Best of the best: King County Metro names Neal Safrin Operator of the Year
King County Metro announced in a surprise ceremony today that the Operator of the Year is Neal Safrin, whose commitment to excellence in safety, customer service, and service to his fellow operators represents the best of Metro. Safrin, 64, joined Metro in 1988 and is a report operator at North Base in Shoreline. Riders have seen his smiling face behind the wheel on dozens of bus routes across King County for decades. “The entire King County family could not be more proud of Neal and his 31 years of faithful service to… Read More
From Supported Employment Participant to Behavioral Health Division Employee
King County is celebrating National Recovery Month this September by helping to raise awareness, support, and recovery resources for people with mental health and substance use conditions and their families, friends and co-workers who support them. One program that provides behavioral health supports is the Behavioral Health Supported Employment Program. This program assists people who have experienced chronic mental health and/or substance use conditions to gain and maintain competitive, integrated employment throughout our region. The program provides job search assistance and ongoing support after job placement through an evidence-based, integrated team approach with… Read More
15 Minutes with Airport Director John Parrott
Meet new King County International Airport Director, John Parrott, as he talks about moving from Alaska to take the reins at Boeing Field.
Franco honored with Veteran of the Year Award
Crossposted from DES Express The Association of Latino Professionals For America (ALPFA), has honored Business Resource Center team member Chris Franco with its prestigious Veteran of the Year Award. This award celebrates Franco and how he exemplifies courage, honor, and is a beacon for other Latinos to follow. ALPFA also recognized Chris for embodying selfless service, integrity, honor, and respect, and his role in the community as a leader of character. “It means a lot to me personally. My family is a family of immigrants and veterans,” Franco said. “I’ll be working very… Read More
Meet the apprentices of the Children and Family Justice Center Project
King County capital projects are helping fill the industry shortage for trades workers by partnering with pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs that provide apprentices with career opportunities and hands-on training with journeymen, all while earning family wages. View the video below to hear what apprentices on the Children and Family Justice Center Project have to say about their experience.
Employee shares the powerful experience of working in Juvenile Court
Michelle Mihail, a Juvenile Probation Counselor in King County Superior Court’s Renton unit, was recently featured in My Northwest magazine, discussing how important it is to never give up on kids who have lost their way. My Northwest highlights the different services and resources the program offers, following Michelle for the day to see the different ways she works with young people to ensure they develop the skills and behavior needed to succeed. “The kids are why I show up. You know, they’re … generally very talented, smart young kids who just have kind of lost… Read More
King County employee honored for working to advance social justice
Janine Anzalota, Equity and Civil Rights Manager in the Office of Equity and Social Justice, will be honored with the Hubie Jones Urban Service Award, a Boston University School of Social Work Alumni Award. Janine will receive the award in September. This prestigious award is named after Hubert Eugene Jones, better known as “Hubie,” who shaped and defined the civic and social landscape of Boston, MA, for more than 45 years. He played a leadership role in the formation, building, and rebuilding of at least 30community organizations within Boston’s Black community and across all neighborhoods in the city. He… Read More
Brater named ‘County Engineer of the Year’
Crossposted from King County Local Road Services Division Director Rick Brater has been named the Washington State County Road Administration Board’s “County Engineer of the Year.” He received the award at the Board’s Summer Conference in June. Nominated by King County Councilmember Kathy Lambert, Brater was recognized as a strong manager and leader who is responsible for a regional transportation system of 1,500 miles of roads and 182 bridges, and a staff of 400 people, including six maintenance divisions. Read more from King County Local
Supporting coworkers and setting high standards, Metro’s 2019 ‘Vehicle Maintenance Employee of the Year’ leads by example
Crossposted from Metro Matters In just seven years at King County Metro, Frank Wood has established himself as the kind of coworker his fellow mechanics want to have around. His supportive attitude and willingness to mentor new mechanics has inspired others and is a large part of why Wood was recently honored as Metro’s Vehicle Maintenance Employee of the Year for 2019. Wood accepted the award at East Base in front of family, coworkers, supervisors, and King County General Manager Rob Gannon. “Frank Wood has set a standard that his fellow mechanics look… Read More
From Standing Rock to Public Defense, Natasha brings a spirit of social activism to her work
By Leslie Brown, Department of Public Defense In 2016, five months after graduating from Pepperdine University, Natasha Frazier headed from her home near Washington D.C. to the Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota to support the growing resistance to the Dakota Access Pipeline. She pitched her one-person tent on the reservation, assuming she’d melt into the ranks of the swelling movement. But she quickly found herself drawn to the work of several volunteer defense lawyers and eventually joined the legal defense team in Mandan, North Dakota, a 40-minute drive from Standing Rock. Natasha… Read More
Employee News 