working tirelessly in her position as director of the Calaveras County Health Service Agency.
She was nominated by Brent Harrington, a former county chief administrative officer, and selected as the Government Person of the Year in January by the Calaveras Enterprise Advisory Board, which is comprised of spirited community leaders, business owners and concerned citizens.
At first, she was absolutely flattered with the revelation that she had been selected for this honor, saying, “I am fine being under the radar and behind the scenes. I like to be quiet. This is quite humbling.”
Boyce, who values the qualities of humor and optimism in friends and coworkers, eventually warmed to the honor bestowed upon her and began to explain the complexities of her job and passions in life.
“You have to be very practical and pragmatic in my job,” Boyce said. “With my skill set, I think I can help make a difference here. We are a small county and don't have lots of resources like bigger counties. But we can sit down with more agencies here and interact. I think that's the joy for me, being able to work closely with people to solve problems.”
Harrington has known Boyce for more than 15 years and had nothing but complimentary things to say about her.
“First and foremost, she is just an outstanding person. Jeanne is a shining example of a dedicated employee,” he said. “She has done an excellent job of overseeing and improving the public health, behavioral health and mental health departments, but she remains under the radar.
“In my view, that is what a public employee should be like,” he continued. “Work hard, do a good job, get well paid and not seek the public limelight that some people do.
“She also controls one of the largest budgets in county government,” he added. “She is a fiscal conservative and fiscal realist. If cuts were needed, she found the best way to do it with minimal effects on services.”
Boyce graduated from Holy Names College in Oakland in the 1970s with a master's degree in education and human development, along with a certificate in gerontology (the study of aging).
She moved to Mokelumne Hill with her husband, John McDonagh, in 1991 after working as a legislative analyst at the state capitol for nearly 10 years.
“I have always been involved in health, both at the state and county level,” Boyce said. “My work in the Legislature helped my analytic ability. You learn every word counts.”
Her first endeavor in Calaveras was taking a job as the senior administrative analyst working directly with then CAO Harrington. That position increased her familiarity with the small county and prepared her for an appointment to director of the Calaveras County Health Service Agency in 1999.
Her position is a multifaceted title that encompasses advising the Board of Supervisors on public health issues, overseeing the Public, Mental and Behavioral health departments, which include a plethora of programs.
“It all comes down to communication and building relationships to solve problems,” Boyce said. “I'm optimistic, even in the worst of times. I really believe that I have a talented staff and I think we can create opportunities for people that never existed here before.”
Throughout her nine years as health director, Boyce has faced several challenges, the most recent of which is the budget uncertainty. She said that the vast majority of the funds her departments receive come from state and federal sources rather than the general fund.
“I call it Mr. Toad's Wild Ride,” Boyce said. “The state budget impasse is causing chaos. With so much uncertainty, it's difficult to plan when you don't know what your state allocations are. We used to do budgets two times a year and now it seems like we are doing them all year round.
“We were lucky, because we already got our full 2008-09 allocation,” Boyce said. “Now I'm looking into the 2009-10 fiscal year. I call it Ouija board budgeting with someone throwing Molotov cocktails at you.”
Though the budget situation looks grim, Boyce isn't fazed and even looks toward the future.
“I look forward to getting through these next few years with the budget,” she said. “We would love to do more health promotion and education. Health impacts all aspects of life. We just don't have the resources to be involved in some discussions that I think we should be.
“My biggest challenge has been the lack of resources. There is always a need for more funding and more staff. You simply have to learn to live within certain constraints and look at it like the cup is half-full instead of half-empty,” Boyce said.
When asked what her proudest moments were, Boyce paused thoughtfully, saying, “There have been many.”
“The establishment of the perinatal and drug court program are my two proudest moments,” she said. “Being able to expand our mental health services to meet the community's needs has also been rewarding.”
The perinatal program was started in fall 2007, and targets mothers or pregnant women who are addicted to alcohol or drugs and are trying to kick their habits. Boyce explained that she has worked very hard to reduce the stigma associated with those who seek help.
“Now they can receive counseling and support,” Boyce said. “We work with HRC and Head Start and teach them how to parent properly along with helping them deal with their trauma.”
Boyce, who glowed when talking about this subject, shared one accomplishment from outside her job of which she is very proud.
“I'm a volunteer on the Human Resources Council board, and I'm very proud of getting the new food bank built,” Boyce said. “We have been working on a campus for HRC for five to seven years and it's almost completed. That is really cool. That is helping people. One thing I love about Calaveras County is that if you ask people to help, they will. Now all we need to do is fill up the new building with donations.”
Boyce has also been involved using her diplomatic skills to head two special task forces. One examined medical marijuana and the other emergency services.
“They were both very controversial subjects,” Boyce said.
When speaking of children, Boyce, a commission member, emphasized the importance of the First 5 programs and mentioned several workshops available to parents.
“One of the things we have focused on is parenting education and the need to support parents,” Boyce said. “Parents are asking for help.
“I am good at pulling people together from very different perspectives and working with them in a very diplomatic way,” Boyce continued. “That's the fun part of the job. I like different perspectives on problems.”
Boyce is convinced that Calaveras is a very special place and plans to spend the rest of her life here.
“I love Calaveras County,” she said. “I don't plan to move anywhere”
Contact Joel Metzger at jmetzger@calaverasenterprise.com.
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