June 2024 Edition
Dear Team,
I hope you have been finding a way to stay cool through these hot June days. For this installment of our internal newsletter, we wanted to share a few updates:
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2nd Floor Telework and Construction Update: Per our message earlier this month, we have new information for our 2nd floor staff regarding the ongoing construction and telework arrangements. Read on to stay informed about pest treatment progress, air quality updates, and more.
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Health and Wellness Fair Recap: Our Health and Wellness Fair was a hit, featuring health screenings, smoothie rides, and Zumba! Thanks to everyone who participated and made this event a success.
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New DOB Data Request Process: Our Performance Management Team has unveiled a new data request process! This will help standardize our data gathering procedures to ensure streamlined responses.
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DOB Collaborating With the Industry: Lamir Whetstone and Erik Cox recently represented DOB at the SCEMA conference in Memphis, TN, bringing back valuable insights to enhance our code enforcement efforts. I also had a chance to talk strategy regarding DC's electrification goals and efforts with the Advanced Energy Group (AEG).
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MBSYEP 2024 Participants Arrive: We’re excited to welcome the Mayor Marion S. Barry Summer Youth Employment (MBSYEP) Program participants. Let’s support these young professionals as they gain valuable work experience with us.
Thanks as always for your continued commitment to the people we serve. I am honored that I get to work alongside each of you to make the District a better place!
Onward,
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 Brian J. Hanlon, AIA LEED AP®
Director
In case you missed our message earlier this month, we wanted to provide staff assigned to the 2nd floor with a quick update about the ongoing construction:
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2nd floor staff members will have the flexibility to work 100% remote through July 12, 2024, per management's discretion.
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As a reminder, this telework update only pertains to DOB staff currently assigned to the 2nd floor.
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Enhanced pest treatment is occurring, and pest activity is decreasing.
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DOB is targeting four (4) consecutive weeks of pest inactivity before welcoming 2nd floor staff back.
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We have performed the Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) testing.
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Results indicated no amplified mold growth, temperature, relative humidity (RH), carbon dioxide (CO₂), and carbon monoxide (CO) levels per ASHRAE and NAAQS guidelines.
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HVAC filters were replaced, with future replacement frequency increased until construction is completed. Enhanced site walkthroughs and water leak inspections will take place in an effort to maintain good air quality.
We appreciate your patience as we continue to work to improve our work environment. If you have any questions about this communication, please speak with Caroline Lian, DOB's Deputy Director.
 If you wanted a smoothie, you had to work for it!
To kick-start the summer season, DOB hosted a Health and Wellness Fair which offered health screenings, resource giveaways, smoothie rides, Zumba, and more!
Hard work and a healthy lifestyle go hand in hand, and DOB is committed to supporting the wellness needs of employees. A special thanks goes out to the Culture Change Committee, DOB Health and Wellness Coordinator Ashelley Wilder, and all of our event partners for making this event a success!
For more event photos, follow @deptofbuildings on Instagram!
 DOB's Agency Performance and Data Team is excited to announce the brand-new Data Request Process! The team will be using a universal email, dobdatarequests@dc.gov, to address all requests for agency data and data analysis projects. This centralized hub will help ensure a streamlined process that makes it easier for our data team to prioritize each request and meet tight deadlines.
What Does This Mean For You?
- If you need access to certain agency data for a project you are working on, please send all data requests via email to dobdatarequests@dc.gov, with the following subject line: Data Request – Need by {insert date}.
- In the email, please clearly specify the data needed and any additional requirements such as audience, formatting, due date, or whether you need the data to be analyzed or modelled.
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Please send only one (1) data request per email. The data team will promptly respond with any follow-up questions and a timeline for data delivery.
Thank you in advance for following these directions. Remember, all data roads lead to dobdatarequests@dc.gov! If you have any questions about the new process, please speak with Heather McGowan, DOB's Chief Performance Officer, at heather.mcgowan@dc.gov.
 Lamir Whetstone (center left) and Erik Cox (center right) joined with other code enforcement professionals in Memphis, TN for the conference.
Earlier this month, Lamir Whetstone, Vacant Buildings and Housing Rehabilitation Program Manager, and Erik Cox, Deputy General Counsel, traveled to Memphis, TN to attend a three-day Strategic Code Enforcement Management Academy (SCEMA) conference.
Erik and Lamir visited parts of Memphis where vacant buildings are being fixed and/or repurposed, and had two days of classroom instruction where they met with and learned from approximately a dozen other jurisdictions and leading code enforcement personnel. They brought back knowledge and contacts that we will use to help further improve DOB's code enforcement activities in the future.
Thank you for attending, Lamir and Erik!
 On June 18th, Director Brian Hanlon was a featured guest speaker at the Advanced Energy Group (AEG) DMV Quarterly Stakeholder Challenge: Building Electrification meeting. AEG is a 100% minority owned small business that enables delivery of intersecting climate, health, energy and equity commitments by facilitating stakeholder mobilization.
At this month’s meeting, invited speakers were asked to examine the critical obstacles in need of collaboration to find near term solutions, particularly as the District looks to fully implement its climate action plan and the 2026 Net Zero requirements.
Director Hanlon told the group of approximately 50 green energy professions, developers, lawyers and real state professionals that the answers for DOB continue to be commitment to providing a spirit of clarity, communication, and collaboration with customers and other stakeholders.
“We want development companies to make buildings as green as possible. But we are also here, in my view, to try to remove friction in the process--to not make the regulatory process so burdensome that people are motivated to avoid it,” said Director Hanlon.
It is important that our agency continues to take opportunities like this to engage with the industry as a regulatory authority. Collaboration and strategy sessions such as these help to build goodwill and improve our working relationships with the organizations and individuals doing business in the District.
 DOB is excited to once again participate in the Mayor Marion S. Barry Summer Youth Employment Program (MBSYEP) this summer. MBSYEP is a locally funded initiative sponsored by the Department of Employment Services (DOES) that provides District youths ages 18 to 24 with enriching and constructive summer work experiences through subsidized placements in the private and government sectors.
This summer, the program participants joined DOB beginning Monday, June 24.
The valuable experience gained in the MBSYEP help propel participants to success through building their work ethic and providing important experience in a professional environment. Thank you in advance for your support of this program as DOB joins several other District Government agencies and private sector businesses in investing time and energy into the next generation of professionals.
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