Employee News
Telling the stories of King County employees
Crossposted from Cultivating Connections After over a decade with King County Department of Community and Human Services, Sheila Ater Capestany will depart the Children, Youth and Young Adult Division for an exciting new chapter as Executive Director for Start Early Washington. Ahead of her departure, King County leaders and community members came together to recognize Sheila’s visionary leadership that ushered in one of the largest publicly funded initiatives for babies, young people and families in the country, Best Starts for Kids, and created the Children, Youth, and Young Adult Division. Read more. Pictured: From left, Former… Read More
King County employees are reminded to never reuse passwords across accounts and always enable multifactor authentication (MFA), also called two-step authentication. Recent news of 16 billion exposed credentials has made headlines around the globe. While this is not a new data breach (the list is a compilation of previously leaked credentials from various past incidents), it still serves as an important reminder: following cybersecurity best practices can help protect vital King County systems. Thank you for doing your part to safeguard King County! For questions or assistance, contact the KCIT Helpdesk.
Crossposted from Metro Matters King County Executive Shannon Braddock’s proposed 2025 supplemental budget includes $26.1 million in safety and security investments for King County Metro. In partnership, the City of Seattle has committed more than $5 million in voter-approved funding to support Metro’s 2025 safety and security efforts. To support safe, vibrant, and healthy communities where everyone can thrive, King County Executive Shannon Braddock’s proposed 2025 supplemental budget, with funding support from the City of Seattle, will strengthen both transit safety and security. Read more.
The Seattle Seahawks are excited to present an exclusive ticket offer to all King County Employees for the following games: Seahawks vs. Chiefs, Friday, Aug. 15 at 7 p.m. $40 Seahawks vs. Texans, Monday, Oct. 20 at 7 p.m. $85 Seahawks vs. Cardinals, Sunday, Nov. 9 at 1:05 p.m. $85 Seahawks vs. Rams, Thursday, Dec. 18 at 5:15 p.m. $85 Purchase tickets here. For assistance, call or email Ruby Fera at RubyF@Seahawks.com or 425-203-8134. See all available discounts on the Employee Discount intranet page.
Crossposted from Tails from RASKC Did you know? About half of all pets that go missing every year are lost around the Fourth of July. It’s a scary statistic, but fortunately there are steps you can take to help keep your dog, cat, or other animals safe from the bang, boom, and pop of fireworks. Before the fireworks Exercise your pet in the daytime before fireworks begin. That can help tire them out so they sleep through the peak of the noise. Check your pet’s license, ID tag, and/or microchip, and make sure… Read More
The second application period for the 2025 Professional Development Scholarship Program ends at 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, July 3. The Scholarship Program is a benefit offered as part of the 2025 Coalition Labor Agreement and is only open to employees represented by one of the unions in the Coalition. The Scholarship Program is part of the County’s commitment to Investing in YOU, and is designed to assist eligible employees with their professional development by providing up to $3,000 annually towards obtaining training, certificates, degrees, licenses, and certifications. Awardees for this period will be notified… Read More
Operators at King County’s West Point Treatment Plant credit the new onsite battery system for providing reliable power during its first year of service, ensuring critical pumps operated during 78 power disruptions. Engineers estimate that 15 of those power disruptions were severe enough to potentially cause an emergency bypass of untreated wastewater into Puget Sound had the onsite batteries not been activated in June 2024. Pumps at the state’s largest treatment plant were powered exclusively by the 16.8-megawatt battery system during each of those disruptions. King County Executive Shannon Braddock praised the… Read More
Crossposted from DES Plane Talk The Washington Airport Management Association (WAMA) named John Parrott the Airport Director of the Year at its annual conference last month. Parrott has served as director of King County International Airport since 2019. He has nearly 40 years of commercial airport, general aviation and military aviation experience from aviator to airport CEO. What’s his secret? “Hire great people and then get out of their way,” Parrott said upon receiving the award. Pictured: John Parrott, Director of King County International Airport, left, with Dave Decoteau, Deputy Director.
Crossposted from Cultivating Connections King County Department of Human and Community Services (DCHS) today released new data on the Health Through Housing (HTH) initiative, showing improved housing and health outcomes for people living in Health Through Housing buildings throughout last year. Health Through Housing transforms former hotels and other underutilized properties into permanent supportive housing with onsite services, including physical and behavioral health care, for people experiencing chronic homelessness. In 2024, Health Through Housing served 1,281 people across all 11 open locations in Auburn, Burien, Renton, Redmond, and Seattle. Encouragingly, 95% of permanent supportive housing residents were able to maintain a stable home. The vast… Read More
When Georgetown Wet Weather Treatment Station went up in one of Seattle’s oldest neighborhoods, you could say it took a village to raise it. Among the tradespeople deployed to construct our newest clean water facility were electricians, concrete finishers, welders, and ironworkers. For four whole years, the site buzzed with power tools and expertise – in no small part from the surrounding community itself. The project generated hundreds of construction jobs and brought on more than 40 women-and-minority-owned businesses as subcontractors who did everything from installing underground utilities and pouring concrete walls to… Read More
Do you have ideas for how King County government could work better? The King County Auditor’s Office wants to hear from you! The King County Auditor’s Office is looking for input as it plans its work for the next biennium. To gather that input, they have launched a new website where employees and community members can share their experiences and suggest potential topics for future audits. The King County Auditor’s Office conducts oversight of county government through independent audits, capital projects oversight, and other studies. Every other year, the Auditor assembles a work program for approval by… Read More
Crossposted from Converge Media June 13, 2025, will be remembered as a landmark day for King County, which hosted its first-ever Summit on Crime Survivors at the Sea Mar Museum of Chicano/a/Latino/a Culture. The event convened a broad spectrum of individuals—survivors of violent crime, families of victims, elected officials, law enforcement, victim advocates, community organizations, and mental health experts—to confront the profound impact of crime and the urgent need for robust community support. This inaugural summit was not merely a meeting; it was a poignant and transformative experience marked by raw emotion,… Read More
Crossposted from the King County Sheriff’s Office newsletter Last week, we had a great time connecting with our White Center community during Coffee with a Cop! Community members showed up to talk with the Sheriff and other department members. Meanwhile, PCT 4 Captain Przygocki was in the back slinging drinks and working the drive-through window, to the surprise of customers. Overall, it was a successful event! We thank all the department members who showed up, and a special thanks to Starbucks and our White Center community members for the opportunity. We can’t wait… Read More
Join us at the Seattle Pride Parade on Sunday, June 29. King County’s contingent will meet at 10:45 a.m. on 4th Avenue between Seneca Street and Spring Street. The parade begins moving at 11 a.m. and ends at 3:30 p.m. If you need assistance getting to the staging area you can meet Metro’s Pride bus on 6th Avenue, between S. Royal Brougham Way and S. Atlantic Street, across from the parking garage, at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday. The bus will leave at 9:45 a.m. and will return to 6th Avenue once it… Read More
Crossposted from the DES Express Standard P-Cards issued in King County come with a $10,000 single transaction limit and a $20,000 monthly transaction limit, but this can vary among departments and divisions based on different needs. Splitting purchases to bypass the transaction limits is not an approved use of your P-Card. Read more.
Crossposted from the King County Sheriff’s Office newsletter When Morgan Pavlovich became a King County Sheriff’s Deputy in 2023, the least surprised person of all was her father, a longtime member of the Sheriff’s Office himself. “I suspected she would end up right here,” said SeaTac Sergeant John ‘Jake’ Pavlovich. “She always had that drive to help people. Even when she worked in retail. Plus, she used to dress up like a police officer on Halloween.” The Pavlovich duo is the sole father-daughter team currently serving the Sheriff’s office. The Sergeant only… Read More
Crossposted from Metro Matters On Thursday, June 19, we recognize Juneteenth—a celebration of the freedom of enslaved African Americans in the United States. It’s a time to gather in community, reflect on our nation’s long and unfinished journey towards equity, and reaffirm our shared commitment to justice. As part of this year’s reflection, Transit Facilities Division Director Adé Franklin shares what Juneteenth means to him, how it shapes his leadership, and why it matters to the work we do every day at Metro. Following his foreword are reflections from a few Metro… Read More
Dear fellow King County employee, As we prepare to celebrate Juneteenth tomorrow, June 19, I want to take a moment to recognize the deep significance of this day, not only in American history, but also in our collective journey toward racial justice, equity, and freedom. Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when the last enslaved Black Americans in Galveston, Texas, were informed of their freedom — more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed. It is a day that represents the long and ongoing struggle for true racial equity and freedom,… Read More
By a Black man living in modern history -William Herbert, Human Resources professional with Metro Transit Mobility Division, and Water and Land Resources Division Foreword Every year, June 19th rolls around, and for many in America, it may pass like any other summer day. But for me—as a Black man, military veteran, husband, and father living in modern-day America—Juneteenth is not just a date in history. It’s a mirror. A memorial. A celebration. And a call to action. It’s a day that encapsulates the joy of freedom, the weight of delayed justice,… Read More
The Parent Champions Pilot Program has received the 2024 Best-Run Government (BRG) Innovation Award for Service. Congratulations to the Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS) and the Developmental Disabilities & Early Childhood Supports Division, and their partners for their commitment to Best-Run Government! A special thank you to the program’s project manager Juliette Escobar and group facilitators Ya’Vonne Hubbard and Fathia Hammad. The Innovation Award for Service recognizes workgroups and teams that have made progress on our customer service goals to prioritize customer-centered services, improve the customer experience, increase staff understanding… Read More