FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Lynnwood Selects New Human Resources Director
Christine Scarlett to oversee Human Resources Department

Christine Scarlett with Mayor Smith and the City Council after her unanimous confirmation as the City's new Director of Human Resources.

LYNNWOOD, WA (August 2, 2016) - Mayor Nicola Smith is pleased to announce her appointment of Christine Scarlett as the new City of Lynnwood Human Resources Director. On Monday, August 1, 2016, the Lynnwood City Council unanimously approved Mayor Smith's appointment of Christine Scarlett to serve as the City's new Human Resources Department Director. 

The City of Lynnwood enlisted the Prothman Company to conduct an executive search which resulted in a pool of well qualified candidates. "Christine has extensive public sector human resources experience, she is talented and has a great strategic planning background," said Mayor Nicola Smith. "She'll step right in and become a strong leader to the Human Resources team and a great partner to my leadership team. We are looking forward to her help in maximizing our existing talent and helping to recruit and retain a diverse workforce to better reflect our community."

Christine has worked in the public sector for the past 15 years within both small and large, complex organizations, and has served in executive human resources leadership roles at the University of Washington, Snohomish Health District and the City of Seattle. Most recently, at the City of Seattle, she was the Director of Human Resources for the Human Services Department, where she was instrumental in leading the department's Race and Social Justice Initiative's (RSJI) Change Team in ensuring all employees remained engaged and committed to serving the City's most vulnerable people, and focused on eliminating barriers for people of color. She was also selected to serve on the Citywide Human Resources Strategic Planning Team that developed Seattle's five-year human resources strategic plan in 2016, which focuses on streamlining and consolidating human resources efforts for over 11,000 Seattle employees, thereby ensuring a seamless and consistent employee experience within all 26 departments and 14 executive offices.

Christine is looking forward to the opportunity to support the City of Lynnwood’s assessment of its benefits programs to align with the Affordable Care Act, and collaborating with the human resources team to ensure the City of Lynnwood's employee benefits are both fair to employees and cost effective for Lynnwood. She will bring a collaborative approach to Lynnwood and deliver relevant, practical and measurable impacts. In her new role with the City of Lynnwood, Christine will collaborate with her team to lead the City through an evaluation process to align staffing levels with delivery of services. Christine has been recognized for transformative leadership practices to ensure the recruitment, hiring and retention of qualified and diverse staff.

Christine attended the University of South Carolina, where she majored in Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Administration. She lives in Seattle and comes from a very close-knit family, who live very close to each other in Seattle. 

The City of Lynnwood has been without a permanent Human Resources Director since May 2014, when Paula Itaoka accepted a position with the City of Shoreline.  

About City of Lynnwood

Incorporated in 1959, Lynnwood is the economic hub of South Snohomish County. Situated at the convergence of interstates I- 5 and I-405, Lynnwood’s accessibility, variety of housing and employment options, colleges and outstanding park system attract a wide variety of businesses and residents. For its diverse population of more than 36,000, Lynnwood is a great place to live, work and play. Lynnwood Moving Forward: Our Community Vision – the City will be a regional model for a sustainable, vibrant community with engaged citizens and accountable government. Lynnwood is…a great deal more!

Contact:
Julie Moore, Manager of Communications & Public Affairs
jmoore@LynnwoodWA.gov
425-670-5023

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