Session: "Intro to Lean"
Track: Business and Program Management

9:00am - 12:00pm
Speaker: Debra Hentz, Lean Specialist, Local Government Performance Office

Description: More than most other government departments and agencies, Parks & Rec are being asked to deliver more with less.  Budgets have been slashed, staffing is at an all-time low and many programs are being eliminated.  Yet, public servants continue the struggle to deliver required services with existing resources for the good of the communities they serve.  Lean performance improvement strategies are helping governments deliver services to citizens more effectively by reducing variation, waste and delays in complicated processes.  These strategies are common in business and industry.  Now local governments are embracing Lean and being helped by the Local Government Performance Center as part of the WA State Auditor’s Office.

What you will learn: This session will cover the basics of what Lean is, where it is being implemented in local governments and some practical options of how to start (or continue) your own Lean journey.

Speaker Bio: Debra Hentz

Debra is the Lean Specialist for the Local Government Performance Center within the State Auditor’s Office specializing in customized Lean methodology training and process improvement facilitation.

Prior to joining the State Auditor’s Office in January 2014, Debra spent 5 years with Clark College Student Affairs in Vancouver, WA, and 20 years at the Hewlett Packard Company as an Engineering Manager in the areas of product design, lean manufacturing, and worldwide operations.  Her primary areas of concentration included project management, continuous process improvement and leading change initiatives.

Debra holds a Master of Public Affairs degree from Washington State University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin.

Even though she has never held a “paid position” in a Parks Department, she is a community advocate with a passion for parks.  She is the lead for multiple volunteer teams in her Vancouver, WA, neighborhood:  Adopt-a-Park program, Neighborhood Association coordination, and grant coordination for adding equipment to her local pocket park.

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