A thought for the day …
"Self-care is not selfish. You cannot serve from an empty vessel."
– Eleanor Brown (born 1973) American novelist, teacher, and speaker
IN THIS ISSUE
These are challenging times. Even for the pandemic, life is difficult these days for many as we deal with the stress of changing COVID-19 conditions and guidelines, illness and loss, work-life and personal-life upheaval, school closures and loss of child care, constantly conducting risk assessments for ourselves and our families, and feeling disconnected from others. It can be hard to practice self-care and focus on our mental health and wellbeing, but it's more important than ever – and you have so many resources readily available through the Met Council.
Make sure you know where you can turn for support. Here are just some of the events, tools, providers, and programs you can access:
Fit For Life
Attend online sessions and participate in programs. Check out all upcoming offerings, from mindfulness meditation to yoga classes to cooking demos, on the Fit For Life Events MetNet page.
Prioritize self-care with regular practice. Practicing self-care can help you manage stress and stay resilient through difficult challenges. The Stress Management MetNet page has links to recorded webinars, quick breathing exercises, meditations for increasing positivity, and a toolkit to help you build a self-care plan.
Check in with a financial counselor to support your financial wellbeing. It's no secret that money stressors are a very real concept. Financial Choice programs with LSS offer counseling, education, and debt management plans.
Take advantage of parenting resources. Parenting and caregiving do not stop when we walk into the workplace, and that is why Fit For Life is here to give you tools and resources at no cost to you to manage the stress and worry that come with being a parent or primary caregiver to a child, teen, or young adult. Caregivers can access prenatal and new parent classes with Amma Parenting, child sleep coaching from Tender Transitions, parent support videos and classes, and more on the Parenting Resources MetNet page.
Read HR Connect in your inbox on Thursdays. Fit For Life has articles in the newsletter from Human Resources almost every week highlighting resources, events, programs, and wellness tips. They are about to kick off the four-week #StayConnectedMN campaign with articles to help you build and maintain connections, create community, and find support.
Watch Fit For Life videos on Stream. Pre-recorded videos and recordings of webinars are available for viewing at any time on the Fit For Life channel on Stream. With something for everyone, videos range from prenatal movement and mindfulness to better nutrition and stretching to relieve stress at your desk or on your route.
Explore even more on the Fit For Life MetNet site. The Fit For Life MetNet site has information, tips, resources, and offerings on a wide variety of topics. Explore the pages, and email FitForLife@metc.state.mn.us if you have any questions or need help accessing these services.
HealthPartners
Complete your annual health assessment. The online health assessment from HealthPartners poses questions about nutrition, exercise, emotional health, life satisfaction, and sleep. Employees who complete the assessment will receive a $40 gift card, subject to tax, and after completing the survey, you will get specific recommendations to improve your health and wellbeing. To complete the assessment, visit HealthPartners.com/wellbeing and log in with your HealthPartners account.
Connect with the health coach. Shelby Olson, our health coach through HealthPartners, provides confidential one-on-one health coaching on a variety of topics to Met Council employees. Email Shelby.Olson@metc.state.mn.us to connect with Shelby today.
Sand Creek
Explore resources online and over the phone. Sand Creek is the Met Council's employee assistance program, which offers a wide array of services to employees. These services include a 24-hour crisis hotline, short-term counseling and professional counselor referrals, life coaching, medical advocacy, and thousands of articles, videos, and online seminars available at your convenience. For more information call Sand Creek at 1-888-243-5744 or visit SandCreekEAP.com (use company code "metcouncil" to access online resources).
Attend tomorrow's session on grief and loss. All employees are invited to attend an online session about responding to feelings of grief and loss with self-care and coping strategies. The session will be led by Sand Creek counselor Chrissy Eberly and will run from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 26 (add to your calendar).
Employee Resource Groups
Turn to your coworkers. Employee Resource Groups (ERG) are Council-supported groups of employees who share a common characteristic or interest (e.g., gender, ethnicity or race, sexual orientation, generation, special interest) – or allies of that group. An ERG supports its members, and the primary focus is for individuals in the group to be a resource for one another and for the group itself to be a resource to the organization. The Met Council has two ERGs, Pride and Advancing Women in Transit, and two more are in development. Learn more (PDF).
To align with security best practices, the Met Council is deploying multi-factor authentication for our virtual private network (VPN) users, which will include a software upgrade to all Met Council laptops this week. VPN is the technology that allows employees working outside of a Met Council facility to connect to the Met Council network.
- This change involves a software upgrade that will happen between Tuesday, Jan. 25, and Thursday, Jan. 27.
- Multi-factor authentication with VPN will roll out in the evening on Thursday, Jan. 27.
Who is and is not affected?
This software upgrade should not affect:
- Desktop computers used exclusively inside of Met Council facilities
- Metro Transit Police Department computers
- Employees’ personal computers
All other Met Council laptop computers will receive this week’s upgrade, even if you do not actively use VPN.
Why are we implementing multi-factor authentication?
With the increase in cyber-attacks, protecting ourselves from unauthorized access is critical. Multi-factor authentication (MFA), sometimes referred to as two-factor authentication, is a security enhancement that prompts you to verify your identity through a second method after logging into your account with your username and password. Examples of second factors include a code texted to your phone or a fingerprint on your mobile device.
Note that similar multi-factor authentication changes are being planned for the remote connection for Citrix in mid-February. We will share more information as plans are finalized.
What will happen with the upgrade?
If you use a Met Council laptop, you should have received an email yesterday with details on the upgrade.
Details and screenshots were also posted on MetNet.
If you experience problems with the software upgrade or logging into VPN, or if you are on a Council-owned Mac and are having issues, please call the Service Desk for assistance at 651-602-1498.
The U.S. Census Bureau released new data from the 2020 Census in August, and you might be wondering what we learned or how it can be applied to your work. To help make sense of it all, the Research team in Community Development is hosting two webinars in February for any Met Council staff interested in learning more about the 2020 Census results.
Join one of next week's sessions on Microsoft Teams to better understand the data, trends in racial diversity, and the accuracy and effects of the pandemic and political interference. The Research department will also share resources and offer more detailed consultation on census information and how it applies to your work.
Tuesday, Feb. 1, 11 a.m. to noon (use this link to join or add to calendar)
Wednesday, Feb. 2, 1 to 2 p.m. (use this link to join or add to calendar)
The webinar will be recorded and posted on MetNet for later viewing. Reports and FAQs are also available on the 2020 Census page of our website. Email Research@metc.state.mn.us if you have questions or would like a consultation on census information.
Approvals in Microsoft Teams is a tool to help you streamline all your requests and processes with your team and collaborators. To enhance your personal productivity, use approvals for internal processes to help organize and track responses. Examples include content approvals, proposals, and vacation requests.
Watch this one-minute overview to see Approvals in action.
Once you've added the Approvals app to your Teams, you can create and track requests:
Create an approval request: You can quickly start an approval flow in Microsoft Teams from a chat or a channel conversation or from the Approvals app. Simply fill in the name of the request, identify who needs to approve it, provide any additional information, customize the responses if desired, and add attachments.
Approve or reject a request: Once an approval is submitted, approvers are notified. They can quickly review the details of the request, open any files included in the approval, and select their response.
Track and manage approvals: You can see and manage all your approvals from one place: the Approvals app in Teams. Each request is displayed along with key details, such as the status, source, requestor, and approvers.
Read the full story on MetNet for instructions on using Approvals and links to resources.
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Microsoft Teams and Webex both rolled out new transcription features that make their meeting platforms more accessible.
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Live transcription is now available in Microsoft Teams.
- When you start to record a meeting, live transcription will turn on.
- The transcription pane is shown on the right-hand side, and you can even change the language.
- When the meeting is over, the recording and a separate transcript file will be available in the meeting chat, and you can download the transcript as a Word document.
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Webex Assistant for Meetings now includes automated closed captions and real-time transcription. Eventually these features will be available for everyone, but for now staff must request access from the Service Desk.
- Live transcripts: Transcripts can be turned on using the Webex Assistant feature in the lower left of the window, and the transcription pane is shown on the right-hand side.
- Recorded transcripts: When you select the record button and choose to save the recording in the cloud, you will be able to edit and share the transcript following a meeting.
- Closed caption censoring: Currently closed caption is being censored – meeting attendees may say words that the artificial intelligence labels offensive and removes from the captions – but the state is working with Cisco to have this turned off based on feedback from stakeholders that those relying on captions should have access to what is said, even if it is felt to be offensive.
- Keyboard shortcut to move closed captioning window: The closed caption window that appears during a Webex Meeting may overlay content and need to be moved, but keyboard-only users cannot currently move the window. The state is working with Cisco to create a keyboard shortcut for this.
Read the full story on MetNet for details and screenshots.
As always, automated captioning is not intended to replace CART captioning for accommodation requests, and transcripts should be reviewed and edited as needed. If you have questions about these accessibility features, please contact Guthrie Byard, ADA and Title VI administrator, at Guthrie.Byard@metc.state.mn.us or contact the Service Desk at ServiceDesk@metc.state.mn.us.
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The following highlights provide a summary of important information you need to know related to the Met Council’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The newest and most complete information is available in the COVID-19 update emailed to all staff every other week on Thursdays.
Read the most recent bulletin (Jan. 20), which includes:
- The Met Council is experiencing the highest number of active COVID-19 cases we've ever seen during the pandemic.
- In light of the U.S. Supreme Court halting enforcement of recent OSHA mandates, we are not moving forward on certain requirements, but most of our masking, vaccination, and testing rules remain in place.
- Please review the definitions of quarantine, isolation, close contact, and vaccination status from the CDC.
- The CDC and MDH updated their guidelines for quarantine and isolation, which the Met Council is using to determine our return-to-work guidelines.
Please review any division-specific guidelines your division leaders have shared in addition to these Councilwide requirements.
- COVID-19 treatment will be continue to be covered by the Met Council at 100% until March 1, when it will be covered under your medical plan.
- The Well@Work clinics are now offering vaccines to those age 5 and older.
- New options for COVID-19 at-home rapid tests are available through USPS and HealthPartners. Please note: At-home rapid tests are for personal use and are not accepted in the Met Council's weekly testing program or for COVID-19 Paid Administrative Leave.
Tools to help you find vaccine appointments:
COVID-19 testing:
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The Office of Equal Opportunity has expanded the Title VI site on MetNet. Several new pages and resources were recently added to the site to help everyone understand the federal Title VI requirements and how these guidelines apply to our work. Take some time to look around the pages, watch the overview videos, and click through the linked resources.
You can find information and resources on these topics:
- Title VI Program: The Met Council’s Title VI Program (PDF) is required by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and explains how we prevent discrimination based on race, color, and national origin in our transportation programs and services.
- New language and perspectives: Videos and resources highlight the importance of new language and perspectives, like BIPOC and anti-racism, as we strive towards making an equitable and inclusive workplace.
- Equity: Explore how you can get involved in making equity changes and creating a place of safety.
- Staff resources: Resources were added on Title VI requirements, fare equity analysis, public outreach, environmental justice, and more.
- Training videos: Three training videos from the FTA explain Title VI requirements.
Check out the expanded Title VI site on MetNet.
Staff from the Office of Equal Opportunity are also available to conduct trainings for your department on Title VI requirements. If you would like to schedule a training for your team, or if you have questions or suggestions for improving resources for staff, please email Guthrie Byard, ADA and Title VI administrator, at Guthrie.Byard@metc.state.mn.us.
Tom Humphrey, Director of Asset Management
Tom Humphrey usually kept a pretty full calendar. But if someone needed his help, he always found the time.
“I almost felt sorry for the guy because of how available he was,” said Abel Mumbi, assistant director of Bus Maintenance. “I’d call him, he’d be at the Grand Canyon, and he’d still pick up and say, ‘What can I do to help?’”
That willingness to help stood out to many who worked alongside Tom during his nearly 42-year career and who are remembering him following his passing on Saturday, Jan. 8. Services will be held next week.
Tom’s career began in March 1980, as a cleaner. Over the following decades, he worked his way up into technician, supervisor, manager, and assistant director roles in Bus Maintenance. He moved to asset management in 2017, where he served as director.
Mumbi crossed paths with Tom during his interview, and quickly recognized he was someone he should get to know. So after he was hired, he asked to interview Tom, an offer that was quickly accepted.
"I was working second shift but he still made the time to come see me and gave me some the best advice I ever got in terms of my career here," Mumbi said. "We all need champions in our life and for me he really played that role."
Applications Developer Scott Weis also worked with Tom while he was in Bus Maintenance, learning to build programs that could help managers keep better track of personnel and maintenance issues. Scott remembered Tom as a self-taught “visionary” who was always thinking about how processes could be improved.
More than his technical prowess, though, Scott recalled Tom as a welcoming person who always had stories and photos to share from his many travels. “What I remember most is the smile and the charisma he would bring to a room,” Scott said. “Whenever I had a meeting with Tom, I was always confident and calm because I knew we were going to come to consensus.”
Tom and his younger brother John Humphrey, who passed away earlier this month and worked at Metro Transit for nearly 33 years, will each be inducted into Metro Transit’s Hall of Fame.
Services were held on Jan. 18 in Saint Paul.
This in memoriam was originally shared in Insights on Jan. 14.
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Support available from Sand Creek
Grief can happen in response to loss of life, as well as to drastic changes to daily routines and ways of life that usually bring us comfort and a feeling of stability. You are invited to a session hosted by Sand Creek focused on grief and loss, exploring how recent and ongoing events may be impacting us, and sharing self-care and coping strategies. The chat box will be open for live Q&A.
"Grief and Loss" online session
Wednesday, Jan. 26
12:30 to 2:00 p.m.
An Outlook calendar invite was sent to all employees last week with the link and instructions to join this event. Please email FitForLife@metc.state.mn.us if you need the invitation resent, or use this link to add the event to your calendar.
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MentoringWorks applications accepted through Feb. 4
Tax forms now available
Employees can access their W-2 tax form through Employee Self Service (ESS) – but only if you have previously consented to receive the information electronically. If you have not given consent, paper W-2 forms will be mailed by Jan. 31.
- Employees who received COVID-19 paid leave will have more than one page to their W-2, due to federal government requirements.
- Questions about W-2 forms can be directed to the Payroll department at 651-602-1620 or Payroll@metc.state.mn.us.
Tax form 1095-C, which provides proof of health insurance, will be sent to employees by March 2.
- You can file your tax returns before you receive the form.
- Questions about tax form 1095-C can be director to Terri Bopp, Benefits manager, at Terri.Bopp@metc.state.mn.us.
Internship postings will be open Feb. 1 – 28
The Internships team is gearing up and working alongside hiring managers to get all summer 2022 internship postings ready for next week. Position descriptions for the more than 80 internships will go live on Feb. 1, and applications will be accepted the entire month of February.
If you know someone who might be interested in applying for a Met Council internship please direct them to the Met Council's internship webpage and let them know about the one-hour, online info sessions next month: Feb. 15 at 9:00 a.m., Feb. 16 at 3:00 p.m., and Feb. 17 at 6:00 p.m.
METRO Green Line Extension: Met Council to consider settlement agreement to move project forward
The Met Council will consider a settlement agreement with the METRO Green Line Extension contractor for the current phase of construction (track, stations, and structures) at its regular meeting on Wednesday. View the Jan. 26 agenda and watch the meeting.
The discussion and decision will reflect a critical milestone to move the project forward toward completion – including more clarity on timing and eventually overall project costs.
More information will be posted on MetroCouncil.org following the meeting.
Small world! Train operator and deputy RA cross paths at marathon in Hawaii
In case you missed it, in his On/Off the Clock feature in last week's Insights, train operator Jeremiah Collins talked about one of his favorite activities outside of work, running marathons, and shared how he recently met fellow marathon-enthusiast Georges Gonzalez, the Met Council's new deputy regional administrator and chief financial officer.
The two ran a marathon on the island of Maui earlier this month and happened to meet each other at the starting line when Jeremiah heard Georges saying he was moving to Saint Paul. They quickly found the connection when Jeremiah asked Georges if he'd be taking the METRO Green Line.
Read Jeremiah's On/Off the Clock in Insights.
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Maureen Hoffman
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Senior Planner, Water Resources
Environmental Services
Primary duties
I will help develop, direct, promote, and implement Met Council surface water management and water resource protection and restoration policies. Additionally, I will help facilitate the development and implementation of watershed plans, local water plans, and comprehensive plans that leads to improved, efficient, and effective water resources management through close working relationships with watershed management organizations and local government staff and officials.
Started
Nov. 29
How does it feel to start a new job when many employees are working from home?
It has definitely been a unique experience starting a new job while working from home, but my coworkers and team have been amazing at reaching out and checking in!
Hometown
Lewisburg, PA
Current residence
Minneapolis
Family
I have an evil cat named Sinead O’Connor.
Education
B.S. in environmental studies from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry; Master of Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Minnesota
Experience
After graduating college, I worked at a new botanic garden in Pittsburgh helping it open its doors to the public and then grow as a part of the community. After several years with the garden, I moved to Minneapolis to pursue a Master of Urban and Regional Planning degree. During this time I interned at the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization and Northwest Associated Consulting (NAC), which grew into a full-time position after graduation. After realizing I wanted to get back into water resource planning, I left NAC for a position at Washington County’s Public Health and Environment Department as a planner. My main responsibility at the county was to act as the liaison between the county and its watershed districts, and to implement the county’s Groundwater Plan.
Other interests
Outside of work I enjoy spending time with friends, family, and trying to get outside. My goal is to get to all of the U.S. national parks; so far I’ve been to 31!
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Norse explorer right at home
The Leif Erikson statue on the grounds of the Minnesota State Capitol weathered the cold and snow last month while Steve Eastlund, SCADA/Communications technician, was working nearby at the Capitol/Rice Street station. "I had just reset a VMS readerboard on the platform," Steve said. "I looked over at the statue and couldn’t resist the photo op!"
Looking for your cool photo!
Do you have photos to share? The Wire is always looking for the next cool photo from staff, from a close-up in your flower garden, to scenic vistas up north, to exotic travel adventures to more artful fare like reflections and silhouettes. The only criteria is that it's a cool photo! Just email the editor at the address below.
The Wire is published every two weeks for employees of the Met Council. Everyone is invited to submit comments and story ideas. Contact the editor at TheWire@metc.state.mn.us.
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