Tracy Conti, Program Secretary

Tracy Conti is Cazenovia Manor’s Program Secretary, and she epitomizes collaboration in quite a few ways. She mentioned so many of her coworkers across the agency in her conversation because Tracy connects with others so easily. It certainly helps that our agency seeks to foster friendly environments. “The people are very nice,” she said of her fellow staff members. Tracy has an associate’s degree in Business Administration with a minor in Accounting from Erie Community College. She’s been with us for five years, and she’s spent the last two at Cazenovia Manor.

Connecting Residents to Benefits

Recently, Tracy has taken on case management responsibilities, and her role is pivotal in ensuring that residents are connected with benefits like SNAP, Departments of Social Services, and others. She’s helped out with some food service tasks, too. Chipping in with new responsibilities is just part of Tracy’s nature. “I like being busy,” she said with a smile.

Anyone with experience with benefits like SNAP and Social Services knows how complicated the applications can be. “It can be challenging because residents just don’t have the resources,” Tracy explained. “Sometimes they have to sign up for an ID or get a new Social Security card.” She perseveres thanks to mutual support from Suzanne Sisson, our agency’s’ Resource Coordinator. “I try to help her as much as I can,” said Tracy. “We work pretty well together.” Tracy has learned a lot about these processes while helping Suzanne. “She’s taught me more about what I have to do,” said Tracy. “I’m learning as I’m going.”

Empowerment from Tracy’s Supervisor

One of Tracy’s favorite aspects of her job is her supervisor, Debra Cannon. “She is such a good boss to work for,” Tracy explained. Specifically, Tracy says that Debra listens to her ideas and that she’s “very open to talking to people.” This helps Tracy to feel empowered in her day-to-day work.

Debra also helps Tracy in her interactions with residents. Debra has years of experience in our field, and by following Debra’s expertise, Tracy has learned different and trauma-informed ways to support Cazenovia Manor’s residents. This is particularly useful with new residents who can occasionally be resistant to the program and its activities. However, thanks to what she and other staff have learned from Debra, Tracy knows just what to say when someone might be having a tough day. Due to this, Tracy says that it’s “awesome” to see when residents start to open up. One thing Tracy knows for sure: she and her fellow staff at Cazenovia Manor know how to help residents reach the next step in their recovery. “I like seeing them accomplish their goals,” said Tracy.