Why did you start in your role with King County? 

My King County journey started more than 21 years ago in central finance, shifted to permitting, then to Lead Analyst on the Business Resource Center – Business Intelligence (BI) Team. Most recently, I joined (on Special Duty) the Department of Human Resources – Career and Culture Division’s Organizational Development Team. Throughout my career I have been steadfast in maturing as an Equity and Social Justice (ESJ) Practitioner.

I started here in King County because of my passion to serve.

As an old offensive lineman you do the most difficult work every offensive play. You protect, create opportunities and drive. You get no credit for when things go well and all of the credit when things go bad. Service is one of my core values. We, as King County employees, have the privilege and responsibility to uphold values that advance favorable outcomes for our communities.

What do you do in your role? 

As an Organizational Development (OD) Practitioner I will be joining 5 other incredible individuals in developing an OD plan and consulting with departments to support cultivation of a healthier workplace culture where every employee can thrive.

On this ESJ Practitioner journey, I have collaborated with a collective of brilliant change leaders in advancing equity, racial and social justice for our workforce and the communities we serve. Our collective is advancing digital equity in disadvantaged communities, building inclusive policy design processes, increasing our risk appetite in achieving equity, developing marginalized community youth, making our contracting processes more equitable, delivering equity analytics, building community relationships, improving workplace culture and empowering our workforce to thrive. I am because of them. Thank you!

On the BI Team I worked with an amazing team in meeting the reporting and analytics needs (payroll, HR, finance, budget) of King County. The BI Team’s vision is to mature King County in analytics through the application of a value’s driven/data supported modality.

Why did you choose this field as your career? 

I didn’t choose these fields. These fields chose me.

People and numbers are at the core of everything we do, so I couldn’t ignore the draw to the opportunity to build relationships while leveraging data in creating stories centered in virtuous values.

As a Black man I live with the cost of having to survive inequitable and unjust systems. As a father of four young men, I have a responsibility to do my part in disrupting these systems so that my son’s, our communities of color and indigenous ancestry and our future has a more positive experience. I am driven to continue the efforts of those who came before me.

What is the biggest challenge of your job? 

Navigating the resistance to change and practicing self-care in the midst of the whirlwind of obligations.

What do you enjoy most about your work? 

The people, bridge building and seeing planted seeds (processes, policy, programs and people) blossom.