As I described in a recent presentation to the County Board, there are already a number of exciting activities underway to support our growth and development as a model employer. As you can tell by this list, many of these efforts are constructed using a team approach. In fact, they have been consciously developed based on the successful structural model used in the County's Violence Prevention Initiative. In this model, teams of people develop and put in place multiple ways to spark and implement positive, large-scale change. I am a firm believer in the use and value of such work teams.
People often do their most creative thinking during problem-solving discussions with others.
With this belief in mind, I am pleased to announce the creation of a new cross-departmental team whose charge is to work with me and our Ramsey County community to develop this County as a model employer. Again, we will model the structure of this team on the County's Violence Prevention Initiative. The staff I have charged to work with me on this task are Gail Blackstone, Julie DeCosse, Don Gault, Connie Peikert, Shirley Pierce, Terry Speiker, Sara Taylor, and Karen Tero. I am especially pleased to announce my appointment of Julie DeCosse to this effort. Julie will be located in the County Manager's Office, and it will be her job to act as our convener and facilitator.