Teresa Nienow

How do you define your career? What are the different areas that you work in?

Currently, I work for the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families, and I am the deputy director for the Bureau of Refugee Programs. We serve refugees across the state by supporting programs that serve this population. It's our responsibility to coordinate on a national level, and to ensure within the state that when refugees come to Wisconsin, that they have the support to one day be financially stable and successful in their community. My role as deputy director is to oversee the operations of the bureau, which consists of two sections. One is very data and contract driven, and the other section is more program and policy. Previously, I specialized in victim services, including working with the Wisconsin Department of Justice. With that line of work, there is some intersectionality with refugees and immigrants because oftentimes, they're the most vulnerable. However, my formal education lies in social work. 

What would a typical day look like for you? 

Generally, I work very closely with my two section managers on the team, and I'm working mostly with them, and then they're working with their team. I ensure consistency on the team, and that we're following our state and federal guidelines. Especially for me, as someone who has never worked at a refugee resettlement agency, it is so important that anytime I get an opportunity I go out and see what refugee support and resettlement looks like in the field. There are opportunities for us to meet with families and talk about their experience - things that went well, things that could go better, what support they need, etc. 

Do you have a preference between interaction-oriented or research focused work? 

I like the balance that my career provides right now. I started as a social worker, and that meant working one on one with clients. I enjoyed that a lot, but I also knew that I didn't want to do that long term. I’ve always had an idea that I wanted to be in leadership, so after a couple years of social work, I went back to school for my master's in social service administration. I had that focus of wanting to work in human services, and I was always looking for how I could have an impact from that administrative  aspect. I think that that's an important reminder for anyone at any level in human services. We’re always going back and learning, and things are always changing because people are changing. We can't rely on knowledge that we might have from 20 years ago. 

What inspired your interest in social work and what did your path to this leadership position look like?

Originally, I wanted to go into psychology. At the time I told myself, and I admit this is bad advice, that the education for that would take too long. I didn’t want to spend those 6-8 years in school. I instead tried to find a career similar to psychology that didn’t require a doctorate, which is how I decided on social work. Once I actually got involved in the program, I loved it. I loved the social justice aspect of social work and the idea that people can change. I enjoyed the courses I took, and the empathy I was learning, and I knew that I had made the right choice. My first social work job was with the Wisconsin Department of Corrections. I worked at two separate prisons. First, I started at the Racine Youthful Offender Correctional Facility, which is for all youthful offenders aged 15 to 24. It’s all kids who’d been tried in the adult court system. I really enjoyed that work, but it was a long commute for me. I transferred to Dodge Correctional, which is the intake facility for the state, and there I decided I wanted to branch out. I want to do something else. 

There are so many complexities to working, specifically with youth, in the adult justice system. A lot of times they’ve had unfair experiences in the justice system. The other piece is that there is a large focus on education, which is different from working with adults. Even if someone’s incarcerated, we’re legally responsible to give them an education. Obviously, it's going to be a different type of education, but it’s important nonetheless. As a social worker, we focused a lot on behavioral cognitive therapy. That was how I spent the bulk of my time, doing that cognitive work with kids, and looking at how thoughts impact behaviors. We looked at the ways to redirect their thoughts as they move back into society, and that's another thing I want to note. Something so interesting about working with a younger population is that the vast majority will be released. These are people that are part of our communities, and we are working to help them transition back into society.

 What are some common misconceptions about the people that you work with and the field that you are in?

One huge misunderstanding is that refugees that are coming into our country don't have adequate education or skills. So many of them are moving here after a life of professional careers, but they’re no longer able to continue that. We’ve been trying for years to figure out how to transfer some of those credits so that they don’t have to start from square one. There was one refugee I met who was a doctor in her own country and now stays at home and takes care of the house. It’s hard because she misses her community and her husband is away working. These people come from such high level jobs and are now viewed as only being able to cook and clean. As a society, we have to be more aware and respect how challenging that is. If we’re not allowing some sort of transfer of those skills, we won’t see that success in the United States. I think it's reflective of parts of U.S. culture of there only being one right way to do things, which doesn’t serve anyone well. Having diverse perspectives is so important for our society. 

What aspects of transitioning and resettlement does your team specifically focus on? 

Refugee resettlement is complicated in the sense that the program is broken down into two areas. There are national organizations that then partner with local resettlement organizations, and they administer or oversee the first ninety days of resettlement. The Bureau of Refugee programs where I work isn’t as involved in the initial ninety days. Typically, when a family comes in, someone picks them up from the airport and takes them to their living space. They’ll return the next day to help set up food and health appointments and such necessities. After the ninety days, the state will take over that administration for the next five years. We’re looking at long term advancement in terms of career settling and just finding them a good starting point for that. We also have youth mentoring programs across the state. This is especially helpful for kids who haven’t had a lot of exposure to English and need help learning the language.

Legal services are another big part of the work that we do. We fund and coordinate with a lot of legal service providers across the state. Immigration legal services are extremely complex. It's unrealistic for a refugee, or even a U.S. citizen, to fully understand the system if you’re not trained in it. I also want to mention the services we provide for older refugees. People who are older need different kinds of services compared to the younger working population, whether it’s medical services or other things. Traditionally, refugees are coming from unsafe situations in their home countries, so it’s extremely unlikely that somebody's going to be able to maintain their old finances or property during that time.

What are some skills that you think are important to develop to be successful in your position? 

I think a really important skill is self reflection. You should be able to reflect on the decisions you’ve made in the past, even if a lot of the time, you wouldn’t repeat them. As a leader, there were many choices that I now would make differently, even if they weren’t necessarily wrong at the time. I'm more developed in my career and I have a different approach because I’ve learned so much. It takes a lot of strength to be able to do that because no one wants to admit they aren’t perfect. Taking that accountability is the first step. As a social worker, it's always interesting to look back on the mindsets I had and how they’ve changed

What does being a leader mean to you?

The most important thing to me is being authentic to myself. I always try to ensure that my ethical compass stays strong, and that if something doesn't feel right to me, I take the time to navigate that. The other thing that I strive to be is a steady leader. That’s a personal value that I have and I want people to feel like they can come to me. I'm human, and I'm going to have my own emotions, but I want to be someone that others can turn to for help in their problem solving regardless. Refugee work can be hard and tiring, but I do my best to be there as a steady influence and help in whatever way I can. 

Who are some role models and mentors who have helped you to be where you are?

I have always relied on my mom as a sounding board, even when I first started. My first role as a leader was as the executive director of a nonprofit organization. That comes with challenges because the executive director doesn't have a solid counterpart. I was coming in as a brand new leader without someone who I could check my ideas with. My mom was the person who helped me with that, and I would send her any writing or emails that I did and have her review things for me. 

There are so many others along the way who’ve played a role in every aspect of my career. One in particular is one of the board members at that first leadership role. He was the financial officer, and he spent so much time with me to not only teach me the basic financial aspects of the company but to help me understand my leadership style. That kindness has always stayed with me. I also want to mention my current boss, who is actually a former refugee. She is just an absolute force, in the best way. I’ve only worked with her for the past year, so I didn't know her before I took this role. She's really taught me a lot about how to speak up when it's important to you, while still managing relationships. That has really impacted me over this past year and allowed me to do more self reflection.

What is one last piece of advice you would give to young people wanting to go into professional fields?

Don’t be intimidated about how long it might take to get where you want to be. That time will pass no matter what, so it’s important you do what you want and go for your goals. Make sure that goal is something you’re truly passionate about. I feel privileged to work in the careers of victim services, refugee resettlement, and social work, all jobs that I’ve actually always wanted to do. It’s easy to look at your job as just a paycheck, but having that extra element of getting something out of your work is incredibly motivating.