Joeanne Toledo received her professional of human resources certification from the Human Resources Certification Institute and, later, obtained the certified professional designation from the Society for Human Resources Management.
She is currently the vice president of human resources for Port Tampa Bay.
She is an active member of the national and local Tampa chapters of the Society for Human Resource Management, a graduate of the Florida TaxWatch Citizenship Institute, a graduate of USF’s diversity, equity and inclusion program in the Workplace Certificate Program and a certified port executive.
WHAT CHALLENGES HAVE YOU FACED IN YOUR CAREER? HOW DID YOU OVERCOME THOSE CHALLENGES?
The biggest challenge in my career has been getting leaders to really listen to what you have to say and see the value that you bring to the team as a Hispanic woman. To overcome this, I learned to build and develop trust between me, leaders and all levels of employees. If others are speaking positively about their interactions, and experiences, with me and leaders can see the trust that others have solidified with me, then they will be more open to listen. It was important that I understood what others were trying to accomplish, in order to present my ideas and communicate with them in a way they would understand. If I wanted to be heard then I needed to be willing to listen as well.
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR PROUDEST PROFESSIONAL MOMENT?
My proudest professional moment has been seeing each, and every, employee I have had the pleasure of working with move up in their professional journey. I don’t measure the success of my journey in the total profits of the organization, I measure success by the successes of others that have worked with me. Seeing each employee I have worked with, in every organization, grow their careers makes me proud of my own professional accomplishments.
