2022 Nevada County Employee Recognition Awards

Nevada County Supervisors presented the Employee Recognition awards to county staff during this afternoon’s session. Nominated by their peers and their respective departments, these employees truly represent “they who do the work.” Congratulations to all and thank you for your service.

The categories are:

• Employee of the Year
• Supervisor of the Year
• Innovative Employee of the Year
• Above and Beyond Employee of the Year
• Multiplier Employee of the Year
• Collaborative Employee or Team of the Year
• Rookie of the Year

Employee of the Year Nominees

Betsey Severn Penn Valley Library
Brenda Austin CDA Administration
Candace Pelham Department of Social Services
Galen Spittler Sheriff’s Office
Faye Hignight Department of Social Services
Fred Jefferson Behavioral Health Department
Jeanette Smith Assessor’s Office
Jeff Petersen Behavioral Health Department
Jennifer Montierth Health & Human Services Administration
Jerrilyn Gow Behavioral Health Department
Jessica Gavel Department of Social Services
Larry Kramer IGS-Facilities Department
Lindsey Gordon Information Systems
Matt Kelley CDA-Planning Department
Piret Griffith Truckee Library
Stacy Manning Building Inspection
Sydney Joyce Madelyn Helling Library

Winner: Galen Spittler Sheriff’s Office

Above and Beyond Employee of the Year Nominees

Patrick Cotton and Dexter Davis Auditor-Controller’s Office
Ben Hertel Probation Department
Ben Miller CDA-Building Department
Candace Pelham Department of Social Services
Carol Smith Public Health Department
Hannah Needham Department of Child Support Services
Hilary Peery Bear River Library
Sarah Graydon Department of Health & Human Services
James Coon Assessor’s Office
Jessica Rist CDA-Code Compliance Division
Kelly McKinley County Counsel’s Office
Kelly Seolas Behavioral Health Department
Laura Zettler-Mann Behavioral Health Department
Piret Griffith Truckee Library
Robyn Kleinhans Department of Social Services
Shannon Paulus CDA-Planning Department
Steve Humes Information Systems
Susan Kadera Human Resources Department
Traci Hart Veterans Services Department
Teri Polcene Department of Social Services

Winner: Piret Griffith, Library Technician, Truckee Library

Innovative Employee of the Year Nominees

Sarah Holyhead Board of Supervisors Office
Damian Norden Sheriff’s Office – Truckee
Luci Wilson Agricultural Commissioner’s Office

Winner: Sarah Holyhead, Administrative Analyst II with the Board of Supervisors

Multiplier of the Year Nominees

Joanna Armstrong Assessor’s Office
James Kraywinkel Health & Human Services Administration
Sarah Woolston Department of Social Services

Winner: James Kraywinkel, Accountant in HHSA Admin who serves the Public Health Department

Rookie of the Year Nominees

Maryann Bailey Environmental Health Department
Mandy Bender Behavioral Health Department
Ian Boalt Madelyn Helling Library
Susan Caplan CDA-Code Compliance Department
Mike Crow Information Systems
Cassandra Davis Department of Social Services
Brandon Donley Probation Department
Michelle Garcia Public Works Department-Roads Division
Heather Heckler County Executive Office
Julie Miller CDA-Building Inspection Department
Kim Musillani Public Health Department
Kyle Smith CDA-Planning Department
Celia Tate Assessor’s Office

Winner: Kyle Smith, Associate Planner, Planning Department

Supervisor of the Year Nominees

James Edwards CDA-Building Inspection Department
Randy Langer Sheriff’s Office
Jeff Merriman CDA-Code Compliance Department
Sandra Novak Public Works-Transit Department
Elise Strickler Information & General Services
Jenifer Triplett Assessor’s Office
Linda Valente Probation Department
Jeremy Vance Probation Department
Vicki Wills Assessor’s Office
James Zerbel Wastewater Management

Winner: James Zerbel, Wastewater Collection Supervisor, Public Works Department

Collaborative Employee or Team of the Year Nominees

Business Property Division Team of the Assessor’s Office
Gary Cassano, Alma Rowe, Melissa Owen

Community Development Agency River Fire Response Team
Claire Chapple CDA- Environmental Health Department
Allison Clark CDA- Environmental Health Department
Pat Day Public Works Department-Roads Division
James Edwards CDA-Building Department
Kelsey Hess CDA- Code Compliance Department
Amy Irani CDA- Environmental Health Department
David Huff CDA- Environmental Health Department
Karyn Kiger CDA- Public Works Administration
Elijah Larimer Public Works Department-Roads Division
Sara Lyon CDA- Environmental Health Department
Ricky Martinez CDA- Code Compliance Department
Ben Miller CDA-Building Department
Patrick Perkins Public Works Department-Roads Division
Richard Poole Public Works Department-Roads Division
John Veasy Public Works Department-Roads Division
Randal Yun CDA- Environmental Health Department

COVID-19 Dashboard Crew
Jill Blake Public Health Department
Lindsey Gordon Information Systems
Andrea Lehmkuhl Health & Human Services Agency
Heather Heckler County Executive Office
Holly Whittaker Public Health Department
Taylor Wolfe County Executive Office

David Nicholas CDA-Planning Department

GovQA Implementation Team
Kenneth Baker Information Systems
Sarah Holyhead Board of Supervisors Office

Information Services Applications Team
Kenneth Baker Information Systems
Mike Crow Information Systems
Alex Friant Information Systems
Mike Friebel Information Systems
Lindsey Gordon Information Systems
Jim Moncrieff Information Systems
Gary Richard Information Systems
Sebastian Roberts Information Systems
Ken Springsted Information Systems

Tax Assessment and Billing Improvement Team
Joanna Armstrong Assessor’s Office
Elizabeth Jakobs Treasurer-Tax Collector’s Office
Kayla Scott Auditor-Controller’s Office

The Nevada County Sheriff’s Office Day 1 Patrol Team
Luke Holdcroft Sheriff’s Office
Chris Stanio Sheriff’s Office
Jason Mackey Sheriff’s Office
Ryan Agamau Sheriff’s Office
Brian Condon Sheriff’s Office
Josh Stanis Sheriff’s Office
Galen Spittler Sheriff’s Office
Damien Norden Sheriff’s Office

Nevada County Library Winter Storm Response Team
Nevada County Library Staff

Assisting Our Veterans Team
Traci Hart Department of Social Services -Veterans Services Office
Tera Ireland Department of Social Services -Veterans Services Office
Rachel Pena Department of Social Services
David West Department of Social Services -Veterans Services Office

Public Works Project Team
Michelle Garcia Public Works Department
Karyn Kiger Public Works Department
Elijah Larimer Public Works Department
Sabrina Nicholson Public Works Department
Pat Perkins Public Works Department
Richard Poole Public Works Department
Kim Williamson Public Works Department

Shelbi Hawkins Department of Social Services

Website Creation Team
Heather Heckler County Executive Office
Taylor Wolfe County Executive Office

Team Human Resources
Human Resources Department

Web Content Creators Team
Natalie Adona Elections Office
Brenda Austin CDA-Administration
Brendan Brown Probation Department
Allison Clark Environmental Health Department
Vera DeFerrari CDA-Administration
Acacia Daniels Auditor-Controller’s Office
Michelle Durkin District Attorney’s Office
Kim Gentry-Ellis Agricultural Commissioner’s Office
Margaret Gilmore Grass Valley Library
Lindsey Gordon Information Systems
Michelle Greenspan County Counsel’s Office
Denise Harben District Attorney’s Office
Shannon Harney Public Health Department
Faye Hignight Department of Social Services
Sarah Holyhead Board of Supervisors Office
Cindy Hunt Human Resources
Priya Kannall Behavioral Health Department
Alex Keeble-Toll Office of Emergency Services
Kyle Kenney Elections Office
Annette LeFrancois Behavioral Health Department
Stacy Manning CDA- Building Department
Angela Masker Health & Human Services Agency- Housing and Community Services
Jennifer McCormack Correction’s Department
Angie Miller Elections Office
Stephanie Miller Department of Social Services
Hilary Peery Bear River Library
Jim Moncrieff Information Systems
Jason Robertson Department of Social Services
Amanda Rouse Treasurer-Tax Collector
Alma Rowe Assessor’s Office
Pat Schoellerman Information & General Services
Merrill Staub Probation Department
Zoe Toffaleti Department of Social Services
Andrew Trygg Sheriff’s Office-Dispatch Center
David West Department of Social Services- Veteran’s Services Office
Kim Williamson Public Works Administration
Luci Wilson Agricultural Commissioner’s Office