S.N.A.C. helps families and kids to eat fresh and healthy
According to Elizabeth Kimball from Public Health – Seattle & King County, the key to teaching nutrition is to teach about the origin of food. “When you’re teaching nutrition it’s very hard to talk about nutrition without talking about food – eating food, tasting food and preparing, storing and packing food — all the logistics and practical elements of eating,” Kimball said. Kimball heads up Public Health’s Seattle Nutrition Action Consortium, or S.N.A.C. program. “One of the hallmarks of S.N.A.C. is all of our various projects include cooking, which I think is… Read More
Kudos! Jack Millman, Metro Transit Operator
I just wanted to write in and say that this bus driver totally made my night last week! I sometimes am nervous taking the bus this late at night by myself, but his friendly attitude greeting everyone as they came on the bus instantly put me at ease. He was joking and commenting about different locations along the route and made everyone smile. I wish I had caught his name, but hopefully you can pass along the note that I appreciated his friendly attitude. – K. Renee
Sheriff’s Marine Unit keeping local waters safe
Sergeant Jim Knauss and his unit of four deputies have a mission: to make sure boaters have a good time, but do so safely. “We’re out here every day, we’re out patrolling. We have at least two boats out and we’re looking for things that aren’t safe,” Knauss said in a recent story produced by King County TV. The King County Sheriff’s Office Marine and Dive Unit patrols eight contract cities and the unincorporated parts of King County, including water around Vashon Island, and in front of Shoreline and Burien. They also… Read More
DPD volunteers help former defendants get juvenile records sealed
Nearly once a month, three Department of Public Defense employees give over an evening to help adults struggling with the long-lasting repercussions of mistakes they made as teenagers. Some of the people who show up at the free legal clinic can’t get a job; others are denied housing; still others get by-passed for graduate school – all because of a criminal record from their days as a youth. The DPD employees – Kari Boyum, an attorney, Matthew Pang, also an attorney, and Ryan Gray, an investigator – work with law students and other… Read More
Five Questions with Lilly Simmering, Food Economy Program Manager, Department of Natural Resources and Parks
1. What does your role as food economy program manager involve? My main job duty is to shepherd King County’s new Local Food Economy Initiative. Part of that involves creating awareness of the initiative and its goals throughout King County and assembling a prestigious group of private, public, and non-profit stakeholders to form the Kitchen Cabinet, an advisory panel to the Executive on how we can achieve the goals under the initiative. I will also complete any necessary research and help put into action processes that are essential to moving the initiative… Read More
Employees partner to produce career expo for veterans
When the Washington State Convention Center started to see more veterans applying to their job openings, they realized they wanted to do something to help veterans improve their job seeking skills. So, they teamed up with King County Veterans Program and WorkSource Seattle-King County to put on a Career Expo for Veterans and their spouses. “This partnership reflects a strong local commitment to our veterans and the sense of community we are building around them,” said Nancy Loverin, the King County Veteran’s Program Manager and the acting workforce development services administrator with… Read More
Thanks to County support, a new department takes shape
One year ago, a rare event took place in King County government: A new department was added to the county’s roster. The Department of Public Defense came into being on July 1, 2013, when nearly 400 public defenders, mitigation specialists, investigators, paralegals and support staff transitioned from one of four nonprofit law firms to County employment. The creation of the department occurred after a ruling by the state Supreme Court in a long-contested class-action lawsuit; according to the high court, the public defense employees were “arms and agents” of the county and… Read More
Nine selected for Bridge Fellowship pilot
Nine employees from across King County have been selected to participate in the inaugural Bridge Fellowship Program as part of the County’s commitment to provide leadership and development opportunities to employees. This year’s Bridge Fellowship participants are: Debra Baker, Project Manager, DPD Markeith Blackshire, Park Specialist II, DNRP Sung Cho, Social Worker, DCHS Leeza Jones, Assistant Accountant, DES Daniel Kenny, Mechanic, DOT Ebony Martin, Personal Recognizance Investigator, DAJD Barbara Pastores, Transit Operator, DOT Kimberlee Sawyer, Wastewater Treatment Operator, DNRP Bill Stockman, Transit Superintendent, DOT The nine fellows were selected in April from… Read More
Drug Court employee helps offenders get lives back
Working as a King County Drug Court Case Manager is Yuka Hayashi’s dream job. “I am so happy that I’m here,” Hayashi said. “It’s such an opportunity to work for a program that helps so many people. There are people who walk in to the program that are so broken down. They have no family, no home, their health is bad— they have nothing. We have the opportunity to give them all these resources and I see people’s lives change.” Hayashi works with defendants enrolled in the King County Drug Diversion Court,… Read More
Healthy Incentives focuses on education at Express Market
The Healthy Incentives team knows health is more than just achieving bronze, silver or gold. “We care about people’s health overall, not just having them get to gold,” Lindsey Hoeft, a Healthy Incentives health educator said. One way Healthy Incentives is promoting overall health is by having a booth at the Seattle City Hall Pike Place Express Market this summer. “A lot of our King County Employees visit the market, so we thought this would be a good way to get people to try some new things and promote the fresh, local… Read More
Employee News 