AGS awards seven Ethical GEO Fellowships, including King County employee
Crossposted from GIS & You The American Geographical Society has announced the award of the first seven Ethical GEO Fellowships. Greg Babinski, KCGIS Finance and Marketing Manager within the Department of Information and Technology (KCIT), was honored to be selected as one of the seven Fellows. The American Geographical Society (AGS) is dedicated to the advancement of geographic thinking, knowledge, and understanding across business, government, academe, social sectors, and most importantly with teachers and students. Established in 1851, AGS is the oldest professional geographical organization in the United States. Read more from GIS & You
Foreclosure prevention team helps homeowners and reduces property tax foreclosures
Crossposted from DES Express King County has reduced the number of properties going to the annual tax foreclosure auction by one third compared with 2018, continuing a trend of reducing foreclosures. In 2019, 1,910 parcels were subject to foreclosure, with just 60 ending up in the annual tax foreclosure auction. In 2018, 2,310 parcels were subject to foreclosure, and 99 parcels went to the foreclosure auction. Read more from DES Express
Welcome Alysha Kaplan to the OEM
Crossposted from DES Express We recently had an opportunity to chat with Alysha Kaplan, the Office of Emergency Management’s (OEM) new deputy director. She comes to King County from Washington State Emergency Management Division (WA EMD), where she worked for 13 years. Here’s an excerpt from our conversation. Read more from DES Express
Five questions with John Miller, Organizational Development Practitioner, Department of Human Resources
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… Read More
DPD’s new special counsel has long worked at the forefront of social change
By Leslie Brown, Department of Public Defense As a young woman just out of college and well aware of institutionalized racism and its generational impact on black and brown people in America, La Rond Baker decided to use her degree to teach GED and Adult Basic Education classes at the King County Correctional Facility. Even so, she was struck by what she saw in the jail – by the stark racial disparities between the jail population and the general population of Seattle. Two years later, La Rond went to work for Powerful Voices, a Seattle-based nonprofit focused… Read More
Five questions with Chris O’Claire, Division Director for Mobility, King County Metro
Why did you start in your role with King County? I started at King County 15 years ago as an intern in the Service Development. I joined Metro because I was passionate about making a positive impact on the environment. And, I was immediately drawn to public transportation as a way to reduce carbon emissions by getting people out of their cars. But what keeps me here is the people – the employees that are committed to providing the best public transportation and the customers. For me, the ability to connect customers… Read More
Getting to know Mohamed Nimeri
Crossposted from DES Express Mohamed Nimeri grew up loving airports. The family moved a lot for his father’s work as Sudan’s ambassador to several countries, so he had quite a bit of experience flying. Although he is from Sudan, he grew up in “a lot of countries,” including the United Arab Emirates and Jordan. King County International Airport recently hired Nimeri as its pavement engineer. He is advancing the state of the industry in pavements, and is one of King County’s most highly trained pavement experts. Nimeri recently completed graduate school, earning master’s and doctoral… Read More
Five questions with Brendan McCluskey, Director of the King County Office of Emergency Management
Why did you start in your role with King County, and what is your official title? I am the Director of the King County Office of Emergency Management. I started with King County March 2019. I came to the County from New Jersey, where I was the State’s Director of Public Health Preparedness. Previously, I had been the Deputy State Emergency Management Director for Maryland. I also participate as a volunteer assessor and assessment team leader for the Emergency Management Accreditation Program (EMAP). King County is an accredited emergency management program, and I served as… Read More
Five questions with Lluvia Ellison-Morales, Animal Services Administrator, Department of Executive Services
Why and when did you start in your role with King County? I started in September 2014 in a 3 month STT Project Manager role with Records and Licensing Services focusing on implementing the new TNC legislation (Uber, Lyft, etc.). My position was extended and I took on various other projects during this time. In July 2016 I was hired at Regional Animal Services of King County (RASKC) as an Administrator III in a career-service role. What do you do in your role? My central role is in Communications and Community Engagement,… Read More
Overcoming a life changing injury with strength, dignity and a committed team
October is Disability Awareness Month in King County. We will be featuring stories that highlight the experiences and contributions of employees experiencing disabilities to our King County community throughout the next few weeks. In early December 2017, King County employee Todd Johnson experienced a tragic accident. A truck driver with the then Roads Division in the former Department of Transportation (DOT) for 21 years, Todd was working with a backhoe digger when his right hand got caught in the machine. After a coworker rushed him to the hospital, Todd underwent multiple surgeries… Read More
Employee News 