Employees discuss emergency preparedness, employee development and support

King County Executive Dow Constantine hosted the second Employee Town Hall on Tuesday, Oct. 15, which featured two panel discussions with employees on emergency preparedness and employee development and support, followed by a question and answer session. The meeting was broadcast live over the King County network to employee desktops.


Watching the Employee Town Hall is totally optional.

Panelists

Employee Development and Support Panel

Cyndi Schaeffer, Change and Organizational Development Manager, Human Resources Division leads a team that plans, develops, and coordinates training and development, organizational development and career services for King County. Cyndi has more than 20 years of supervisory and management experience in the private and public sectors. She has taught organizational development, leadership, change management and psychology courses at several state and private universities over the last 17 years, as well as internationally for global companies. Cyndi holds a Ph.D. in Leadership and Change Management. Email Cyndi

Tony Hansen, Employee Assistance Program Coordinator, Human Resources Division provides consultation to employees, supervisors, and managers on a variety of work related issues. He sees himself as a workplace coach and helps employees and managers find solutions to every day personnel and other work related issues. Tony received his Master's Degree in Counseling from Seattle University and he received a Bachelor of Science in Education from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is licensed in Washington State both as a Mental Health Counselor and a Chemical Dependency Professional. He obtained his Professional in Human Resources Certification through the Human Resources Certification Institute in 2007. Email Tony

Whitney Abrams, Business Representative, Professional and Technical Employees, Local 17 has been in her role since 1998. She co-chairs the Joint Labor Management Insurance Committee in King County and has a leadership role in the upcoming Total Compensation bargaining. She currently negotiates the IT, DOT Roads Professional and Technical, Transit Chiefs and Supervisor and Superior Court - Court Reporter collective bargaining agreements. Whitney has a Master's Degree in Public Administration. Email Whitney

Emergency Preparedness Panel

Walt Hubbard, Director, Office of Emergency Management, grew up in the Seattle area and has a portfolio of public service that includes emergency preparedness manager for the King County Department of Transportation. While there, he worked to improve the department's all-hazards response, with a special focus on Green River flooding, winter storms, and long-term recovery. Hubbard also served as director of the Odessa Brown Children's Clinic, where he honed community collaboration skills and his commitment to equity and social justice as an essential part of health care delivery to a diverse population. As special assistant for public safety to Seattle Mayor Paul Schell, Hubbard was directly involved in several emergency events – including response to the Nisqually Earthquake in 2001 – forming strong relationships with police, fire, and first responders across the region. Email Walt

Harold Taniguchi, Director, King County Department of Transportation oversees five divisions (transit, road services, airport, marine, and vehicle fleet administration). He has served King County since 1983 in various positions, including deputy director of the Department of Transportation and manager of its Road Services division. Under the leadership of Mr. Taniguchi and the former and current King County executives, the Department of Transportation has maintained excellent fiscal management while taking groundbreaking approaches to providing efficient and productive transportation services that help communities thrive. Accomplishments include developing innovative transit services such as RapidRide, becoming the first agency in the nation to invest in articulated hybrid diesel-electric buses, and developing Intelligent Transportation Systems for county roadways. Email Harold

Michael Loehr, Preparedness Director, Public Health – Seattle & King County has been with King County since 2002. His responsibilities with Public Health include establishing and maintaining partnerships with healthcare facilities, first responders, community based organizations, businesses, neighboring jurisdictions and emergency managers to improve regional resilience; Developing all hazards response and recovery capability through planning, training, exercises and business continuity programs; and developing and leading the regional health and medical response to disasters in King County. Michael is an affiliate professor in the University of Washington School of Public Health, and an instructor with the Northwest Center for Public Health Practice. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina with a Master's Degree in Regional Planning. Email Michael

Archive

The first Employee Town Hall held on July 24, 2013, addressed customer service and healthcare. You can read more about this event, view a video of the event, and read about the panelists by going to this archive.

Employee Development and Support

Get more information on growing your skills and career at King County, and support programs available to you. King County offers many learning and development opportunities for employees

King County Leadership Mentoring Program - King County strongly supports mentoring as a key tool in enhancing the professional growth of employees. The King County Leadership Mentoring Program promotes the development of self-confidence, professional achievement, and ultimately enhances institutional stability and continuity. 

• Nominate a Mentor
• Self-nominate (complete form and send to bill.wells@kingcounty.gov)

Supporting Our Employees, confidential resources for at-work and at-home challenges

• Employee Assistance Program
• Making Life Easier Program

Healthy Incentives - King County created Healthy Incentives^SM in 2005 to stop its health care costs from increasing at unsustainable rates. Through improved health of employees and use of higher quality health care, the county has reduced the rate of its health care trend from 11% to 6.2%, avoiding $46 million in costs.

Emergency Preparedness

King County Office of Emergency Management Takewinterbystorm.org has checklists for compiling an emergency kit, tips for traveling in winter weather, and advice on preparing your home for winter. Sign up for emergency alerts for your region

Your commute

Get Metro Transit alerts and updates by email and text. King County Road Alerts - get travel alert information about road closures or hazardous conditions that have a significant impact on roads in unincorporated areas of King County.

Pandemic flu

Visit Public Health-Seattle and King County's Pandemic Flu preparedness site for information on the threat of pandemic flu, what to expect and tips on preparing. Get Pandemic Flu email updates