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Employee & team features

snow plow clears snow in front of Suzzallo library
• Misty Shock Rule

Don Satko has lived in the Puget Sound region all his life. He doesn’t remember there being many snowstorms growing up in the 1970s, but “now it seems like it's every year,” he said.

As a heavy equipment operator with UW Facilities, Satko sees the impact of snowier winters up close. He runs the snowplows, de-icer truck and other equipment used to keep the Seattle campus safe. 

four people standing in a row
• Misty Shock Rule

While more than 1,000 people work in UW Facilities, most employees interact with a much smaller set of colleagues in their day-to-day jobs. Mechanics work with other mechanics and custodians with other custodians in their individual areas or shops. Building cross-team awareness is one of the goals of Stepping Stones for Success, UWF’s longtime leadership program for front-line staff. 

man shows a group of people a mop in a hallway
• Misty Shock Rule

On a Friday morning, a dozen people dance around a hallway in the Physics/Astronomy Auditorium. Chatter and laughter fill the air, but there’s no music. They aren’t dancing with each other, and their partners aren’t people. 

They are dancing with mops.

graduation cap with words 'hello world'
• Misty Shock Rule

Internships take education beyond book learning to hands-on learning. Students get to put a skill or knowledge into practice ahead of their career journey — experience especially valuable for the UW Facilities interns who are graduating this year.

group of people standing in two rows
• Misty Shock Rule

This article was updated on May 8 after it was announced that UW Facilities' Mike Morris won the DSA award for career achievement.

The UW's Distinguished Staff Award (DSA) is the University's highest staff honor, recognizing employees who exemplify excellence in collaboration, innovation, impact, career achievement, and diversity, equity and inclusion. 

man in a cherry picker examines the branch of a cherry tree against the background of a building in the Quad
• Misty Shock Rule

A lot has changed on the UW campus over the years. New buildings go up, old buildings get renovated and light rail tunnels down below. One thing remains constant: The cherry trees in the Quad bloom every March. 

two pictures, one on top of the other, of two different groups of people, one group holding certificates
• Misty Shock Rule

At the Nov. 16 graduation ceremony for Stepping Stones to Success, UW Facilities’ leadership development program for front-line staff, instructor Sarah Lewis-Assink joked, “The word ‘empathy’ has been used 14,546 times in this program.”

Two men standing in front of pipes and equipment
• Jacob Emmons

My name is Jacob Emmons and I am a metal tradesman at the UW. I’m part of a team in UW Facilities' Shop 16 that maintains and repairs equipment such as fans, pumps, water heaters and kitchen equipment. Most of our repairs are performed in the field or in our workshop located in the basement of Gould Hall.

photos of together we will award nominees
• Bettina Jones

Congratulations to custodian Evalina Taganna Romano for being one of the winners of the UW Together We Will award for 2022. She and the other winners from across the University will be honored at the 52nd annual Awards of Excellence reception at Meany Hall on Thursday, June 9.  The Together We Will Awards serve as a temporary replacement for the Distinguished Staff Award (DSA) program, which will be back next year.

boilers one and two from inside uw steam power plant
• Daimon Eklund