Leo Flor appointed Director of the Department of Community and Human Services
Dear fellow King County employee, I am pleased to announce the appointment of Leo Flor as our new Director of the Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS). His appointment is subject to Council confirmation. Leo was the successful candidate from our nationwide recruitment for the new director. He currently serves as Director of DCHS’ Community Services Division, overseeing services that connect people to employment, support military veterans and their families, and ensure that older adults can live with dignity. Prior to that he managed the successful effort to renew the Veterans,… Read More
Leadership transitions at King County
Executive Constantine and his Senior Leadership Team have recently announced a number of leadership changes at King County departments: Earlier today Executive Constantine announced his appointment of Anita Khandelwal as Director of the King County Department of Public Defense. Khandelwal’s appointment is subject to Council approval. Anita has served as the DPD Interim Director since July. Prior to that she served as the department’s Deputy Director of Law and Policy. She joined DPD in November 2015 and has been practicing law for more than a decade. Yesterday Executive Constantine appointed John… Read More
October is Disability Awareness Month in King County
Dear fellow King County employee, October is Disability Awareness Month in King County, a time to celebrate and recognize the many contributions of people with disabilities in our community and around the world. It’s also a time to raise awareness about challenges that people with disabilities face and look at what we can do to help them thrive and fulfill their potential. Everyone deserves a fair shot at success. We are all better off when everyone has an equitable opportunity to fully participate in our community and contribute their unique perspectives and… Read More
Executive Constantine names new Deputy Chief Operating Officer to serve as interim jail director
Brenda Bauer, former city manager for the City of Bainbridge Island and director of the City of Seattle’s Fleets and Facilities Department, will join the Executive’s Office as Deputy Chief Operating Officer. Now serving as director of the King County Road Services Division, Bauer will report to Chief Operating Officer Casey Sixkiller. Following the announcement that Department of Adult & Juvenile Detention Director William Hayes will retire at the end of October, Bauer agreed to serve as interim director until the position is filled on a permanent basis. A national search… Read More
An honest, open look at progress of our Equity and Social Justice Strategic Plan
Dear fellow King County employee, King County has just launched a new public reporting website for our Equity and Social Justice 2016-2022 Strategic Plan to help us monitor, track and share our work to advance equity and social justice in our community. Unlike most governments that use websites as a trophy case to highlight success and ignore challenges, we are offering a comprehensive, transparent view of our work. I invite you to explore this new site; you will see that we are not tackling only the easy-to-fix problems and, consistent with that, we… Read More
Finding hope and raising awareness during National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month
Dear employee, September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, a time to raise awareness and recognize that suicide prevention works, help is available, and recovery is possible. Suicide has warning signs, and I encourage you to take the time to learn them. Connecting to help for yourself, a loved one, or a colleague can make the world of difference. Effective and compassionate resources are available, 24 hours a day, and many people have found hope and support through them: National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255). Making Life Easier: Call 24 hours a… Read More
New Departments and Leadership Transitions
Dear fellow King County employee, I am grateful and inspired by the many years of service and accomplishments by members of the County leadership team. I want to let you know about a number of transitions taking place as we establish the Metro Transit Department, the Department of Human Resources, and the Department of Local Services, as well as other key leadership changes. As you may have heard, in August the Council approved my proposal to create the new Metro Transit Department and confirmed my nomination of Rob Gannon as the director…. Read More
Employee Survey coming spring 2019
Dear fellow King County employee, Through our Investing in YOU work we’re continuing to build a workplace where you have the tools, support, and opportunity to do your best work. For the past three years we’ve used the annual Employee Engagement Survey to hear from you about how can we make King County a better place to work, and how we can provide services more effectively to our residents. Using what we’ve learned on our engagement journey and in response to your feedback, we’re making improvements to the engagement survey process. First,… Read More
Results for America praises King County’s revolutionary new approach to creating community partnerships
Results for America, a national research and policy organization dedicated to advancing evidence-based policymaking, praised King County’s revolutionary new approach to creating community partnerships. Researchers cited the county’s Best Starts for Kids initiative as an effective model for making contracts with service providers more accessible, collaborative, and outcome-focused. The nonpartisan Washington, D.C.-based organization is sharing its case study of King County’s new approach with cities, counties, and states, encouraging other metropolitan regions to adopt a similar model. “We made a commitment with Best Starts for Kids to transform the way we partner… Read More
Executive’s modular housing announcement generates interest
King County Executive Dow Constantine announced plans for three pilots of modular construction in a news release that was distributed Aug. 22. Several outlets picked up the story: King County will try modular housing to shelter homeless KUOW, Aug. 21 King County orders modular units for shelters and housing, Curbed Seattle, Aug. 21 Despite hurdles, King County moves ahead with $12M in modular housing for homeless, The Seattle Times, Aug. 23
Employee News 