Governor Gregoire Honors 26 Leaders in State Government

For Immediate Release: May 24, 2007

OLYMPIA �Governor Chris Gregoire today named 26 state managers as recipients of this year�s Governor�s Award for Leadership in Management. This year�s award marks the 22nd anniversary of a program that recognizes managers in state government who have demonstrated outstanding leadership.

�Exceptional managers are creative and accountable,� said Governor Gregoire. �These leaders are being recognized because they make things happen. Despite challenges, they have demonstrated results and make sure Washington government is delivering exceptional service to all Washingtonians.�

Recipients will attend an awards luncheon at the Executive Mansion. Managers were nominated by their agencies and selected based on their performance and ability to deliver results. A selection committee comprising agency directors and members of Governor Gregoire�s staff selected the winners from a statewide field of 42 managers representing 17 agencies.

The Leadership in Management program was created in 1985 to recognize state government managers who demonstrate excellent performance. In 2006, Governor Gregoire reinvigorated the program with focused criteria that emphasize performance, accountability and demonstrated business results.

2007 Recipients of the Governor�s Award for Leadership in Management

Steven M. Carley, Department of Ecology
Steve manages the financial management section of the Department of Ecology�s water quality program, which the federal EPA calls one of the best in the nation. Under his leadership, the program has done tremendous good for our environment. Thanks to Steve�s work in developing the �Local Loan Fund Approach,� real progress is being made in cleaning up leaky septic systems that are a major threat to water quality in Puget Sound and Hood Canal.

Laura Cusack, Department of Ecology
Laura is the lead Tri-Party Agreement administrator for the Department of Ecology�s Hanford nuclear waste program. She leads the Ecology team on the complex construction-permit process for the waste treatment plant at the Hanford Reservation. These types of permits normally take up to seven years to process but Laura and her team developed a strategy that allowed the U.S. Department of Energy and their contractor to get the permits within a two-year time frame. The Hanford Nuclear Reservation is a tremendous environmental liability and people like Laura are critical to cleaning it up.

Ginny Dale, Department of Personnel
Ginny has helped make personnel system reform real in Washington. Her experience at every level of human resources has made her a critical part of the department�s executive leadership team. She has successfully reorganized and redefined the personnel services division functions and services. At the same time, she is a leader in carrying out statewide civil service reform and setting the direction for the future of human resources in Washington.

Todd Dixon, Department of Employment Security
Todd is the Department of Employment Security�s WorkSource area director for Benton and Franklin counties, which includes four WorkSource service-delivery sites. He has led his team in making improvements where it counts � delivering results to customers. From November 2006 to January 2007, the percentage of unemployment claimants who received an initial jobs assessment more than doubled.

Denise Doty, Department of Corrections
Denise is the Comptroller for the Department of Corrections. She is responsible for overseeing business services provided at three regional service centers, 15 institutions and headquarters. She recently met the challenge of transitioning the department over to the state�s new payroll system. Because of Denise�s leadership and energy, the change happened smoothly.

Daniel Eikum, Washington State Patrol
Dan is a veteran of the Washington State Patrol. After retiring in 2004, he came back to head the Patrol�s fire resource mobilization program, hazardous materials training program and the state fire training academy. Dan was the person responsible for managing the mobilization process during the devastating 2006 wild land fire season � one of the worst in history. Dan�s skill saved taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Sharon Elias, Department of Labor & Industries
Sharon is the chief accounting officer for the Department of Labor and Industries. Last year she was instrumental in providing accounting reports and information that led to a �clean� actuarial opinion for the Workers� Compensation, Accident, Medical Aid, Pension and Supplemental Funds.

Tom Evans, Department of General Administration
Tom manages the Department of General Administration�s capital facilities planning. He is an architect who has spent his long career developing and overseeing management of plans that shape the future of public facilities. Last year, he led development of an innovative Capital Campus Master Plan that, among other things, saved the state a half million dollars by doing it in-house rather than using consultants.

Randy Hart, Department of Social and Health Services
Randy is the regional administrator for the region 3 division of children and family services. He is known for embracing new initiatives that bring real outcomes and have great promise. An example of Randy�s leadership is the resurrection of the regional children�s mental health initiative, a collaborative effort to bring scarce mental health resources to children.

Karin Hendrickson, Department of Revenue
As the Department of Revenue�s internal audit manager, Karin has extensive experience in auditing, conducting investigations, accounting, budgeting and strategic planning, as well as managing resources and personnel. She has excelled in ensuring the agency maintains its stellar reputation for accountability to Washingtonians. Karin has a reputation for quickly identifying what factual information might be missing, what information she needs and then knowing how to get it.

Laurie Jinkins, Department of Health
Laurie is assistant secretary for the division of health systems quality assurance. Last year, she helped to establish investigation protocols for sexual misconduct cases that led to standard definitions of sexual misconduct being adopted for the 23 professions regulated by the Secretary of Health. The result: greater public protection. Her legal background blends well with her common-sense approach to problem solving and her ability to connect with people.

Dariush Khaleghi (DK), Department of Veterans Affairs
Dariush heads human resources, technology and strategic planning at Veterans Affairs. He led the development of a web-based performance management system with a user-friendly design and has worked to �plain talk� each of the agencies goals and strategies. The web site is accessible to servicemen and women all over the world.

Julie Knittle, Department of Licensing
Julie is the administrator of prorate and fuel tax services at the Department of Licensing. Her skills were key to reaching and maintaining 14 formula-based fuel-tax agreements with Washington tribes, which mean millions of dollars in fuel taxes can flow into the state treasury.

Kathy Leitch, Department of Social and Health Services
Kathy is assistant secretary for aging and disability services. She is known among her co-workers as an incredible mentor and coach. She led the successful merger of the division of developmental disabilities with the aging and adult services administration.

Becky Loomis, Department of Licensing
Becky is the assistant director for driver services. She is a seasoned leader who constantly looks for ways to improve services to Washingtonians without compromising public safety. Most recently, her leadership was critical in developing a secure Washington driver�s license � one that would receive federal approval � to be used as an alternative to a passport when crossing the U.S.-Canada border.

Dave Marty, Office of the Insurance Commissioner
Dave is a project manager for the office of the insurance commissioner. He manages the transition to a new, mission-critical agency computer system to handle everything from consumer complaints to licensing data. Thanks to his skill and commitment, the project is near completion with a 99 percent rating from the Information Services Board, which reflects Dave's project management success.

Kathy Mertes, Department of Employment Security
Kathy is the northwest WorkSource area director for the Department of Employment Security. Her leadership and commitment to serving the public has drawn praise from many, including the grower community in the Wenatchee area. Among other things, Kathy and her staff have taken several unique steps to help growers secure the workers they need to harvest their crops.

Susan Miller, Department of Personnel
Susan is the first assistant director of the legal affairs division at the Department of Personnel. She manages eight teams with diverse and statewide responsibilities, ranging from legislation to workforce diversity and personnel appeals. Among other challenges, Susan integrated the state personnel appeals process into her division, a complex undertaking that occurred without a hitch.

Cynthia Mund, Department of Social and Health Services
Cindy is the regional administrator for the region 6 community services division at the Department of Social and Health Services. She is highly regarded as a manager able to build strong partnerships with employees and others, ensuring improvements that last. She led region 6 as it greatly increased the use of the diversion cash assistance program to improve the lives of eligible families and make the best use of public funds.

Jim Rising, Department of Veterans Affairs
Jim is an administrator at the Department of Veterans Affairs. He is a skilled technician in the very complex field of veterans� benefits. He demonstrated this in dramatic fashion when he conceived of and led the development of a process to connect significant numbers of veterans, spouses and widows in community long-term-care facilities with federal benefits, thus saving the state substantial expenditures.

Lynnae Ruttledge, Department of Social and Health Services
Lynnae is the director of the vocational rehabilitation division at the Department of Social and Health Services. She has taken steps to significantly reduce administrative expenditures and increase funds for direct client services � three million dollars more for clients in the past year. The division�s clients also receive more services earlier and clients are able to participate in pre-employment workshops and vocational exploration activities that expedite their job readiness and get them to work sooner.

Derek Sandison, Department of Ecology
Derek is the central regional director at the Department of Ecology. He is a leader who gets things done on the ground for the benefit of Washingtonians. For example, under Derek�s leadership, the Department of Ecology was able to complete the complex Environmental Impact Statement for the Columbia River water management program in one-third the time it normally would have taken.

Marty Sharf, Department of Labor and Industries
Marty is the Department of Labor and Industries� regional program manager for the northwest region. She has played a key role in streamlining audit processes so that the number of annual audits and penalties to employees for evading taxes has increased. She was instrumental in uncovering and managing a criminal case involving a fund-raising scam that diverted funds from disabled workers.

Michael Shinn, Attorney General�s Office
Michael is a senior assistant attorney general overseeing some 100 employees across the state. He served as the division attorney for an education-related church and state case, Locke v. Davey, which eventually was decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. Michael received a special Attorney General's Award in 2004 for his role in that case.

Scott Smith, Department of Information Services
Scott manages telecommunications planning and design at the Department of Information Services. He has skillfully negotiated and managed state-wide contracts for hardware, software and IT services. He helped the state develop sound technology lifecycle and cost-saving practices through Governor Gregoire�s initiatives for leasing, brokering and volume purchasing.

Captain C. Stephen Sutton, Washington State Patrol
Steve is the captain of the Washington State Patrol�s field operations bureau. Last year, he received the American Red Cross Police Rescue Award for performing life-saving CPR at the scene of a traffic accident. His energy and ability to create a focused team-spirit across the entire law enforcement community as challenges arise make him unique.

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