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Past honorees
2022
Leadership Excellence Awards
The Leadership Excellence Awards honor King County leaders who embody our Executive Branch values and drive for results that make King County better for employees and customers, and move us closer to our True North: Making King County a welcoming community where every person can thrive.
Fred Jarrett Award: Honors a department or division leader
Recipient: Ken Guy, Director, Finance and Business Operations Division, Department of Executive Services
Ken Guy has served as director of the Finance and Business Operations Division for more than 18 years, but he started as an intern at the county in the early 1980s. He was an early adopter of Lean and one of the first at King County to bring a continuous improvement specialist into his team. Watch the video to learn how Ken has used a Best-Run Government approach to improve the efficiency of the county’s procurement process; increase opportunities for small businesses and minority- and women-owned businesses to contract with the county; and serve as a diligent and reliable partner to colleagues and community.
People Leader Award: Honors a leader below the department or division leadership level who directly manages staff
Recipient: Bing Subelbia, Assistant Operations Manager, Parks Division, Department of Natural Resources and Parks
Bing Subelbia oversees the Parks Beautification Program, part of King County’s Jobs and Housing Program that connects people experiencing homelessness to employment, subsidized housing, and career services. With her leadership, Parks hired 27 people experiencing homelessness, and many have secured stable housing. Watch the video to learn how Bing’s compassionate leadership has changed the lives of participants in the program and brought a positive shift in how her team views people experiencing homelessness.
Individual Contributor Award: Honors an individual contributor who does not directly manage staff
Recipient: Angela Toussaint, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Manager, Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention
Angela Toussaint developed the Equity, Racial, and Social Justice program to help address the impacts of systemic racism on the Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention’s employees and the communities they serve. As King County’s first Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Manager, she led a Leadership Development Project that emphasizes equity fundamentals and seeks to increase the number and diversity of candidates for staff positions in the department. Watch the video to learn how Angela has improved workplace culture and inspired her colleagues to make the department a more equitable workplace.
Innovation Awards
These awards honor department teams whose projects, improvements, and ingenuity deliver exceptional, measurable results. “We solve problems” and “We drive for results” are core values at King County, and these award recipients met challenges in creative and impactful ways.
Innovation Award for Cost
Recipient: Department of Executive Services/Office of Emergency Management – FEMA Public Assistance Program Cost Reimbursement
Project Team: Office of Emergency Management: Alysha Kaplan and Celia Taylor; Finance Teams: Public Health – Seattle and King County, Department of Community and Human Services, Facilities Management Division, and other King County agencies; Finance and Business Operations Division; Office of Performance, Strategy and Budget
The FEMA Public Assistance Program Cost Reimbursement Team is helping King County recover $300 million in costs related to its COVID response. Watch the video to learn how getting FEMA reimbursement for these unanticipated and unbudgeted expenses allows the county to preserve other funding sources for expenses and programs not eligible for reimbursement.
Innovation Award for Service
Recipient: Department of Executive Services/Finance and Business Operations Division – Property Tax Foreclosure Avoidance Process
Project Team: Nanci Lambert, Laura Wilson, and Lori Souder
Each year, the Foreclosure Avoidance Unit works through thousands of properties that are subject to foreclosure for unpaid property taxes, with about 100 parcels going to auction. Watch the video to learn how the unit turned a highly stressful, adversarial process into an approachable conversation that focuses on helping taxpayers resolve their tax delinquencies and maintain their properties. The result: In 2022, only 12 parcels went to auction, and none were owner-occupied.
Innovation Award for People
Recipient: Department of Human Resources – Gender Inclusion in the Workplace
Project Team: Department of Human Resources Director’s Office, Policy, Learning and Development, Operations, and Workforce Equity teams; King County Executive’s Office; Facilities Management Division; Business Resource Center; and transgender and gender diverse employee-advocates
King County employee engagement surveys found that gender diverse employees felt less engaged, less safe, less well-being, and less belonging compared to all employees. Watch the video to learn how the Department of Human Resources led a multi-pronged approach to bring about changes in policy, training, processes, and facilities to create a more respectful, supportive, and welcoming environment for gender expansive people.
Innovation Award for Equity and Social Justice
Recipient: Director’s Office, Department of Local Services – Participatory Budgeting Project
Project Team: John Taylor, David Daw, Jillian Scheibeck, Brent Champaco, Cheryl Binetti, Gloria Briggs, Anna Clemenger, John Miller, Jesse Kent, GarMin Chan, Hugo Garcia, Anjilee Dodge, Michael Morales, Danielle de Clercq, Marissa Alegria, Bong StoDomingo, Participatory Budgeting Project consultants, and others from the Department of Natural Resources and Parks, Roads, Metro Transit, and Office of Equity, Racial and Social Justice
The Department of Local Services used a participatory budgeting process that allowed five urban communities in unincorporated King County to decide which projects would most benefit their neighborhoods, how government funds should be allocated to support them, and how the projects were managed. Watch the video to learn how community engagement and inclusion resulted in communities having more say in how government serves them.
Innovation Award for Climate and Environmental Stewardship
Recipient: Department of Natural Resources and Parks/Water and Land Resources Division – Chinook Wind Project/Mitigation Reserve Program
Project Team: Michael Murphy, Megan Webb, Anne-Gigi Chan, Laird O'Rollins, Scott Muchard, Mason Bowles, Nathan Brown; King County Management: Christie True, Mark Isaacson, Josh Baldi, Joan Lee; Prosecuting Attorney’s Office; Other support staff: Rachel Vaicunas, Christina Olivares, Kevin Ward, Kay Kitamura, Edna Isaacs, Jon Hansen, Will Mansfield, Gary Blanchard, Brad Schabert, Lori King, Becky Petersen, Darren Greve, King County Mitigation Reserves Program Interagency Review Team, Mike Perfetti (City of Tukwila), and many others
Over the last 150 years, 97% of the wetland areas in the Duwamish River estuary have been lost. In 2015, King County purchased nearly six acres along the Duwamish River called Chinook Wind. Watch the video to learn how the Water and Land Resources Division, with funding from the Mitigation Reserves Program, restored Chinook Wind to a wetland habitat that supports the survival of salmon and provides access to recreational opportunities to residents of a historically underserved area.
2021
Leadership Excellence Awards
Fred Jarrett Award: Honors a department or division leader
Recipient: Jennifer Hills, Director of the Office of Risk Management, Department of Executive Services
People Leader Award: Honors a leader below the department or division leadership level who directly manages staff
Recipient: Hedda McClendon, COVID Emergency Services Director, Department of Community and Human Services
Individual Contributor Award: Honors an individual contributor who does not directly manage staff
Recipient: Carolina Johnson, Data Asset and Technical Manager, Department of Community and Human Services
Innovation Awards
Innovation Award for Cost
Recipient: Department of Executive Services/Business and Finance Operations/Procurement and Payables Section – Strategic Sourcing Program
Project Team: Dominic Palo, Alex Clark, Nick Baltes, David Malone
Innovation Award for Service
Recipient: Department of Community and Human Services/Developmental Disabilities and Early Childhood Supports Division – Refugee Resettlement Hotel
Project Teams: Click here to see team members
Innovation Award for People
Recipient: Department of Executive Services/Fleet Services – Apprenticeship Program
Project Team: Heavy Duty Technicians: Roger Brady, Paul Brown, Dick Hughes, Dana Stacks, Jeff Van Derveer; Apprentices: Michael Domiquel, Mason Keselburg, Christina “Tina” Taylor; Union: Tommy Hunt, Shana Peschek; Washington State Department of Labor & Industries: Sandra Husband; Fleet Leadership: Jennifer Lindwall, Chris Gavigan, Cindy Kittleson-Walker, Lynn Walters, Isaac Wisdom
Innovation Award for Equity and Social Justice
Recipient: Department of Public Health/Environmental Health Services Division – Box Fan Filter Distribution Project
Project Team: Environmental Health Services Division: Shirlee Tan, Khanh Ho, Addison Houston, Rachele Hurt, Sinang Lee, Roda Mohamed, Fanaye Amsalu, Ayantu Hajikadir, Julie West, and Brad Kramer; Partners: Department of Natural Resources and Parks, Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, Washington State Department of Health, and University of Washington
Innovation Award for Sustainability
Recipient: Department of Natural Resources and Parks/Water and Land Resources Division – Lones Levee Setback and Floodplain Restoration Project
Project Team: Dan Eastman, Chris Ewing, Todd Hurley, Mason Bowles, Mike Thai, Jon Hansen, Josh Kahan, Suzanna Smith, Will Mansfield, Nathan Brown, Cynthia Saleh, Sophie Brooks, Cody Toal, Ashley Gould, Paul Adler, Amanda Hubbard, Jessica Alvarado, Andrea Plischke, JoAnn Dulan, Tammy Merritt, Ted Sullivan, Joan Lee, Jon Hansen
2020
Leadership Excellence Awards
Fred Jarrett Award: Honors a department or division leader
Honoree: John Diaz, Director, Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention
People Leader Award: Honors a leader below the department or division leadership level who directly manages staff
Honoree: Matt Canady, Transit Chief, Metro/Transit Facilities
Individual Contributor Award: Honors an individual contributor who does not directly manage staff
Honoree: Cecelia Hayes, Equity, Social Justice and Engagement, Senior Practitioner, Department of Executive Services
Innovation Awards
Innovation Award for Cost
Honoree: Department of Executive Services/Office of Risk Management – Lower Duwamish Settlement
Project Team: Jennifer Hills, Department of Executive Services; Kevin Wright, Prosecuting Attorney’s Office
Innovation Award for Service
Honoree: Departments of Public Health - Seattle and King County, Community and Human Services, Metro Transit, and Executive Services – Isolation and Quarantine, Shelter De-intensification, and Transportation for Pandemic Response
Special Recognition: Department of Executive Services/Facilities Management Division and Office of Emergency Management
Project Teams: Click here to see team members
Innovation Award for People
Honoree: Department of Human Resources/Career and Culture – Workplace Mental Health
Project Team: Brooke Bascom, Heather Steffensen, Janna Wilson, Jena Scott, Karla Clark, Mary Norman, Megan Jourdan, Michele Ritala, and Shawna Johnson
Innovation Award for Equity and Social Justice
Honoree: Department of Public Health - Seattle & King County – Community Mitigation and Recovery Team
Project Team: Click here to see team members.
Innovation Award for Sustainability
Honoree: Department of Natural Resources and Parks/Wastewater Treatment Division – South Wastewater Treatment Plant Biogas System Optimization
Project Team: Instrumentation & Electrical, Mechanical, Day Operations, Shift Operations, Process, Engineering, Construction Management, Safety, Facilities Inspection & Project Management
2019
Leadership Excellence Awards
Fred Jarrett Award: Honors a department or division leader
Honoree: Caroline Whalen, Director, Department of Executive Services
People Leader Award: Honors a leader below the department or division leadership level who directly manages staff
Honoree: Alex Ebrahimi, Coordinated for All (CEA) Housing Referrals Supervisor, Department of Community and Human Services
Individual Contributor Award: Honors an individual contributor who does not directly manage staff
Honoree: Michelle Sarju, Project/Program Manager, Public Health
Innovation Awards
Innovation Award for People
Honoree: Department of Community and Human Services – Recruitment and Hiring Initiative
Project Team: Elizabeth Causby-Miles, Susan Churchill, Annette Coleman, Bridget Tibbs, Khanh Hang, and Elena Romani
Innovation Award for Cost
Honoree: Department of Executive Services/Facilities Management Division – Franchise Project
Project Team: Terri Hansen, David Hackett, Anthony Wright, and Cristina Gonzalez
Innovation Award for Service
Honoree: Department of Human Resources – Automation of Verification of Employment
Project Team: Tracey Dang, Ampalavanar Mohanakumar, Grey Lewis, Pam Bell, Heather Cory, and Michael Strutynski
Innovation Award for Equity and Social Justice
Honoree: Metro Transit – Mobility Framework
Project Team: Tessa McClellan, De’Sean Quinn, Mary Bourguignon, Tristan Cook, Brian Van Abbema, Gary Prince, and Carrie Lee
Innovation Award for Sustainability
Honoree: Metro Transit/Mobility Division – Via to Transit
Project Team: Daniel Rowe, David Eldred, Jenifer Merkel, Ashley Dunn, Shelby Cramer, Torie Rynning, Pierce Canser, Jeremy Waldner, Brian Van Abbema, and Casey (Catherine) Gifford
2018
Cost
The Fleet Division’s field service mechanics saved 124 hours in travel time in the first six months of 2018 by adding diagnostic software to field service computers.
Service
Metro Transit decreased missed trips due to “no operator” by nearly 70% compared with the previous year.
People
Public Health’s part-time employment pilot program in the Community Health Services division increased attendance in 83 percent of employees, with an overall 60 percent reduction in use of sick leave or unpaid leave.
Equity and Social Justice
Best Starts for Kids, a collaboration between DCHS and Public Health, reduced barriers to funding for community-based service providers, enhancing equity in service delivery.
Sustainability
In 2018, the Department of Natural Resources and Parks’ North Utilities Maintenance Shop became the first county project to meet net-zero energy status.