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To: Mr. Eric Zeemering
From: Stephanie Heath
Re: Public Profile Interview
Date: November 6, 2009
For the purpose of this assignment I interviewed the Regional Director of a company called CLASS,
Wajma Alimi. CLASS stands for Center for Learning and Autism Support Services. Their office is located
in Burlingame but they service the entire Bay Area, and even up to Sacramento. They have visions about
spreading out to different states such as Nebraska and North Dakota. When I asked why those two
states, Wajma stated that they do not have Autism services in those areas, and a company like CLASS
could really thrive in those states. Wajma, as the regional director of this company, has her master’s in
Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), as well as a BCBA, which is a certificate that those with a master’s in
ABA can apply to obtain. CLASS provides comprehensive, individualized educational and behavioral
programs to individuals diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and other neurological and
developmental delays. CLASS provides a range of techniques that promote cognition, social and play
skills, independence, communication, and functional development. All programs are individualized to
meet each individual's unique educational and behavioral needs. They provide home services, school
services, social skills development and have many parent and sibling groups. Clients are referred to
CLASS through several institutions and affiliations who recognize the quality of our services, such as the
Children's Health Council at Stanford University, Children's Hospital-Oakland, Child Care Coordinating
Council, PARCA, and Parents Helping Parents to name a few. CLASS is also vendorized with Regional
Centers in California to provide Behavior Analysis and Discrete Trial Training services to families in need.
CLASS has always maintained a strong reputation with local families, attorneys, advocates, and school
districts as well. It seems like a very well rounded company and Wajma was happy to talk with me.
Interview:
What motivates you to work in a public/nonprofit organization?
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Although we are a business, it is rewarding and we do take pride in helping children succeed despite
their disabilities. We provide behavior support for children both in school and home environments and
are funded through public and private means. Some of the developmental disorders we provide
behavioral therapies for are: Autism Spectrum Disorder, Attention Deficit Disorder, Aspergers
Syndrome and Tourettes. We get funding through school districts, state programs, as well as insurance
companies and private pay clientele.
So is it safe to say the reason you work in this field is that it “makes you feel good?”
“I think that is a good assumption. Working someplace that makes you feel good about yourself on the
drive home is always attractive so to speak. I sort of fell into this job through my undergrad studies, and
just ended up sticking with it. I think most people that do this kind of work are motivated by their
emotions and once you see a child succeed, you want to make all children succeed! Also, the Autism
field is sort of “hot” right now, and there is so much buzz around these children that it really is a great
time to be part of something this big.”
2. How does the public influence your work or the work of your agency?
“Other public agencies, such as school districts and regional centers, play a big role in coordinating
services between providers, such as CLASS, and the children who need services. We also work directly
with the community, including the families and teachers of these children. The public also votes and
determines how much funding go into programs to help children with developmental disabilities.”
3. How do you define and measure success in your agency/organization?
“At a clinical level, we find that the best way to measure our success is in how much we can help
individual children overcome their disabilities. We succeed when we teach children the skills they need
to become more independent in their daily lives, while also socially capable. If we are no longer needed
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then we know that we have done our job. We are a business and so it is important for us to get
contracts with other public agencies and families. However, we find that the best way to get new
contracts, is by gaining a reputation as a firm that is able to successfully deliver an effective program, as
measured by the client’s progress.”
Do you think CLASS, so far, is a successful program?
“I think we are getting there. There are many things still to do and to overcome, especially with
insurance companies and school districts. For some reason, people like to take services away from
these kids. We end up spending more time fighting to keep the services than we spend actually
implementing services. It is just an ongoing process that needs strong people to continue to fight each
day for the services these children deserve.”
What do you think motivates the therapists who work one on one with the children? (I explained
each of the motivations-normative, affective and moral).
“I think it may be a variety. Some of them maybe motivated by the policies in effect and the legal and
“governmental” issues surrounding those. Like with services being taken away and so on. I think most
of them may be motivated by a moral feeling; that they have an obligation to do something good in the
community, and for those who are less fortunate than they are. I don’t agree that they may be
motivated by a sense of duty. Maybe in a case of a child with a disability is in their family, but I don’t see
that being a big cause of employment with a program like ours. I think most people do this because it
just makes you feel good, and I have to say it is really fun. I mean what adult doesn’t want to play with
play-doh again?”
Do you think employees of CLASS, or just people in the public service in general, are intrinsically good,
or do you think they are only good if they are being watched by upper management, so to speak?
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“I think there are definitely people in the public service that are not good people, that are only there just
to receive a pay check, and have no ties to the organization or to the mission at hand. Those people will
never be successful though, in their daily lives as well as their careers. I don’t think that these people
are bad people, but what would be the point? Speaking from an individual who takes great care and
loves her job and working to serve, I care more about my job and I “do” my job to the fullest. That is
what makes a great public servant.”
Speaking with Wajma was informative and interesting. People that do this kind of work, for not very
much pay, are motivating to me and sort of remind me of all the good things that can come of
collaborations. Wajma alluded to some issues going on within the company currently, having to do with
HR responsibilities, how to hold the staff accountable and paycuts to all program directors. We chatted
“off the record” about this, but seemed important enough to add into my analysis of the interview. It
seems that CLASS has been hiring individuals for the upper management portion of the company, who
are not cheap. By doing that, they are cutting the Program Directors pay by 10%. It seems interesting to
me that instead of promoting from within, they have chosen to hire from the outside, at the expense of
those who have been with the company for a longer period of time. Is this move some sort of a
strategic trade off? Does it mean they can compete with other programs that have high level of
education employees already on their staff? In this theory of New Public Management, competition and
trade offs are a part of this idea which makes me think that CLASS may be a little behind the curve. If
New Public Management is on a decline then CLASS may need to do some rethinking of it’s
organizational structure. If theories such as new public management ebb and flow like most things do,
then there may be another uprising soon, in which case CLASS may find itself in good standing with its
employees, the community and the public sector.
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