Eci Ameh has joined DHR, on loan from the Executive Department, for a six-month special duty assignment. Eci joined King County in 2020 as the Deputy Director for Strategic Planning in the Facilities Management Division (FMD) and became the Deputy Director for the Office of Equity, Racial, and Social Justice (OERSJ) in 2022. In this temporary assignment, she will be a valuable resource to DHR and other agencies by further developing the County’s capacity to understand the indicators of organizational health and develop strategies to improve organizational health. We expect this body of work to heavily center workforce equity and complement ongoing efforts such as the Lean Maturity Model, Best Run Government, and Employee Experience work. Eci's first day was Feb. 20.

Vinh Do was the successful candidate for the Organizational Development Practitioner - Mediator in the Career and Culture Division. Vinh has worked in consulting, helping leaders build greater capacity for workplace change and engage with conflict productively. He has previously worked for the Seattle Office for Civil Rights, Dispute Resolution Center of King County, Merrill Lynch, and the Peace Corps in Mali (West Africa). He is a graduate of Seattle University and The New School/Milano. Outside of work, Vinh enjoys swimming, reading, and writing book reviews. Vinh’s first day was March 25.

Lars Benson was the successful candidate for the Organizational Development Practitioner – Mediator in the Career and Culture Division. Lars joins King County with over 30 years of experience working in state and local government in negotiation and mediation, budget and policy analysis, strategy, program management, and executive leadership, and teaching at the University of Washington Evans School of Governance and Public Policy since 1998. Lars is eternally curious about why and how human beings make, break, and repair agreements with themselves and each other. Lars is a devoted and imperfectly embodied social justice advocate for all their relations, queer and creative, well-seasoned, and always innovating in learning, coaching, and facilitation. Outside of work, Lars loves woodlands and waters edges, community singing, and cooking up good food and schemes for their beloved community in the kitchen. Lars first day will be April 1.

Marcia Blair was the successful candidate for the Special Duty Assignment (SDA) as the Functional Analyst II in the Central Employee Services Division. Marcia has been with the County since April 2013 and joined DHR in 2022 as an Education Specialist with Benefits, Payroll, and Retirement Operations. In her SDA assignment, Marcia will be responsible for responding to a wide variety of benefits-related inquires and providing support to employees experiencing technical challenges. She will bring a sense of calm and patience to the work as she walks employees through the benefits enrollment process and accessing plan related information. Marcia’s first day was March 18.

Michael Strutynski’s work will be shifting to help the Director’s Office in the design of a comprehensive strategy towards our Departmental responsibilities under Best Run Government. In close collaboration with leadership, he will lead us in our progression along the Lean Maturity Model, develop key performance and reporting standards, and implement innovative strategies intended to optimize HR processes and operations. Michael has over 15 years of human resources experience within King County, and was most recently responsible for leading modernization efforts for a variety of our HR systems within the HR Systems and Analytics Unit. Michael looks forward to working more closely with the HR community again, and supporting the continuous improvement of DHR’s services in support of your needs. Michael's first day was Feb. 20.

Jody Addicks was the successful candidate for the Special Duty Assignment as a Safety Trainer in the Central Employee Services Division. She is a long time Department of Natural Resources and Parks employee working in Recreation. She has supported teens and families in the White Center Community for over 20 years with after school programming and special events. For the past six years, she has been the Chair of the Parks Safety Committee and has put on monthly Parks Safety Meetings and offered Safety Training to Parks staff. In her personal time, she loves spending time with her husband and their dog, Luna the German Shepherd. Luna keeps them active and on-the-go! She also enjoys hunting for vintage treasures at yard sales and thrift stores. Jody’s first day will be April 1.

Sarah Fish will serve as the interim department HR Manager for Public Health – Seattle & King County. Sarah began her career with Public Health in the Community Health Services Division in 2004 and has served in various other capacities throughout her career. She started in human resources in DPH in 2012, and has served as an HR Associate, HR Analyst, Employee and Labor Relations Representative, and HR Manager II managing the Employment and Leaves team. Sarah will provide strong leadership for the DPH HR team and is a trusted advisor to the department. During the assignment Sarah will work to implement the 2024 HR Work Plan, provide support to the DPH HR Manager team, and help guide the continuous improvement work that she helped to launch in 2023. Sarah’s first day was Feb. 5.

Stacy Hoover will serve in a Special Duty Assignment as the Learning and Development Manager in the Career and Culture Division. Stacy joined DHR in April 2022 as the Leadership Development Lead where she was responsible for managing the leadership development series, Leading the Way, which builds capabilities of King County supervisors and managers. Stacy assisted with the design and facilitation of county-wide learning engagements and served as a subject matter expert in program development, management, and implementation. Stacy’s first day was Feb. 5.

Danielle Thueringer was the successful candidate for the Term-Limited Temporary (TLT) HR Applications Analyst in the HR Systems, Analytics, and Operations section. Danielle joined DHR in 2022 and has served as an HR Associate and HR Analyst on the Talent Acquisition Team. In her new role, she will work closely with DHR’s Learning and Development team to assist in the creation of a post-implementation support plan to scale and grow the use of the NEOGOV Learn module for employees and the HR community. She will translate system configurations and functionality to support, troubleshoot, and provide technical assistance for NEOGOV’s Insight and Online Hiring Center, Onboard, Perform, and eForms. Danielle’s first day was Feb. 20.

Antinette Ruggerio will serve as the interim department HR Manager for DHR. She joined the Director’s Office Division as an HR Manager III in a Special Duty Assignment in August 2023 to act as a central resource to county leaders regarding the reduction in force (RIF) planning and implementation process. Antinette will continue to work on special projects including RIF Support and the revision of the Due Process manual while also leading the DHR HR team and managing the hiring of a new DHR Senior HR Analyst and Public Records Officer. Antinette’s first day was Feb. 20.

Richard Moore will serve as the acting Division Director of the HR Services Delivery Division (HRSDD) while Ginny Dale is taking some much-deserved personal time. Richard brings extensive public sector experience and leadership experience at King County. He held several roles at the Department of Elections before joining DHR as the Deputy Division Director for the HRSDD in 2019. Throughout his experience Richard has developed effective relationships and works as a strategic partner on short- and long-term goals. Richard’s first day was Feb. 20.

Jeff Boudreau will serve as the acting Employee Systems Strategic Planning Manager where he will play a pivotal role in aligning Information Technology and Operational strategic initiatives, optimizing systems and processes, and ensuring effective communication within the organization related to those efforts. Jeff has nearly 20 years of experience in various roles within King County, navigating, supporting, modernizing, and leading operational, administration, and financial functions in multiple departments and divisions. Jeff’s first day was Feb. 20.

Blake Bennett was selected as a Talent Sourcer (Senior HR Analyst) with the Wastewater Treatment Division (WTD) in the Department of Natural Resources and Parks (DNRP). He had served in a Special Duty Assignment with DNRP since January 2023. He was an HR Analyst for DHR’s Talent Acquisition Team since 2019. In his new role, Blake will focus on sourcing efforts for WTD recruitments while establishing diverse and healthy candidate pipelines for their various sections and work units and assist with full life cycle recruitments and talent acquisition reporting and analytics. Blake’s first day in his new role with DNRP was March 4.

Karen Bert joined King County in 1993. She started as a Claims Officer II with the Claims Management Team and in 2008 transferred over to the Safety Team to be an Occupational Education and Training Program Administrator Senior or Safety Trainer. Karen provided education and training for County employees in important safety topics like CPR/First Aid, Traffic Control, and forklift operator certification. As a Safety Trainer she enjoyed meeting many different people across the County and ensuring they had the training to do their jobs safely. Karen retired on March 1 and plans to spend more time with her family and friends.

Susan Eddy has stepped into a new role as Director of People Operations with Public Health (DPH). Susan has over 18 years of experience at King County, and most recently served as Interim HR Manager III for DPH. She held Special Projects Manager roles with DHR and also served as interim HR Manager for the Department of Public Defense. Prior to that, she spent 11 years in Transit Human Resources. In her new role, Susan will lead the development and execution of DPH’s HR/People strategy. She will work to ensure HR initiatives align with DPH strategy and objectives, implement HR programs to support talent acquisition, workforce planning, retention, development, and utilize data to assess organizational health. Susan’s first day in her new role was Jan. 22.

Erika Yanak joined DHR in June 2021 as a Senior HR Analyst where she provided HR support in the areas of recruiting, position management, leave administration, disability accommodation, and day-to-day HR services to King County District Court. With eight years of HR experience serving King County, she has also worked at DPH, DNRP’s Water and Land Resources Division, DES’s Finance & Business Operations Division, and DLS’s Permitting Division. Erika recently accepted a role as a Senior HR Analyst with the Department of Local Services. We thank her for all her contributions to DHR and wish her the very best in her new role. Erika’s first day with DLS was Jan. 22.

Jasna Rustempasic joined DHR in the Talent Acquisition Team in February 2023 as an HR Analyst where she provided recruiting services and consultation on hard-to-fill positions across the County. Jasna’s knowledge of sourcing and her investment in building diverse pools of candidates made a big impact on the departments she assisted. Jasna recently accepted a role as an HR Analyst with the Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention (DAJD) where she will continue to support recruitment efforts. We thank her for all her contributions to DHR and wish her the very best in her new role. Jasna’s first day with DAJD was Feb. 20.

Sandra L. Newton has joined the King County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) for a six-month special duty assignment as a Chief of Staff II. Sandra joined King County in 2014 and became Chief of Staff I for DHR in 2018. Her extensive knowledge about the County and how to navigate our structure and systems will support her in one of her roles to develop a Limited English Proficiency (LEP)/language access program. This partnership is the first step in a wider plan to have Chiefs of Staff around King County share their knowledge, skills, and experiences with one another. As Sandra transitions to this special duty assignment, we will work to distribute and cover her DHR Chief of Staff duties. For related questions, please reach out to Adrienne Leslie or Leslie Mullins. Sandra’s first day with KCSO was Feb. 26.

Elisha Mackey has joined Public Health on loan as the interim Employment and Leaves HR Manager for six months. Elisha is joining Public Health to step into a position previously filled by Sarah Fish, who has taken on the role of interim department HR Manager. Elisha joined King County in 2015 and brings a strong background in recruiting and leaves management that will be extremely helpful as the DPH HR Team continues to put effort into providing a consistent, positive, and high-quality HR experiences for employees, supervisors, and hiring managers. Most recently she served as an HR Manager for the Department of Public Defense and DHR. Elisha’s first day with Public Health was Feb. 20.

Mindfulness schedule

Balanced You partners with Mindfulness Northwest to offer free mindfulness classes and workshops to King County employees. All classes are held live on Zoom. Upcoming classes:

Meeting the Inner Critic with Mindfulness: Tuesday, April 9 from 10 a.m. to noon. Register here.

Mindful Relationships 1: How Do You Relate: Wednesday, April 17 from noon to 2 p.m. Register here.

Mindful Self-Compassion at Work: Tuesday, April 23 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Register here.

Mindful Relationships 2: Growing Healthier Relationships: Monday, April 29 from 2 to 4 p.m. Register here.

You can view the new Balanced You Mindfulness spring 2024 schedule here.

Supervisors: Here is a printer-friendly PDF with the full Mindfulness schedule to post at your worksites for employees who do not have access to email. 

Balanced You fitness classes

Want to work out in the comfort of your own home? Join the Balanced You complimentary live fitness classes! Exercises are taught at an intermediate level with variations suitable for all fitness levels available. Two different classes are currently offered with multiple schedules:

Core conditioning classes: Mondays and Wednesdays from 5 to 5:30 p.m.

Yoga classes: Tuesdays from 5 to 5:50 p.m., and Fridays from noon to 12:30 p.m.

Registration is required.

Find out more and register here.