Hennepin County Profile

To learn more about how Hennepin County works for you, the District 3 team conducts a profile series with employees of the county who live in the district. Each month we spotlight a different person from varying departments and occupations.  Find out about the day-to-day aspects of occupational fields and work environments at the county, and how each person’s work affects your life.

Judy Hollander Property Services Director, Hennepin County Facility Services Lowry Hill Neighborhood Judy is retiring after 16 years at Hennepin County.

Describe your work.

The county has over 6 million square feet of space, and around 130 buildings. On top of that, we lease space. From buildings like the adult correction facilities to two person offices in neighborhoods, to the Hennepin County Government Center, Hennepin County properties are as varied as the work the county does.

I manage Property Services. The scope of our work is very wide, but it is very integrated. This is a support department; we work to meet the needs of individual departments so that employees have what they need to do their jobs and serve the residents. We handle:

• Planning and project development, which identifies necessary projects and scopes them out to figure out what needs to be done,
• Design and construction, which hires construction companies to do the work,
• Preservation, to maintain the infrastructure so that it lasts many years
• Day-to-day maintenance, from cleaning to operating the mechanical equipment
• Workplace health and safety, to ensure our workforce maintains physical and mental health in the workplace
• Security checkpoints and support staff

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What part of your job do you find most challenging?

I think we try to do the best we can, but because we’re everywhere and do everything, people have a lot of expectations and opinions about how things should be done. We get second-guessed a lot. Buildings are expensive, and it takes a lot of money to maintain them and build them to support what they need.

We strive to be 100% accessible to people with disabilities and to provide clean, secure work environments, and trying to include all of those policy objectives in a cost effective way is very difficult.

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What do you find most enjoyable?

Interacting with people across the Hennepin County system and knowing that you are making a difference in employees' and clients’ lives. It is fulfilling to manage important, safe spaces for people to do their work, to receive shelter, and allow for residents and clients to interact with services.

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What is one thing everyone should know about the work you do?

Since I’ve been here, many people have referred to this as one of the toughest jobs. In many ways it is, but it is also one of the most gratifying. It is so diverse in both its workforce and its services; we get involved in all aspects of what the county does, which allows us to see the breadth of the county and the many ways it provides meaningful service.

The county is a great place to work, and I’ve enjoyed coming to work here every day.

Judy Hollander is a resident of the Lowry Hill neighborhood, and is the Property Services Director for Hennepin County Facility Services. From making sure the elevators go up and down, to keeping us safe and making sure the sidewalks are free with snow, to building world class libraries, we honor Judy today for her service to Hennepin County and its residents as she retires at the end of June after 16 years. Thanks for your service, Judy.