Pasco County employees describe leadership development program as career accelerator

Two recent graduates of Pasco County’s Leadership Development Program said the eight‑month course combined classroom sessions, one‑on‑one mentorship and a group capstone that strengthened their management skills and expanded their county networks.

Mike Carballa, host of the Pasco podcast and the episode’s interviewer, said January is National Mentoring Month and framed the leadership program as an internal route to prepare employees for supervisory roles. “We call it our leadership development program or LDP,” Carballa said.

Khalil Abajamuz, an LDP graduate now in Information Technology, told the podcast he grew up in Hudson and first spent time in county libraries as a child before joining county service. “I frequented libraries a lot as a kid,” Abajamuz said, adding that a prior connection with Kevin Griffith helped him return to county employment in January 2020. Abajamuz said the program and his mentor, Todd Bailey, helped him “learn the various aspects of different leadership styles” and increased his comfort working across county departments.

Shaina Smith, an LDP graduate from Pasco County Libraries, described a similar path from teen volunteer to library staffer and then to a leadership role in youth services. Smith said the program’s three stages—learn, experience and apply—included a five‑day boot camp, field visits across county departments, regular mentor meetings and a group presentation as a capstone. “If I can get through this, then it really proves to me that I am a leader,” Smith said.

Both graduates described the capstone presentation as a highlight. The cohort produced multimedia elements and staged a presentation the participants called intentionally entertaining; speakers said the presentation drew a standing ovation. Smith credited her mentor, Christina Cordon of Parks and Recreation and Natural Resources, for modeling “servant leadership” during a meeting about seeking CAPRA accreditation.

Program details mentioned on the podcast include an approximate eight‑month program length, a five‑day boot camp during the learn phase, assignment of mentors for the experience phase and a group research‑presentation in the apply phase. Participants said mentors typically meet a couple times a month and that the program is an organizational commitment requiring added workload alongside daily duties.

Carballa and the graduates framed LDP as a retention and development tool: Abajamuz said the experience widened his county network and helped him move into an IT role, while Smith said she planned to continue professional development, pursue Six Sigma training and use the county’s tuition reimbursement for a master’s in library science. Smith also announced on the podcast that she accepted a new position as site supervisor for the Starkey Ranch Library and Cultural Center; she said the appointment had not yet been published officially but would be public by the episode’s air date.

Neither the podcast nor participants discussed program funding, selection criteria in detail, or how many employees apply each year. Questions about budget, formal selection metrics and long‑term tracking of participant career outcomes were not specified on the recording.

Participants recommended the program to other employees. “If you’re already thinking about that LDP might be for you, LDP is for you,” Smith said. Abajamuz advised prospective applicants to expect extra workload during the program but described the additional commitment as worth the networking and skills gains.

The Pasco podcast episode closes with thanks to the county’s media relations team and a link to pasco.net for more information about Pasco County government.