Part I, 2011 Staff Award Winners

Join us this summer as we spotlight our 2011 Staff Award winners each week. In our first post, we honor Cathy Carlson.

In the early part of 2009, Cathy Carlson, who had worked in various jobs around the district, took a position in the capital programs department. Since that time, she has become a furnishings and moving genius. She took on the responsibility to work with the planning principal and lead office staff of our new or remodeled schools and offices to determine furnishing needs including the purchasing, installation and troubleshooting of said furnishings. Additionally, she also arranged for the physical moving of contents of these schools.

To date, Cathy has coordinated the moving of more than half of our district staff and programs including Helen Baller, Grass Valley, Hayes Freedom, Extended Day, Special Services, District Office, Technology, Operations, Community Ed, Copy Center, and more. She also took on project management responsibilities, such as the conversion of JDZ into the Zellerbach Administration Center–which turned out amazing.

Cathy is highly organized, and refers to herself as the Queen of Spreadsheets. She also notices things that need to be done, and does them without fuss. However, what makes her special is her personal touch, caring attitude, and style. Her ability to treat all staff with the same kindness and patience has removed much of the difficulty engendered by the stressful process of moving. She brings problem-solving skills and a calm, cool, professional demeanor to work every day, and consistently does an incredible job.