Message from Leadership - Arvin Malkani
HR/Company News
General Facts - COVID-19
Health Corner - Christina Oms
Microsoft Teams
Spotlight on You - Ellen Riley
Event Photos
|
|
Milestones
Employee Anniversaries
ISN Virtual Yoga
HR Corner
Community Outreach
Contests/Quizzes
New Employees
|
|
|
|
Message from Leadership: Arvin Malkani |
|
|
Letter from Arvin - July 23, 2020
Dear ISN Family,
We welcomed this year with hopes and aspirations as we did with any other, yet what has transpired is far different from what anyone could have imagined. The pandemic has been devastating, claiming over 146,000 thousand lives in the United States, while also requiring a change in way we live, work, and interact. As we adapt, there actually happens to be a set of new and unexpected opportunities. With a renewed effort, we can try to make it a better year. This is the year to make the most out of, especially in these challenging times.
When we work together as a team, we can achieve greatness. Health professionals as a team, for example, risk their lives each day as they care for those who are infected. Scientists work together to develop new treatments and vaccines to combat this scourge. ISN’ers continue vital services to support our government’s mission. We all do so as a team under these difficult conditions that, at times, go against our natural human behaviors. We endure these hefty challenges, but I say we should do so with an unwavering responsibility to find new opportunities within this environment.
One may connect with family and community to develop stronger bonds that will be forever lasting. One can reach out a helping hand or a calm, steady voice to those in need. One can develop a stronger team that will make this world a better place.
Of course, we have a responsibility to be safe. Please try your best to break this virus by (1) wearing a mask, (2) maintaining social distance, and (3) making informed decisions. Enclosed are a few items to aid you in these endeavors as your safety and health is ISN’s number one priority.
Like each of us as individuals, ISN continues its journey. Coming off of years of growth, the company has found itself with a new set of challenges. From recompetes on the USDA SNAP and HUD MCM programs to COVID-19 stop-work orders to new services in an election year, ISN has to adapt to change and seize upon opportunities for increased strength.
As we have in the past, we will prevail and do so this time around with more empathy and understanding. We are continuously learning and contributing to society with opportunities, challenges, and our values of People, Quality, Customer Satisfaction, Leadership, and Integrity.
Finally, I would like to dedicate this year to the principle of Equality. We have been reminded that all should be treated with fairness and respect. I also want to thank each one of you for your hard work, commitment, and effort that makes ISN the special company that it is. I hope you know how much we appreciate the work you do to support our government clients’ missions.
Sincerely,
Arvin Malkani, CEO
|
|
|
|
HR/Company News
ISN looks forward to contract awards from and related to agencies such as CMS, the US Marine Corps, GSA, USDA, and HUD, which fall into ISN’s core capabilities of Fieldwork Services, Background Investigations, Real Estate Management, Litigation Support, and Financial Management.(follow us on LinkedIn 'ISN Corp' for news and updates).
ISN Corporation was re-certified April 2020 for CMMI Level 3 Development!
On April 30th, 2020, ISN was also certified for CMMI Level 3 Services!
Due to COVID-19, ISN is currently practicing teleworking. We hope that all families are safe and healthy. We encourage you to reach out to HR if you have any questions/concerns regarding COVID-19.
|
|
|
|
COVID-19 and what you should know by now… |
|
|
|
•Over 177,000 Coronavirus related deaths in the U.S. which has recorded over 5.7 million cases and approximately 3 million recoveries
•Health experts say that Aerosols are a major source of spread and strongly advise to wear a mask and avoid long periods indoors with other people. ISN mailed guidelines/instructions for mask usage along with masks and hand sanitizer last month. Please email HR if you haven't received your care package.
•Per CDC, people of any age with underlying conditions are most associated with coronavirus hospitalizations and death to include chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, obesity, a weakened immune system, Type 2 Diabetes, sickle cell disease and heart conditions.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Health Corner: Build Healthy Habits
By: Christina Oms
Many of the foods we eat are processed. Avoiding them altogether would be tough. Here’s the good news — you don’t have to. A processed food is simply one that’s been changed in some way. Some of those changes aren’t bad — like pasteurized milk or minimally processed healthy foods, like bagged spinach or frozen vegetables, which are pre-packed for convenience and freshness. The trick is to choose the healthier processed foods while upping your whole foods game.
Generally, the less processed the better. Whole foods and less processed foods usually have more of the good stuff like vitamins and minerals (which are great for your teeth, skin, eyes, bones, and immune system, among other things) and fiber (which aids digestion and keeps you full longer).
Watch out for foods with refined sugars or flours and lots of salt, saturated fat, or additives. Highly processed foods include things like chips, cookies, crackers, microwavable dinners, deli meats, and frozen pizzas. Many processed foods like cake mixes and pasta sauces also have added ingredients to change flavor and texture.
Read the label
One good way to make sure the food you’re buying is minimally processed is to read the Nutrition Facts Label. In general, watch for foods high in sodium (aka salt), saturated fat, and added sugars. As a guide, look at the “% Daily Value” section of the nutrition label. If the percent daily value of a nutrient is 20 percent or more, that means it’s high. If the percent value is at 5 percent or less, that means it’s low. Avoid trans fats and partially hydrogenated oils (which contain trans fats) entirely, if possible. Choose foods with fewer ingredients and look for foods that say “whole grain,”
|
|
Health Corner Continued...
|
Make healthy swaps
Once you get in the habit of shopping lower on the processed scale, it’s easy to have better options on hand when hunger strikes. You could also try cooking at home more often — shortcuts like frozen veggies and lower-sodium canned ingredients are fine to use. Here are some easy swaps to cut down on highly processed foods:
- Instead of chips, have a small handful of roasted, unsalted nuts or seeds.
- Instead of buying flavored or sweetened oatmeal or yogurt, buy the plain kinds and add fruit yourself.
- Instead of packaged cold cuts, slice up leftover grilled chicken.
- Instead of white bread, buy whole-grain or whole-wheat bread.
- Instead of buying salad dressing, make your own easy vinaigrette.
Cutting down on the amount of added sugar and salt you eat can make a big difference. Eating less sugar reduces your risk of Type 2 diabetes and heart disease. And people who eat 5 grams of salt a day or less, can reduce their blood pressure and risk of heart disease, heart attack, and stroke.
You don’t have to skip all processed foods. Focus on cutting out the worst of them and choose the right ones in the right amount.
Selected references
U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Food Facts. Last updated June 2018.
Source: Heath Resources – Health & Wellness United Health Care (UHC)-Rally
|
|
|
|
Implementation of Microsoft Teams
ISN’s implementation of Microsoft Teams earlier this year has helped us stay connected. Social distancing does not mean social isolation - we use technology to do things together despite the distance. What has helped our team stay strong is checking in with individual members and clients periodically to see how they’re doing and to ensure they are sufficiently supported. If you require IT assistance, please go to ISN's website, select Helpdesk MD or Helpdesk OKC under the "Helpful Links" section which is at the bottom left hand corner. Then enter your ISN email address and password (or sign up with your ISN email address) to submit an IT ticket/request.
|
|
|
|
Spotlight on You: Ellen Riley |
|
|
|
|
|
|
I started working for ISN Corporation in September 2014, shortly after graduating from Wilkes University with a Bachelor’s Degree in English Writing. I spent my first year as an Administrative Assistant on the FDA CTP contract where I was responsible for recruiting, onboarding, and supporting 60+ field staff performing tobacco retailer inspections in New York.
In October 2015, I joined the Business Development Team as a Proposal Coordinator. In this role, I learned to perform a wide variety of functions throughout the proposal development lifecycle, to include proposal planning, management, drafting/writing, editing, and more. Since starting work in Business Development, I have contributed to winning proposal efforts totaling hundreds of millions of dollars in awards for the company. In 2018 alone, I played a big role in securing awards for the State of Maine’s Tobacco Compliance Inspections, DOJ Mega 4 Quality Assurance Services (QAS), and FDA CTP in Washington, DC and South Carolina. In October 2018, I was promoted to Proposal Writer.
In this position, my day-to-day responsibilities include analyzing Requests for Proposals (RFPs) to execute the planning, development, and submittal of compliant and effective proposal responses. I also contributed to the compliance review and editing processes to ensure proposal responses are accurate, consistent, organized, and include all information necessary to meet client-specific needs, requirements, goals, and objectives.
|
|
|
January 2020 Holiday Party and Valentine's Day Party |
|
|
Milestones
If you would like your "Milestone" to be included in the next Corporate Newsletter,
please email the HR team at isnhrteam@isncorp.com.
|
|
|
|
Kelly Moreno welcomed her baby boy, Kohan Ace Myers (see photos below), on February 23rd, 2020! |
|
Stephanie Davis welcomed her baby, Finn Davis (see above photo) on March 26th, 2020!
Sarah Dallas and Sasu were engaged this year (see below)!
|
|
|
|
The following employees have recently celebrated their employment anniversary with ISN Corporation
|
|
|
|
 |
1-2 years
Allegra Eggleston
Alyssa Warstler
Anthony Gallo
Bryan Woodward
Catherine Cramer
Christina Oms
Ciera Williams
Danisha Hardeman
Deeksha Ramchandran
Diana Nguyen
Jason Mascelli
Jodanna Crowe
Katherine Marrero
Katrina Walker
Kenneth Patton
Leonard Wasserman
Madison Featherstone
Rachel Dunn
Rick Waswick
Robustiano Fernandez
Rudeina Fuentes
Russell Trench
Sarah McGeath
Shannon Grayson
Stacie Chavira
Tony Hernandez
Tori Williams
Tracey Thornton
Vanessa Guinto
Vigney Joseph
Wendy Southworth
Wenny Baisa
William Morrison
William Whalen
|
|
|
|
3-4 Years
Dawn Collins
Alexandria Wood
Billy Suttles
Brian Slagowski
Caitlin McDoulett
Cara Harper
Chad Dodge
Christopher Cox
Dana Boyle
Danielle Burton
Denise Sayer
Devon Fuller
Diertre White
Erica Harris
Errol Spears
Greg Nelson
Griffin Sansone
Gwen Tipton
Gwen Van Every
Hoa Ly
Jenafer Rego
Jennifer Webster
Jennifer Lorey
Jessica Seedyke
Joseph Bagby
Kama Kohler
Karina Chavez
Kerry Brashears
Lameka Oakes
Lani Ishikawa
Latoya Godette
Lavader Furman
Layla Shahamat
Mary Flatt
Matthew Omalley
Monique Harrod
Natalie Cascia
Rebecca Overstreet
Robyn Troutman
Roderick Porter
Ryan McDoulett
Ryan Tanner
Sally Morado
Shantell Cheadle
Shirley Wilson
Stephanie Davis
Teresa Woods
Timothy Brandt
Wes Rice
Xavier Alicea
|
|
|
|
5+Years
Ben Gergens
Danielle Mahaffy
Danielle Nast
Diertre White
Doug Azzano
Ellen Riley
Felicia Strom
George Ingraham
Issam Philippe
Jian Chi Liu
Jim Nelson
Kelly McGregor
Kelly Moreno
Maira Soriano
Melanie Steen
Michael Solomon
Mike Yuskiw
Natalie Mediuoni
Ngoctrang Nguyen
Sarah Dallas
Sonya Lyles
Tala Kerman
Tammy Fernandez
Thomas Anderson
Umesh Kunvar
|
|
|
|
|
|
Thank you for your service! |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ISN Virtual Yoga
Dear ISN Team,
We launched a virtual weekly group Yoga class on July 8, 2020! Yoga can have many health benefits. It's known to help with stress, relieve joint tension and boost your immune system functionality - just to name a few benefits! We've identified an experienced and talented Yoga instructor to guide you through this experience whether it be new to you or you've tried it before. Instructor Sun has a gentle, easy to follow and fun teaching style. She started the series with a Hatha flow format and may in subsequent weeks teach other formats as well to include modifications if needed. We hope you give it a try and any feedback or suggestions are appreciated!
Class is accessible through Zoom, www.zoom.us and a weekly reminder with Zoom meeting ID and PW will be emailed. Class is at 1:00 PM Eastern Time every Wednesday (12:00 PM Central Time for our OKC team members).
If you're interested in participating, please make sure to email isnhrteam@isncorp.com your completed Yoga Waiver form.
Also, please make sure to follow 'ISN Corporation' on LinkedIn since there will be other notifications and updates on there as well.
Stay safe and healthy!
ISN HR Team
|
|
|
|
Welcome to the HR team of ISN! Our team consists of the HR director, the HR generalist, an HR assistant, and the 2 recruiters. Let's meet the team!
Christina Oms is the HR director here at ISN. Christina has almost two decades of HR experience in the private, public, and government sectors. Over the years, Christina worked in multiple capabilities including policy and procedures, talent acquisition, employee life cycle, employee relations, benefits, compensation plans, HRIS, performance evaluations, improvement program, labor compliance, payroll, metrics, and budget management. In the last decade, Mrs. Oms has led HR Departments for Federal contracting companies. She embraces values towards increasing employee satisfaction levels, building an efficient team, and supporting the corporate goals. Mrs. Oms holds a Master degree of Public Administration with a concentration in Human Resources, and she also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Management with a concentration in Human Resources, both from the American Military University. She is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). She is a certified notary in the State of Virginia. Currently Christina is establishing Key Performance Indicators (KPI), benefits analysis, creating and analyzing reports, overseeing compliance issues, creating processes, reviewing policies and reactivating tasks like the newsletter and employee of the month while supporting the corporate goals (see first photo at the top of this section).
Glenda Strickland is our HR Generalist at ISN. She moved back to her home state of Maryland from Columbus, OH last year. Glenda previously worked as a Sr. HR Associate at The Ohio State University and as an Administrative Officer at Georgetown University and joins the team with over 7 years of HR experience. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and is certified by the HR Certification Institute as an Associate Professional in Human Resources. Her current duties at ISN include assisting with the recruitment process, support the new-hire process including orientation and entry of new hire paperwork, advises management in appropriate resolution of employee relations issues and other HR duties as assigned (see second photo).
Deeksha Ramchandran is our HR assistant at ISN. She joined the team over a year ago. She recently graduated from University of Maryland, College Park with a B.S in Business Management. She realized her passion and interest for HR about 3 years ago and she had started as an HR intern then moved on to being promoted to a recruiting assistant. Currently at ISN, she provides general administrative support to the HR team. Her responsibilities include benefits administration, updating/terminating employee information, ordering /processing background checks, updating sick/vacation leave, completing employment verifications, assisting with the new hire process, assisting with performance management, and other HR-related functions (see third photo).
LaDonna Ragan is our Senior Recruiter and HR contact for the Oklahoma City Office for ISN. LaDonna joined the team seven months ago and brings over 15 years of Recruiting and HR experience to the team! She has a diverse background in recruiting including Government Contracting, Engineering, Accounting and Marketing. Her responsibilities include working with Business Development, identifying and engaging with possible hires for proposals along with recruiting and hiring for current open positions (see fourth photo)!
Tala Kerman is our corporate recruiter at ISN. She has been with the ISN team for five years now and brings a ton of recruiting experience and knowledge to the table! Currently, her role consists of FDA, HUD, DOJ, and corporate full cycle recruiting. She also assists with other projects such as social media projects, newsletter, monthly reports, compliance analyses, and supports event organization as needed (see last photo)!
|
|
|
|
|
ISN Community Outreach
In June this year, ISN donated to SevaTruck Foundation to help provide free meals to underprivileged areas in DC. We have donated over 300 hundred meals to the needy and will continue to do so for another 1,200 meals during this pandemic to support our community.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Who was ISN's 2019 Q1 Employee of Month?
|
|
|
|
|
New employees that joined the team from January 2020 to June 2020.
Welcome to the ISN Team!
|
|
|
|
January:
Thi Than*
Jennifer Hooshangi
Alexander Whitney
|
|
February:
LaDonna Ragan
Christopher Miskovsky
|
|
March:
Eric Dolsen
Elizabeth Ortiz
Shawn Schwartzenberger
Ximena Blanco
Lesly Fleck
Sheryl Hall
Randy Heckley
Thomas Lewis
Brian Tungate
Mark Wightman
Motiur Rahman
|
|
|
|
|
April:
Juan Arizon
Balakrishnan Balaji
Kanoeolokelani Barker
Karen Cattivera
Jazmin Espinoza
Rebecca Neff
Heather Reeder
Mary Simpson
Leslie Belcher
Janet Dodge
Gregory Heath
Jasmine Meredith
Justin Mitchell
Cheryl Ordaz
Jordan Park
Jeanette Perry
|
|
May:
Corrine Himelright*
*Thi and Corrine have re-joined the ISN Family this year, welcome back!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rate this issue of the newsletter!
|
|
|
|
|
|
What would you like to see in the future ISN Essentials publications? Click the link below to send us your comments!
|
|
|
|
|
|
ISN Corporation
10411 Motor City Drive, Suite 700
Bethesda, MD 20817
(301) 469-0400
|
|
|
|
|
