#WomenAtCPA: Korry Castillo

Women in Leadership: Korry Castillo, Associate Deputy Comptroller

Korry Castillo is one of our agency’s new associate deputy comptrollers (ADCs), overseeing operations and support. Castillo’s tenure as ADC begins with a familiar challenge — one she’s heard Mike Reissig (former deputy comptroller and current chief executive officer of the Texas Treasury Safekeeping Trust Company) talk about as well. Each move up in management is a step away from her first frontline job, resulting in less control over her day and work product. It requires drawing on different skill sets so that she can respond faster and end the day feeling productive.

“I used to have these very long, detailed to-do lists. My to-do list is short and vague now because it’s more about responding to the needs of a division or an urgent issue. So I can’t really plan my day out like before,” Castillo says. “It’s interesting, and it’s challenging.”

Responding to employees' needs also happens to align with her goals as ADC. Castillo is looking to the people she manages — all 500 plus — to tell her about the pain points and the clunky processes that, if addressed, would make their jobs a little bit easier.

“I need to be realistic in the sense that I don’t really know what I don’t know yet. I’m going to leave some room to learn and find out what it is that the divisions need from me,” Castillo says.

Curiosity is one of the attributes that has helped Castillo throughout her career. Asking the why and the how of a situation informs her decisions every day. It also helps guide her approach to long-term changes.

“Technology is changing every day; the demographics of the state are changing every day. What our businesses need change daily,” Castillo says. “We need to stay on top of that, and it helps because if you have that longer-term vision people will take notice.”

Under Castillo’s leadership, there is not a one-size-fits-all approach to management. It’s important to her to get to know employees as individuals to find what’s best for each person and division because, in the end, it’s about everyone being in the right job and doing their best work for the agency.?

“When you’re doing the thing that you’re really good at and really enjoy, it doesn’t feel like work,” Castillo explains. “I know that sounds cheesy, but if we could do that for everyone, the quality and the quantity of work that we could do would be amazing.”