Crossposted from DES Express 

Caroline Whalen, DES Director and Chief Administrative Officer for King County, recently received the prestigious Fred Jarrett Leadership Excellence Award. King County Executive Dow Constantine presented the award to Whalen, recognizing her for following in the footsteps of former Deputy Executive Fred Jarrett, the driving force behind Lean and continuous improvement for nine years at the County. 

“Throughout her 26-year county career, Caroline has been a leader who truly embodies our values, one who leads by example with both words and actions,” Constantine said. “Caroline was an early adopter of Lean, embodying our ‘We lead the way’ value by working to foster a culture of continuous improvement in DES.” Read more.