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Expert Spotlight – Nancy Tello

As an exemplary BPUB employee, Nancy Tello is not only an expert in her field but a role model for others. Nancy is stern when it comes to her job, respected for her professionalism, and loved for her easy-going personality. That is why she was selected to be featured in today’s BPUB’s Expert Spotlight.

Nancy was born in Brownsville and lived most of her childhood in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico. She traveled back and forth until her mother decided to stay in Brownsville.  Nancy caught up with her classmates by studying the English dictionary on her own time. Nancy liked sports, but she also had her sights on business courses. She knew this would help her get a job after high school, so she wanted to learn as much as she could to help support herself and her family. Soon, she joined the Business Professionals of America and got real hands-on experience in a business setting. That’s when 17-year-old Nancy first set foot on BPUB.

“My teacher took me down to the Purchasing Department, and then I noticed that I was being placed in a department that I did not like when I was being trained. I did not like doing purchase orders; who would have guessed,” Nancy laughed as she recalled her assignment. “My teacher was Eddy Hernandez’s mom (Hernandez is BPUB’s current director of customer service and information technology), and I would tell her, ‘I don’t like doing POs.’”

After working as a student employee for a few months, Nancy was offered a temporary clerk position at the Purchasing Department. Soon after, she enrolled at the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College to earn a bachelor’s in applied arts and sciences. Not long after, she married her high school sweetheart and had three beautiful children. She now has three grandchildren.

Her successful 28-year career with BPUB has been full of amazing memories and experiences, but her journey was not always easy.

“It took me eight years to graduate from college, and I could only spend time with my kids on the weekends,” Nancy said. “I stayed up until 2 a.m. for many nights making sure I completed my college assignments. I’m so lucky I had the support of my husband, my mother and my sister-in-law during those difficult years.”

Things started looking up in 2010 when, after applying twice, Nancy finally got the Records Management position she desired. When Nancy was hired, she made sure to update and improve the records management program.

Nancy and her department have a very specific focus, one that some might find tedious but Nancy finds exciting – records. The department responds to public information requests and manages records inventory, storage and destruction.

Ten years later, she is working on automating core processes to store BPUB’s records through the Enterprise Content and Records Management (ECRM) project. This system will digitize BPUB forms and make it easy for employees to track the forms from beginning to end by identifying who the form is routed to, time delays, signature requests, and other behind-the-scenes factors.

“My biggest accomplishment has been restarting the records management program after it being dormant for several years,” Nancy said.  “In this whole time, I have implemented procedure standards and finally began working on the ECRM system,” Nancy said.

The project has been arduous and is still ongoing, but it has brought many positive changes to BPUB. Her management style is also one of her best qualities, according to her employees.

“If Nancy tells you something, it’s because she already looked it up,” Senior Records Assistant Josefina Garcia said. “If you ask her a question she knows the answer to, she will take the time to get up from her desk to show us or she will set up a time in her schedule to train us.”

Nancy has always found a way to help or give back. Throughout the years, she has volunteered in most of the community outreach events BPUB has hosted and participated in the Adopt A Highway and Leadership Brownsville Class 34.

Perhaps in the next few years, she will start looking into retirement. Speaking of traveling and the outdoors really brightens up Nancy’s eyes.

“When I retire, I know that BPUB will be in good hands and the department will succeed because I like to pass on my knowledge to my staff. That is important to me; you have to leave something behind to assist current and future staff.”