The work of accreditation is accomplished through a partnership consisting of hundreds of contributors including commissioners, site visitors and APA staff. In this quarter’s Commission on Accreditation (CoA) update, we speak with Tasha Haywood, accreditation financial analyst in the Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation (OPCA). Tasha is responsible for the day-to-day financial operations of the OPCA and works with the administrative team to ensure that all accreditation functions move forward optimally.
Tasha has been a member of the OPCA team for 10 years, and every day she responds to inquiries, interfaces with APA’s finance department, organizes and maintains financial data, and manages expense reports. Commissioners and site visitors who engage in work for the CoA must fill out and submit these expense reports when their work is complete, and Tasha is the first person to receive and process them. Whenever a question is posed about an expense report, Tasha is the person who researches and responds to the request. Tasha often serves as an investigator, researching the status of expense reports and expediting them to ensure timely and efficient reimbursement.
Based on the sheer number of reports that Tasha has seen through the years, she is a veritable expert and has great insight to share regarding expense report “dos and don’ts.” When asked about the most common mistake she sees, Tasha said hands-down, “Signatures. I’d say 40 percent of submitters forget to sign, and unfortunately we cannot submit without a signature.” Another common mistake she noted is the submission of hotel bills with outstanding or unpaid balances. Tasha encouraged all accreditation contributors to ensure that they submit zero-balance hotel folios with their expense reports to allow for the most efficient processing possible.
Outside of the office, Tasha provides for her husband and two daughters and contributes to her community in several ways. She facilitates a parent support group with a local charter school where she helps parents and children access various resources offered by the school. Tasha serves as a Girl Scout troop leader and receives high praise from fellow parents for the leadership and compassion she models for her troops. Along with her daughters, she is currently developing a one-day workshop with Girl Scouts of Nation's Capital to help prevent bullying in schools. In the little downtime she has, Tasha enjoys reading, watching sports (particularly women’s basketball) and travelling.
We thank Tasha and the rest of the OPCA staff for their invaluable contributions to the work of accreditation.