Houston Futures has the pleasure of connecting with Futures Studies – Clear Lake alumna Cissy Yoes.
Cissy is the Director of Knowledge Management & Data Resources, Office of Health Policy & Legislative Affairs (KMDR).  KMDR works to improve the quality of strategic intelligence for the institution.  From information gathering to analysis to report generation KMDR serves to increase senior leadership’s awareness and understanding of the changing environment in which we operate.

How did you hear about Future Studies?
“It was 1985 and I was in my early thirties living in Clear Lake with my husband and 2 young sons and decided I wanted to go back to school. I had graduated from college in 1975 with a degree in sociology. Prior to having children my husband and I had lived in various parts of the world with his job—Poland, Argentina, Portugal, Turkey and Germany.
Since UHCL was right there in my neighborhood I scoured their catalogue looking for what might be a program of interest for me.  I was attracted to Studies of the Future right away because of the flexibility offered by having the core curriculum and then options for building the rest of your course work including individual study programs. I had done several individual study programs in college and they work well for me. And it was a unique program which was also very attractive to me. I like doing things a little unconventional.
The timing of the classes (4-10 pm) worked well with our schedule and the location couldn’t have been any better.”
Why did you decide to go into the field?
“I love the work!  I have always been a life-wide learner.  Exploring and understanding how things fit together or have influence on other systems and processes is what I do all the time. Being able to do this as my work is a perfect fit. I appreciate the opportunities that I have and the value people place on my insights.”
What was your most memorable take-away from the program?
“The interesting people and the joy of learning.  The professors were excellent and fully committed to student success.  They taught interesting courses and worked with students as individuals providing tailored experiences and opportunities for each student.
And the students were fun and intelligent . We formed some group camaraderie that I had not experienced in undergraduate school.  We worked together a lot and helped each other on our exploration journey.”