Mayor's Office

This week, continuing our recognition tradition launched in 2020, we gathered for #TeamCity Awards to celebrate 5 outstanding City of Madison employees and 5 outstanding City Teams of various backgrounds. This month’s celebration was a part of Public Service Recognition Week, recognizing and showing appreciation for the valuable service provided by local government employees to our community.

The success of Madison is built on the tireless efforts of those who work behind the scenes. The #TeamCity awards recognize these individuals for their outstanding contributions, and this month’s winners are true role models for all of us. The employees and teams were selected from a large pool of candidates that were nominated by their peers from within or outside their own division. These nominations were interesting to read, and continue to give me confidence that the work that we do for this community is in good hands.

Individual Awardees:

The #TeamCity Administration Award goes to Mary Richards. Mary is the Purchasing Supervisor at Finance Department. She consistently works towards making the City’s purchasing processes more equitable. Her contributions to the Contracting Equity Team have been key in championing the team’s initiatives and updating purchasing guidelines to ensure greater diversity and inclusion in the procurement process. Mary’s commitment to facilitating the team’s monthly meetings and ensuring the work progressed while the Department of Civil Rights recruits to fill vacancy highlights her dedication to her work. She also serves as an active member of the Women’s Initiatives Committee, demonstrating her commitment to promoting gender equity. Mary’s timely, thoughtful, and accurate responses to inquiries help keep the work of other City agencies moving forward efficiently. Mary was nominated by Fleet General Supervisor Rachel Darken.

The #TeamCity Community Service & Support Award goes to Hoyt Harrison. Hoyt is an Operations Supervisor at Metro Transit. Metro Operations never stop. Hoyt is part of the team that makes sure that busses and staff are available for the numerous citywide and regional routes and the system keeps running efficiently and on time around the clock, and throughout the year. He monitors and directs the daily activities at Metro Transit. Hoyt's colleagues speak highly of his many positive qualities, from his willingness to lend a helping hand to his friendly and approachable demeanor. Hoyt is not only a skilled and effective Operations Supervisor, but also a valued member of the Metro team. Hoyt Harrison was nominated by Stephen Bayer.

The #TeamCity Public Health & Safety Award goes to Joie Tinberg. Joie is a crossing guard at the Traffic Engineering Division team, providing an essential service to the community by ensuring the safety of school children and families as they cross the street to go to school and home. If you drive around Madison, you know how busy our streets can get especially at rush hour. As a crossing guard, Joie often faces challenging situations that require her to think on her feet and respond quickly to ensure the safety of those in her care. While on duty as a crossing guard, Joie went above and beyond the call by rescuing an unaccompanied baby from approaching traffic and held the baby until the police arrived. Joie's work as a crossing guard is vital to the well-being of the community. Joie Tinberg was nominated by Yang Tao, Renee Callaway, and Alex Stewart.
 

The #TeamCity Public Works & Land Use Award goes to Jack Brody. Jack is the Landfill Operations Manager at Engineering Department. He is responsible for managing and operating the city’s closed landfills, ensuring protection of the environment and public health. He earned his BS in Geological Engineering from UW-Madison. He supervises daily environmental monitoring, maintenance of equipment and infrastructure, and communication of upcoming events to the public. He oversees routine groundwater monitoring, and he supervised a public works construction project at the Mineral Point Landfill almost daily, all while the unit was understaffed. Jack is known for problem-solving and listening to his employees to improve landfill operations and maintenance. His work helps fulfill the city’s commitment to well-being and stewardship of the environment. Jack Brody was nominated by Brynn Bemis.

The #TeamCity Mayor’s Choice Award goes to Angela Puerta. Angela is an urban planner at the Department of Planning & Community & Economic Development. Her focus areas include urban design, community planning, and engagement. She worked on the Town of Madison attachment project for the last year, mainly focusing on effective community outreach and communication through this major transition. She managed the website, created flyers, and translated information into Spanish. Angela coordinated six public information meetings and responded to emails and voicemails from the hotline, always answering questions in a timely, friendly and calm manner. In her spare time, she is a highly talented musician and you can find her at high-profile gigs throughout town. Angela Puerta was nominated by Rommel Tijerino.

Team Awardees:

The #TeamCity Award Administration Team is COVID-19 Response Team, nominated by Michael Haas. The team members are staff of Municipal Court, MPD Court Services, City Attorney’s Office and IT Department. Due to COVID, the Municipal Court had to quickly shift from in-person to virtual proceedings, and the agencies involved worked to create a new electronic system. The City Attorney’s Office solved the challenge of converting the paper intake form to an electronic form. The IT Department supported other agencies in creating new email addresses, providing Zoom support, and developing the option for hybrid court proceedings. These departments also implemented the option for defendants to choose hybrid court proceedings. The transition involved moving from paper-based to electronic systems, revamping the Municipal Court website, and allowing for virtual appearances. This modernization improved efficiency and accommodated pre-trial conferences by telephone. Staff from Municipal Court, MPD Police Court Services, City Attorney Office and IT Department worked seamlessly together to modernize the municipal court system in response to COVID, including transitioning to electronic records and offering virtual court appearances. Congratulations to the multi-agency COVID-19 Response Team who kept an efficient, sustainable, and equitable municipal court system running.
 

The #TeamCity Award Community Service & Support Team is Community Events Department, nominated by Sara Carrizal, Bill Zeinemann, and Connie Thompson. Team members are Kristen Durst, Misty Lohrentz, Heather Sabin, Lisa Maly, and Todd Brei. The Community Events team at Monona Terrace is a phenomenal group of people dedicated to preserving and sharing the story of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Monona Terrace, and being a tourism destination throughout the pandemic. They offered virtual programs like meditation and yoga classes, video tours of the building, and virtual events like “Lakeside Kids!” and “Maker Faire”, which were embraced by the community. They converted many of their virtual programs into hybrid events, offering both in-person and online options. The Team also planned and developed programming for the 25 Year Anniversary Celebration of Monona Terrace while ensuring other events went on as planned. Now, they are dedicated to the future vision of Monona Terrace. We are excited to see what the future of Monona Terrace has in store.

The #TeamCity Award Public Health and Safety Team is COVID Data Team, nominated by Katarina Grande. Team members are Katarina Grande, Brittany Grogan, Manjari Ojha, Rebecca LeBeau, Casey Schumann, Crystal Gibson, and Rachel Kulikoff. The COVID Data Team was established in March 2020 to rapidly establish a COVID data dashboard that became the cornerstone of keeping the community informed of trends related to COVID and “gating” protocols. The team also developed and tracked internal and external indicators and process measures, conducted media interviews, and provided technical assistance and data to internal and external partners. Despite facing challenges with resilience and a collaboration approach, the team succeeded in providing accessible, timely, and actionable data related to COVID for three years. It is an important moment to reflect on the past three years, and the COVID Data Team deserves recognition for their outstanding work and dedication to serving the community for all of Dane County during the pandemic.

The #TeamCity Award for Public Works & Land Use Team goes to the Fleet Satellite Technicians Team, nominated by Rachel Darken. Andrew Harrison, Scott Tetzlaff, Jay Hyatt, Ian Jones, Andrew Dalton, and David Johnson work on the West side of town, embedded in their client agencies’ auto repair garages. These Fleet Technicians embedded with the City's Engineering and Streets departments on the west side are a crucial component of our maintenance and repair operations. These six work closely with customers to prioritize repairs and inspections daily. Their outstanding work with a high degree of independence has been praised by Fleet managers and customers alike, and they play a vital role in keeping equipment running smoothly to ensure uninterrupted City services. Each technician has their unique responsibilities, from day and night shift duties to highly specialized equipment maintenance. The efforts of the skilled Satellite Technicians Team in taking care of crucial equipment behind the scenes deserves our appreciation today.

The #TeamCity Award Mayor’ Choice Team is Central Payroll Team, nominated by Coleen Lisauskas. Team members are Coleen Lisauskas, Jeff Daniels, Kathy Hamre, Sarah Russell, and Lucero Peña. The Central Payroll team oversees the processing and administration of the entire City’s biweekly payroll. The Central Payroll team touches every employee related change, whether it’s a new hire, termination, promotion, demotion, W4 change or important benefits including health, dental, vision, flex, WRS, life, and wage insurance adjustments. They have persevered through significant challenges, including the pandemic, furloughs, and staff turnover, all while staying up-to-date on changing payroll laws and policies. Despite the many obstacles, they have consistently delivered excellent service and have worked tirelessly to implement new digital processes to improve efficiency. This team truly deserves recognition for their outstanding dedication and hard work in supporting the City's workforce.