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Redwood City — San Mateo County Supervisors on Tuesday honored Public Works Director Ann M. Stillman upon her retirement after 38 years of service, recognizing a career that spanned from entry-level engineer to leader of the Peninsula’s largest public works agency.
Moments after the Board approved a resolution honoring her 5-0, dozens of Public Works employees gathered at the front of the Board Chambers to pose for photos and congratulate her.
Stillman, a registered civil engineer, said she was drawn to the work for its complexity and its connection to the community.
“I love connecting dots. I love strategizing. I love solving problems,” she said. “The work is always interesting, exciting.”
Colleagues say her commitment was evident in small, everyday ways. She is known for bringing a peanut butter and jelly sandwich – made on homemade bread — so she could hold it in one hand while reading and returning emails with the other during lunch. Stillman said stepping away was rarely predictable.
“I can never count on getting away from my desk at lunch,” she said. “Because on the days I don’t bring a lunch something comes up."
That something could involve anything from pothole repair to operating the San Carlos and Half Moon Bay airports, major infrastructure projects like the roadway over the Crystal Springs Dam or mudslide repairs.
Stillman began her career in 1987 when she joined the County as an extra-help senior engineering aide after graduating from Humboldt State University. She rose through the ranks over nearly four decades, becoming one of the first female engineers in the department and later its director.
 Ann Stillman
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