Deadline for US – The Untold Story Project submissions extended to June 1
US – The Untold Story Project invites employees of color to share their untold story of racism, and has extended the deadline for story submissions to June 1. Stories can be submitted online or hand-delivered to project team members John Miller, Donna Miscolta or Julia Yen. Stories will be available to all King County employees this summer on the project site. The purpose of the project is to provide an opportunity for King County employees of color to share their experiences of racism in a space dedicated to their voices, and it… Read More
Initiative brings people together, provides education and support for faith leaders
We’ve all heard the saying “there’s strength in numbers.” From volunteers coming together to build a home to the mass migration of monarch butterflies, when people (or even animals) come together, beautiful and powerful things can happen. King County is no different. When it provides opportunities for the community to come together, there are amazing results. For example, the American Muslim Empowerment Network, a program of the Muslim American Association of Puget Sound (MAPS), received funding from the King County Resilience Fund to strengthen community support for immigrants and refugees who are… Read More
Applications now open for 2018 Bridge Fellowship Program
Are you looking for an opportunity to expand your skills, grow as a leader, and gain a deeper understanding of King County government? Then why not apply to be part of the 2018 King County Bridge Fellowship Program, an 18-week professional development program that expands participants’ mindsets, strengthens current competencies, and helps participants develop new skills? Applications are now open for the 2018 Bridge Fellowship Program: Career and Professional Development for Emerging Leaders. The last day for applications is Friday, June 8, 2018. The Bridge Fellowship, open to all full-time and TLT… Read More
Prosecutor partners to end sex trafficking
Crossposted from the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office Facebook Even before Liam Neeson’s film, “Taken” hit movie screens in 2008, Tanya Fernandez had the notion that sex trafficking involved kidnapping young girls and forcing them into the commercial sex trade against their will, but that’s not the reality. Tanya learned what trafficking actually looks like while running youth programs in her hometown of Oakland, Calif. and volunteering as a rape crisis counselor for sex trafficking victims. “Every victim I worked with, I kept thinking, ‘How can I build a time machine and… Read More
Listen to Executive Constantine on KUOW’s “The Record”
King County Executive Dow Constantine joined KUOW host Bill Radke on Tuesday, April 17, to discuss a range of issues, including the new Children and Family Justice Center, which is being built to replace the failing Youth Services Center. “King County has long had a goal of reducing the number of kids involved in the justice system, including the number detained,” Executive Constantine said during the interview. “Over the course of the last 20 years we’ve reduced the number of kids in detention from around 200 on an average day to, on… Read More
Report it to Stop it: Let’s put an end to sexual misconduct on our services
Crossposted from Metro Matters By Rob Gannon, King County Metro General Manager Today Metro launched an important public awareness campaign to encourage reporting of unwanted sexual harassment and misconduct on board our services. We’re working with the King County Sheriff’s Office, Metro Transit Police, King County Sexual Assault Resource Center, and local law enforcement to increase awareness, encourage reporting, support victims, and reduce misconduct through our “Report it to Stop it” effort as part of National Sexual Assault Awareness Month. All of us have a critical role to play in keeping one another… Read More
Senior Leaders meet with Juvenile Detention employees
Two members of Executive Constantine’s Senior Leadership Team recently met with a group of employees from the Juvenile Detention Division to hear about the work they are doing to help the young people entrusted to their care. Chief People Officer Whitney Abrams and Chief Performance Officer Gary Kurihara sat in on the daily briefing of about 20 employees at the Youth Services Center to hear about their work, the challenges they are facing, and what they can do to remove any barriers. “Employees know more than anyone about the work they are… Read More
Third workshop for US – The Untold Story Project is May 1 in Chinook Building
“The thing you’re most afraid to share is the thing you most want to say.” This is one of the observations journalist Florangela Davila made during the workshop she provided last week as part of the Untold Story Project. Davila also said that stories are built on verbs and movement, and that the most powerful parts of a sentence – and a story – are the beginning and the end. The Untold Story Project, in support of the county’s commitment to lead with racial justice, invites employees of color to submit a… Read More
ESJ Speaker Series: Impacts of Japanese American Internment during WWII
On Tuesday, May 8, attend the next ESJ Speaker Series for a discussion on the “Impacts of Japanese American Internment during WWII” led by Tom Ikeda, Executive Director of Densho, the Chinook Room 123 from noon – 1 p.m. Densho means “to leave a legacy”. At Densho, our mission is to educate, preserve, collaborate and inspire action for equity. Densho uses technology to preserve and make accessible primary source materials of World War II incarceration of Japanese Americans; to present materials for historic value and as a means of exploring issues of… Read More
King County Hiring Managers: You are the key to the success of Vets 4 HIRE
Each of the past three years, King County has met its goal of hiring 16 veteran fellows as part of the Vets 4 HIRE program. Funding is available to hire 16 more this year, but we need the help of hiring managers. What began as King County’s Heroes Employment Reintegration Opportunity (HERO) Program five years ago has developed into the Vets 4 HIRE (Heroes in Reintegration Experiences) Program, a paid fellowship/internship for qualified veterans funded in part by the Veterans, Seniors and Human Services Levy. While the success of any program of… Read More
Employee News 