Warden helps others achieve career goals

2021 Women of Distinction – Outstanding Mentor

Linae Warden – Northern Colorado Networking Group

FORT COLLINS — Many job-seekers in Northern Colorado are familiar with the networking, placement, coaching and mentorship offered by the Northern Colorado Networking Group, commonly known as NoCoNet. As president of that organization from 2015 to 2018, Linae Warden had oversight of eight committee chairs who are responsible for its operations and job fairs. She was responsible for spending approval, budget, board of directors meeting agendas and follow-up.

Before ascending to the presidency, she chaired its employer liaison committee for six months, cultivating and maintaining relationships with local employers and encouraging them to invite NoCoNet members for open positions.

“In both my professional and volunteer roles,” Warden said, “I have always sought to empower customers, co-workers, colleagues, friends, and employees to reach for and achieve the goals of their choice.”

A good mentor, she said, discourages the “live to work” mentality, although she added that “many employers are happy to allow this and even reward it in ways that do not sustain the employee long-term. I encourage my mentees to create a healthy, balanced life, successful professionally, socially, and physically, as well as to uphold the highest ethical standards.”

She promotes and strives to exemplify what she calls “servant leadership.”

“As a professional, I found many leaders and managers lacked the insight and vision to see and develop their people, and failed to offer them opportunities to learn new skills and explore new directions,” she said. “All employees and companies benefit from this approach. A surprising number also did not seem able to recognize and clear the path for extraordinary talent; it does not seem to be a priority. Sadly, many blinders seem to be closely associated with various forms of discrimination: ethnic, gender, accents, age, physical attractiveness, and other forms of stereotyping. This narrow-mindedness significantly hampers the opportunities for growth and success of the company and service of its customers. Diversity in all of these areas has been directly linked with stable and significant growth, innovation, and resiliency within organizations of all sizes.”

Before coming to NoCoNet, Warden served 10 years as a campus coordinator for Regis University, where she earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees, and three as technical support manager for Hewlett-Packard in Loveland. She won awards at HP for bringing a new technical support team online ahead of schedule, and for documenting the call center’s detailed disaster contingency plans, processes, and procedures.

She has volunteered as a search-dog team trainer and president of Larimer County Search and Rescue, where she was a field team leader. 

“Since my retirement, I have been proud to have spent time helping professionals of all ages chart their own paths of success,” she said. “In my role as president of NoCoNet, I had many opportunities to do so, sometimes with just a few suggestions, occasionally longer-term interaction.”

She’s a master educator with the city of Fort Collins’ Healthy Homes program, participates in research regarding healthy aging for Colorado State University — she believes “older, experienced people are undervalued” — and has been active in political caucuses and campaigns.

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