Did you know that there were free and low cost exercise classes in the Chinook building, mostly at lunch time? What a great way to earn Gold Status for the Healthy Incentives program! Some of the classes could use a boost of attendees to energize the instructors and other participants. Consider these options: Cardio Dancing with Shirley Zhang: Mondays and Wednesdays 11:30 a.m. to noon, free. No experience needed. Partially led by videos. Cool Chinese music. All are welcome, could use a boost of participants. Whether you were a dance major or have two left… Read More

Crossposted from the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office Facebook “I hated the feeling that we were failing families,” Stephanie Trollen said. Stephanie, who spent 18 years as a victim advocate at the King County Prosecutor’s office, described an all-too-common scene. “We would see these parents and teenagers come in stressed and upset and desperate for help, and I felt like we had nothing to offer them.” Kids and parents commonly ended up at the detention ce…nter because of domestic violence. These weren’t scenarios where a husband was abusing his wife. In juvenile… Read More

Department of Community and Human Services Deputy Director Josephine Wong has been selected for Annie E. Casey Foundation’s tenth class of the Children and Family Fellowship, a 16-month intensive leadership program for executive leaders. In its third decade, the program is designed to give more child and family-serving professionals the confidence and competence to lead major system reforms and community change initiatives that get results. Without strong leadership, investments in programs and system reform initiatives alone are not enough to create urgent, long-lasting improvements for children and families.

Committed to removing barriers for her patients, Dental Supervisor Deborah DeQuier-Bowden ensures everyone who enters her clinic has the best customer service experience. While she’s worked at the Columbia Public Health Dental Clinic since January 2014, she has been with King County for 15 years. She has been passionate about including equity and social justice efforts throughout her work at every level. “Equity and social justice comes from the heart,” she said. “It’s my goal as a supervisor –not as a person of color – to see these barriers.”

Innovation is key to developing efficient business practices. Technology giants do it, retail business owners do it – everyone wants to take the next step to become better, stronger and have a deeper impact. Recently-elected Director of Elections Julie Wise looks forward to making this happen for the King County voting process. A south county local from Enumclaw, she has been with the Elections office for 15 years. First as a phone bank employee, she continued to get further involved after realizing she was a “geek” for the administrative elections process. A… Read More

More than 400 Department of Executive Services (DES) employees came together over two sessions on March 3 for the third annual DES All-Hands Meeting to build understanding of how DES employees contribute to the success of King County, support key priorities and how the department and the County can help them be more successful. Department Director Caroline Whalen wanted to bring the department’s employees together to build on the responses from the recent King County Employee Survey, share some successes from the department’s focus on customer service, and hear from King County… Read More

On Wednesday Regional Animal Services of King County (RASKC) celebrated an impressive feat: reducing the County’s shelter euthanasia rate for dogs and cats to 12 percent, down from 40 in 2008. King County Executive Dow Constantine met with animal welfare advocates at a Petco in Kirkland to commend the dramatic turnaround. The store has partnered with RASKC to showcase animals that are available for adoption, and has helped increase outreach and awareness to the overall community. “The people of King County want to know that every cat and dog has a safe,… Read More

When most people retire they plan a big trip or some time to relax, but not outgoing Educator Consultant Chuck Davis. With his 27 years of change management and organizational development work under his belt, he is looking forward to channeling his passion into a private consulting practice. “I’ve learned and grown and matured while with the County, and I brought a certain skill set to my position, so this opportunity will be a nice marriage of the two,” he said. “I worked with employees to be more effective as a team,… Read More

Helping animals find forever homes has always been the goal for Regional Animal Services of King County (RASKC) but employees knew that they needed a shift in thinking if they were to save more animals. “I know it sounds corny but really there’s nobody there for these animals,” Lori Mason, Foster Care Coordinator and Licensed Veterinary Technician, said. “They were abandoned here for whatever reason and so all they have is us and the foster parents to find them a new life.” RASKC was formed in 2010 as a partnership between King… Read More