For thirty-one years and counting, Daly City’s Cow Palace Exhibition Hall turns into Victorian London–complete with the sound of carolers, fine British foods, period-appropriate attire and unique treasures. And at the center of this holiday merriment, you’ll find UCOP’s very own Jennifer Damico.

Damico has been a part of the The Great Christmas Dickens Faire since 2002. This year, she plays Aladdin’s mother in Aladdin and Cinderella meet the Monkey King. When not on stage she can be found singing with St. Swinden’s Folk Music Society outside Mr. Jefferies Fine Tailor shop or The Three Cripples Pub.

What’s the best part about being a part of the Dickens Faire?
The chance to make people smile.  Times are tough. My family, friends and colleagues are all struggling with challenges both at work and at home.  When people come to Dickens they are surrounded by the energy and bustle of Victorian London.  They are submerged in holiday cheer as people on the streets call out “Happy Christmas.”  Children are laughing and running and Father Christmas is on parade.  No matter what is going on outside the Dickens Faire, people come there and get to set aside their worries for a few hours and enjoy the spirit of the holidays.

How much time do you spend rehearsing for the faire each year?
This year I rehearsed every Monday evening and 5 hours each Saturday and Sunday beginning in August.

How long have you been acting?
In order to tell you how long I’ve been acting I’d have to confess my age—and proper Victorian ladies never tell their age. I have performed almost every year since I was 6.  I am formally trained by the San Francisco School of the Arts high school and have taken college courses and private workshops in acting.

What characters have you played in past fairs or productions?
Prior to my current Dickens character I played Betty Downy, schoolmistress of the Paddy West School of Seamanship at the Dickens Faire.  I’ve performed in numerous plays and musicals over the years including roles as Ms. Mezepa in Gypsy, and Nurse in Romeo and Juliet.  My very first acting role was as a Munchkin in the Wizard of Oz.  From that one experience I was hooked.

Do you perform outside the Dickens Faire?
I perform at Renaissance fairs throughout Northern California and in pubs and clubs with the folk music troupe Traveller’s Union.

What’s the appeal of acting?
Acting gives me a chance to throw off intellect and really get in touch with my emotional and creative personality.  I have a very technical job.  I enjoy my work but for the most part it stimulates the analytical parts of my brain.  Acting and music exercise the other part of my personality.  Without it I would feel like I was weight lifting with only my left hand and never my right hand.

Any interesting stories you wish to divulge about the faire?
I think the best thing to say is “What happens at Faire stays at Faire.” I try to keep my professional and performance lives a little bit separate. It’s a fantastic time but everyone will have their own personal experience.

Anything else you’d like to share about the faire?
Lots of people think the Dickens Faire is a giant crafts fair but that is not an accurate picture. Sure, there is great shopping. But the core of the faire is entertainment.  There are 4 or 5 stages, plays, musicals, dancers, and the whole world of Dickens literature on display and recreated for the audience.

When not in Victorian London, you’ll find Damico at UCOP’s Kaiser building where she is a manager of information systems in human resources. (Just don’t expect to find her wearing her costume to work.)

About the Dickens Faire:

Weekends beginning Friday, Nov. 27-Sunday, Dec. 20, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

San Francisco Cow Palace Exhibition Halls

Damico will perform on the Victoria and Albert stage at 11:30 and 3:30 each weekend in Aladdin and Cinderella meet the Monkey King

Find out more about the Dickens Faire at http://www.dickensfair.com/

Given the nature of our work, it’s apparent that UC values learning. But the learning isn’t just for students—it’s for our faculty and staff, too.

Supporting our philosophy of knowledge, UCOP welcomed Tacy Trowbridge as UCOP Development and Training Coordinator in September. Trowbridge, who has been with the UCSF Development and Training team for two years, joins UCOP through our partnership with UCSF Human Resources.

With a master’s degree from Stanford’s School of Education and twenty years of learning and development experience under her belt, Trowbridge believes that the ongoing development of employee skills and knowledge is central to an organization’s success.

Why is there a need for a training and development program at UCOP?

UCOP has seen significant change and reinvention over the last few years. When organizations go through this type of change, it is critical to develop employees who play a role in making the new organization successful. By providing learning and development programs, UCOP is investing in its staff and its future.

What value do you hope the new training and development initiatives will bring to UCOP?

Our initiatives will help employees and the organization excel. Our focus is to improve employee performance, build engagement, and aid in moving the organization forward. We’ll have tailored training for UCOP staff, no matter if you’re a manager, supervisor, analyst or support staff. By providing this type of professional development, we’ll make an important contribution to the organization.

What resources are available to help departments train their staff?

While it’s important for employees to take responsibility for their own personal development, managers, supervisors and departments can support that growth. Supervisors and managers should work with each team member to set short- and long-term goals and plan how to reach them. These goals should be highlighted in the new performance reviews at UCOP. As appropriate, managers and supervisors can encourage  participation in training courses, provide on-the-job training, delegate stretch assignments, and look for task force or committee assignments that will help employees reach development goals.

Another way for managers and departments to develop their staff is through mentoring.  Whether this is a formal or informal relationship, mentoring is a powerful way to provide opportunities for learning, to increase morale, and to support career development.

I have also been working with several UCOP departments and teams to help create development plans for their staff and look forward to continuing this work over the next year.

Will there be training and development specific to each department?

Yes. Each department has different needs and a different culture, which is why we will work with managers to provide development tailored to their department goals. For example, we recently worked with the Office of General Counsel at UCOP on performance management and alignment. We want to be able to meet the needs of each department in UCOP.

Have there been any trainings held at UCOP since your arrival?

There has been quite a bit of training activity this fall! I was pleased to launch our first performance management series of 4 classes for supervisors and managers in late September; the second series will wrap up on December 4^th.

The rest of the HR team and I have been conducting brown bag sessions on the performance review process initiated earlier this year. Departments have hosted these brown bags as an opportunity for supervisors and managers to learn more and to have an opportunity to ask questions.

In order to help UCOP supervisors and managers prepare for performance appraisals over the next two months, we are offering six sessions of a class called, Conducting Performance Appraisals. In a small group setting, participants learn to prepare, write appraisals, and conduct the appraisal conversation through discussion, case studies and practice scenarios.

On December 2^nd, we will launch a class on Time Management for UCOP staff.

UCOP employees have also begun to take advantage of online and classroom-based technology training offered at a reduced rate through Academy X.

Finally, for teams at other locations, I lead a webinar, Introduction to Performance Management.

What is Academy X Computer Training?

Academy X offers over 100 online and classroom-based courses focusing on technology training. There are courses on everything from Excel and Photoshop to HTML and Flash.

Where can staff find out about training opportunities?

You can learn about training programs and register for classes on the UC Learning Center website. It contains information on supervisory training, skill building, compliance training, Academy X Computer training and a wide variety of other classes and online resources. You simply need to login with your UCOP user name and password. A search for “UCOP” will show you all of the classes available in Oakland. Browse the catalog to find online resources, classes in San Francisco and technology training.

I also post all of our training information on the UCOP calendar and announce it in HR Update.

Are you at UCOP full-time?

I am available to UCOP employees full-time. I am at UCOP offices Tuesday through Friday. On Monday’s, I’m at UCSF, where I collaborate with the rest of the learning and development team.

Is there anything else you’d like to share with UCOP?

I’m excited to have a chance to work with you all and to provide opportunities to help you excel individually and as an organization.

UC Newsroom is now tweeting the latest news from around UC. Follow the Newsroom at http://twitter.com/ucnewsroom.

From lively depictions of the recent Regents meeting to how UCLA engineers and  doctors are teaming up to fight hardening arteries, you’ll find all of the news you’ll need to stay up-to-the-minute on all things UC.

UC has been world leaders in astronomy research since 1988. And today, UC is a managing partner of the two largest optical telescopes in the world, housed at the Keck Observatory in Hawaii.

This Friday, December 4,  you can learn about the 100-year history of UC’s observatories, the discoveries made by UC astronomers and the plans for the next-generation Thirty-Meter Telescope as Dr. Michael Bolte, Director, University of California Observatories and Henry Bachmann, Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics, talk at a UCOP Brown Bag lunch.

This talk is brought to you by The Office of Research and Graduate Studies.

Find out about this event and more in UCOP’s Event Calendar.