New Director’s learning curve becomes a mountain
Crossposted from Clean Water Stories
Anyone who’s ever started a new job knows there can be a lot to learn for the first few months – or even year. When you tackle the learning curve, you have to learn a lot of new faces and names, procedures, and most importantly, your responsibilities.
Mark Isaacson had a head start when he was hired as Director of King County’s Wastewater Treatment Division (WTD) in October 2016. Mark knew what it was like to work in the County on clean water and environmental issues. Previously, Mark spent 11 years as the Director of the Water and Land Resources Division. He had even worked in WTD in the late 90s, spearheading an employee idea program.
Even though Mark was familiar with WTD’s business, he knew learning all the ins and outs would be a challenge – but it was one that he was excited about.
It can be challenging to learn “what we do” at our large, regional utility, because there’s so many things we do – and many facilities and projects in our system. WTD employees work in a wide variety of jobs – often technical and complex.
Read more at Clean Water Stories
Share this:
Featured Job: Performance Measurement Coordinator
Closing Date/Time: Sun. 09/10/17 11:59 PM Pacific Time
Salary: $90,521.60 – $114,753.60 Annually
Job Type: Career Service, Full Time, 40 hrs/week
Location: King County Courthouse – 516 3rd Ave, Seattle, Washington
Department: Department of Adult & Juvenile Detention
Description: The Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention is seeking a Project Program Manager IV (PPM IV) to plan and provide quantitative and qualitative criminal justice evaluation and performance measurement support for a number of interrelated programs and projects. This position also develops and implements performance measurement strategies, conducts research and performance evaluations, constructs and refines measurement data and reports out on findings to stakeholders.
Contact: For questions about the position, please contact Wilena Montgomery at Wilena.Montgomery@kingcounty.gov.
Learn more about this position, or view all available jobs.
Share this:
Mike Fong named Chief Operating Officer
Dear fellow King County employee,
Today I named Mike Fong to serve as Chief Operating Officer in my office and join my senior leadership team.
Mike will be responsible for managing Executive branch departments and ensuring that we continue to deliver on our key priorities – best-run government, regional mobility, confronting climate change and building equity and social justice – for our residents.
His extensive experience in public service and strong community connections make Mike a great addition to our team and will ensure we are moving together to fulfill my agenda for an inclusive, equitable region. From transportation to public health to housing, Mike will make sure we are delivering customer service that is second to none, while constantly innovating to meet future needs.
A veteran public servant, Mike most recently served as Mayor Ed Murray’s Chief of Staff. In this role, he was responsible for managing and overseeing the daily operations of the mayor’s office. Prior to his appointment in 2015 as Chief of Staff, Fong served as Deputy Director of the Mayor’s Office of Policy and Innovation, helping to advance the Seattle Preschool Program and the Seattle Parks District among other initiatives. Before joining the Mayor’s office in 2014, Fong worked for the Seattle City Council for nearly 14 years.
Mike will officially start at King County on Tuesday, Sept. 5. I am looking forward to working with Mike and all employees as we continue to build a community where every person has the opportunity to thrive and a fair shot at success.
Sincerely,
Dow Constantine
King County Executive
Share this:
Social Media Spotlight: King County Metro blog
The King County Metro blog is where you can learn about KC Metro’s plans, policies and projects. It features articles on outstanding employees and their excellent work, as well as current information on transit, routes and other need-to-know information.
Follow the Metro Matters blog today!
Click here to view all King County social media pages.
Share this:
The poop-loop scoop: How King County recycles waste and water
Crossposted from Public Health Insider
Public health is committed to preventing disease and death from water-borne pathogens. Modern sanitation, including wastewater treatment, is key to keeping our waters clean and the people and animals that live here healthy. But the efficiency of modern sanitation creates an interesting problem.
Today, our waste is “out of sight, out of mind” as soon as we flush the toilet or as soon as the water disappears down the drain. We might know that dirty water goes somewhere, and it gets cleaned. What we don’t know is how the process works, how we affect it, what happens to that waste, and how it is treated to prevent the spread of illness from pathogens.
Most people aren’t aware of the value of our waste. Calling it “waste” makes our dirty water seem like a throwaway commodity. In fact, it is a very valuable resource.
Read more at Public Health Insider
Share this:
Empowering employees as innovators and change agents for equity and social justice
Crossposted from Inside Transportation
The principle of being fair and just is incorporated into all of our work at King County, under a six-year Equity and Social Justice Strategic Plan that guides how we improve practices for better outcomes. At King County DOT, we are working collectively so that each member of our agency can be an agent of advancing equity and social justice (ESJ). And we actively involved employees in designing the actions and strategies around specific goals.
DOT Director Harold Taniguchi empowered employees from each of our divisions and organizational levels to participate in six Goal Area Teams, These teams worked together to identify “equity gaps” — places where DOT can do more to provide access and opportunity for all our residents — and make “commitments for action” to address these gaps.
Read more at Inside Transportation
Share this:
Executive Constantine names Rhonda Berry to lead Zero Youth Detention efforts
King County Executive Dow Constantine announced that Deputy Executive Rhonda Berry will lead inter-agency and community coordination and strategy to further reduce the number of youth in detention.
“Rhonda is an effective leader able to bring people together,” said Constantine. “Her extensive experience working with all county and partner agencies that impact youth, her reputation for inclusion and effectiveness, and her established commitment to equity and social justice, will give us the best chance to make the vision of zero youth detention a reality. Her passion for youth and families led her to propose this challenge, and I’m certain she will be relentless in pursuit of our goal of helping young people overcome the pitfalls of youth and the burden of history.”
Read more in the official press release.
Share this:
Bloodworks Northwest is holding an Apheresis and Whole Blood Drive, August 11
On Friday, August 11 Bloodworks Northwest is hosting a blood and apheresis drive on the first floor of the Chinook Building, Room 123. The blood drive is from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., closed between 11 to 11:45 a.m.
Additionally, all registered donors will receive a treat from Bloodworks Northwest in the form of a voucher for a free pint of Snoqualmie Ice Cream!
- To donate apheresis or blood: Make an appointment, click here or call 1-800-398-7888.
- To donate platelets or plasma: Make an appointment, click here or call 1-800-398-7888.
For more information visit www.BloodworksNW.org/drives (Sponsor Code: 6500). Give Blood, it was meant to circulate!
Share this:
King County Employee Day at the Races and Sounders discount
King County employees and one guest will get free admission to Emerald Downs Racetrack on Sunday, August 13, which features the 82nd running of the Longacres Mile, activities for children and displays showcasing the array of agricultural goods produced in King County.
Employees must show their King County ID at any of the 12 gates which will provide an employee and one guest tickets that include free admission, Official program, and chips and soda. Children 17 and under get in free.
For more information about King County Employee Day at the Races on Sunday, August 13 click here.
Employees can also to take advantage of discounted tickets to the Seattle Sounders FC vs. Minnesota United at 7 p.m. on Sunday, August 20, at CenturyLink Field.
Tickets start at $25. Click here to buy tickets. All fans will receive their tickets via email 48 hours before the event. Questions? Call Jordan Long at 206-965-8787 or email him at jordanl@soundersfc.com.
See all available discounts on the Employee Discount webpage.
Employee News 