Dr. Julie Mitchell, Chief Personnel Officer for the Tustin Unified School District, has been named 2012 State Negotiator of the Year by the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA). Dr. Mitchell was honored at the ACSA Negotiator’s Symposium in San Diego.

TUSD Superintendent Dr. Gregory Franklin congratulates Chief Personnel Officer Dr. Julie Mitchell upon receiving the ACSA 2012 State Negotiator of the Year Award presented by Human Resources Council President Tanya Krause and ACSA Negotiator’s Symposium Co-Chairs Kathleen McClure and Tom Addington

“The award recognizes Julie’s ability to effectively work with employees and associations, build strong employee/employer relationships and come to successful conclusions of negotiations using a variety of strategies, all of which are built on trust and respect of the associations in the Tustin Unified School District,” said TUSD Superintendent Dr. Gregory Franklin. “It is a well-deserved honor and we are proud of her,” he added.

The ACSA Human Resources Council sponsors two prestigious awards each year – the Ray Curry award in Personnel Excellence presented at the Personnel Institute, and the Negotiator of the Year award presented at the Negotiator’s Symposium.

The Negotiator of the Year award recognizes negotiators who have consistently applied effective practices in reaching agreements and shared those principles to build capacity in the educational system. The criteria for selection includes: serving as chief negotiator for a school district; making outstanding contributions in the area of labor relations and negotiations at local districts, and regional and state levels; and being an involved and contributing participant in ACSA region/state human resources activities and functions.

“Julie met all of our criteria to receive this prestigious award,” said Tanya Krause, Human Resources Council President for ACSA. “She is very skilled in a variety of strategies and areas of negotiation. She has a commitment to transparent, caring and honest negotiations and builds positive relations while having impeccable integrity. An amazing hard-worker, Julie is committed, loyal and always prepared in advance – and it shows in her work.”

Dr. Mitchell has been involved in public education for 22 years – the past four years as Chief Personnel Officer for TUSD. During her career, she has been a middle school teacher, high school administrator/activities director, middle school assistant principal and principal, and assistant superintendent of Human Resources.

Among her honors, Dr. Mitchell was named 2011 Orange County Administrator of the Year in the area of Personnel & Human Resources by ACSA, Region 17. ACSA annually recognizes outstanding administrators for their leadership skills, professionalism, creativity, innovation, and commitment to a quality education.

Dr. Mitchell also conducts a variety of management workshops, including the ACSA Personnel Academy and TUSD School Leadership Academy.