WASHINGTON STATE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
2008 Leadership Award Nomination
Submitted to the Washington State Productivity Board
In March 2004 Marc Brenman was hired as the Executive Director of the Washington State Human Rights Commission (WSHRC). As the Executive Director he is responsible for the implementation of the agency’s strategic plan and carrying out its mandate under RCW 49.60, the Law Against Discrimination.
Mr. Brenman’s vision was and is to make WSHRC the leading expert on civil rights issues in the state and nationally. He has done this, in part, by forging partnerships with other state agencies, the business community, advocacy groups and any others seeking guidance on pressing civil rights issues.
At the time Mr. Brenman was hired, the WSHRC was in a downward spiral, internally and externally. Just before he became Executive Director, WSHRC’s budget for FY 2003-05 was cut by $790,000 or 17.6%. Because of the cut, the agency was unable to fund seven investigator positions, including two Civil Rights Specialists who would have been responsible for education and outreach. The agency also had no funds to hire a Deputy Director to assist with the internal operations. That position had been staffed until just prior to Mr. Brenman’s arrival, but was eliminated by the preceding director because of the funding cut. This made it very difficult to effectively carry out all the activities of the agency.
Each year the WSHRC responds to about 15,000 inquiries and of that number approximately 1,000 complaints of discrimination are investigated. Even though the agency was unable to fill the investigator positions, the agency’s caseload continued to increase and had to be absorbed by existing investigative staff. The industry wide average case load is between 30 and 35 cases per investigator. The WSHRC investigators’ caseloads were climbing to 70 cases each. These large caseloads had a domino effect on the entire agency operations. The time to complete investigations began to increase, which resulted in a higher number of aging cases. This meant that customers had to wait longer for their cases to reach resolution.
Stress and burnout increased and employee morale began to decline. This led to job dissatisfaction, which resulted in higher employee turnover. From March 2004 through December 2005 the agency lost ten investigators, three managers and several support staff. This created additional impacts on the quality and level of customer service.
At the time of Mr. Brenman’s hire the agency was also facing serious external turmoil. If a law enforcement agency is not able to respond promptly to its customers, they begin to lose faith and trust in state government. It was difficult to carry out our law enforcement mission, because businesses were not taking the law seriously, nor were they showing willingness to comply with the law. Consequently, the visibility, credibility, and reputation of the agency were at a low point in its history.
The agency investigates discrimination in employment and housing complaints through contracts with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. These federal contracts represent approximately 20% of the agency’s revenues. The loss of investigator positions jeopardized our ability to meet these contract obligations and consequently the agency did not meet its contract goals for the performance period FY 2004-05. This resulted in an additional $221,400 in revenue loss.
Mr. Brenman knew that in order for WSHRC to survive this crisis he would need to make immediate changes to address the organizational culture while balancing the needs of the agency employees; resurrect the image of the agency; implement the agency’s strategic plan; establish rapport with stakeholders; and meet federal contractual obligations.
In August 2005 Mr. Brenman approved and implemented clearly defined measurable performance standards for investigators that were consistent with GMAP principles. Prior to their implementation, production was usually low, although spikes in production created “peaks and valleys” in the number of cases closed monthly. Mr. Brenman anticipated that the performance standards would minimize these “peaks and valleys” in production and enhance customer service. He offered employees incentives to motivate them to achieve their maximum performance level. Those incentives included in-house training and promotional opportunities through the establishment of a career ladder. Employees were held accountable to the performance standards, which the managers applied fairly and consistently. Investigators now consistently close between 90 – 100 cases each month.
By November 2005 Mr. Brenman had begun to form a cohesive leadership team. He promoted an employee with 28 years of experience at WSHRC to Deputy Director. He hired Operation Managers for the Olympia and Seattle offices.
By early 2006 Mr. Brenman had a solid infrastructure in place, with focused, firm leadership and clearly defined performance standards that in turn redirected the agency focus toward improving customer service and creating a positive working environment for staff. Employee morale began to improve.
Mr. Brenman then focused his energy on implementing the agency’s strategic plan and increasing the agency’s visibility and credibility. He made personal appointments with community leaders, business leaders, advocacy groups, elected officials, and others throughout the state to discuss issues in their communities and listen to their concerns. Mr. Brenman continued his efforts in the community by forming and building positive relationships with regional and national civil rights organizations.
In the Spring of 2006 another challenge surfaced. As a result of not meeting our FY 2005-06 federal case contract goals, the agency faced an additional loss in revenue. The agency did not have adequate funding to support its existing staff resources. The WSHRC found itself in another financial crisis and was forced to place employees on notice of layoffs. However, through Mr. Brenman’s efforts and leadership and with the support of the Governor and the Legislators, the WSHRC was able to secure temporary state funding, which averted the need to implement a reduction in force.
Over the last year Mr. Brenman has worked collaboratively with the five Governor-appointed Commissioners to plan, coordinate, travel to and participate in numerous community forums statewide. The forums address a variety of emerging civil rights issues that adversely impact the constituents of this State. These community forums have captured the attention of the media, community and national leaders, local elected officials, employers, legislators, and constituents. The forums have expanded awareness of the Washington Law Against Discrimination and enhanced communication and collaboration among local groups with similar agendas. TVW has filmed several of the forums and often broadcasts them. The format has been adopted by other organizations as a model of public participation and involvement in governmental work.
On June 8, 2006 sexual orientation and gender identity was added as protected class under the Washington State Law Against Discrimination. The WSHRC published and posted on its website, innovative self-assessment checklists for employers and housing providers. The checklist is a free, practical tool for employers, housing providers, realtors, landlords and others who want to learn about, and be in compliance with, the sexual orientation and gender identity nondiscrimination jurisdiction. The checklist is the first of its kind in the nation. Other state civil rights agencies, including California, Iowa, Maine, New Jersey, and Iowa, have requested and are using the checklist.
The WSHRC received recognition for the guides from Governor Gregoire and national commendation from the International Association for Official Human Rights Agencies. In 2006, the Ingersoll Gender Center in Seattle awarded the Judith Botzer Award to WSHRC in appreciation for our nationally-recognized efforts.
Under Mr. Brenman’s guidance, the agency website at www.hum.wa.gov has become an excellent resource. In addition to the guidance document described above, links on the website take visitors to information about a number of issues or matters, including farm worker rights, WA Native American issues and resources, disability matters and agency outreach and training. WSHRC now has an online complaint form that customers can easily access to begin the complaint filing process. Currently about 60% of our complaints are generated online.
It is now March 2008 and under Mr. Brenman’s leadership the enforcement staff has maintained steady case production since July 2006. The agency met and exceeded both federal contracts and generated an additional $220,000 in revenue during FY 2005-07. There have been nine promotions through the agency’s career ladder, including the promotion of a Customer Service Specialist to a Civil Rights Investigator 1 through an in-training program.
The agency expanded its services by opening a Vancouver satellite office in addition to its four established offices in Olympia, Seattle, Spokane and Yakima. This summer, in order to be more centrally accessible to the large Spanish-speaking population in Eastern Washington, the Yakima office will move to new offices in Pasco. That office will be staffed by four investigators, including a Civil Rights Specialist, who are fluent in Spanish and English.
Staff diversity and the ability to provide services to a diverse population have been important goals for Mr. Brenman. We currently have eight staff who provide dual-language services (Spanish and Vietnamese) to our customers and seek to hire additional investigators who are fluent in other languages.
Prior to Marc Brenman’s arrival this Commission conducted little or no outreach to the American Indians in Washington State who live off and on the reservation. Historically, the needs and rights of American Indians have been ignored. Under Mr. Brenman’s guidance, that has changed. WSHRC held Urban Indian Forums in Eastern and Western Washington. The agency has partnered with Indian agencies, reached out to tribes and changed the image of the Washington State Human Rights Commission. Mr. Brenman is not afraid to speak out on important issues such as Indian Child Welfare and tribal rights. He wrote a compelling letter condemning a violent video game for children where Indians were scalped to earn points. The letter was widely distributed and posted on our website and judging by the responses and comments, was greatly appreciated.
Every culture other than the American Indian in the Northwest is represented by someone. Marc had a vision that an agency could be formed so that American Indians have a voice. With his leadership and guidance, a group was formed that created a private non-profit agency to address civil rights issues in Indian Country.
As the leader of the State’s civil rights agency it was and is important to Mr. Brenman to follow through on statutory commitments, implement the agency’s strategic plan, support staff in their work, and encourage better planning and coordination among community leaders to effectively address important and emerging civil rights issues. The successes have been many and have moved WSHRC toward becoming the premier civil rights agency in the nation.
Mr. Brenman operates with the highest personal integrity and expects and receives the same from his staff. He models the commitment that he expects of his staff and holds himself and staff accountable. Yet he is very supportive of and sensitive to staffs’ well being and provides opportunities for professional development and recognition. He is personally and professionally committed to ensuring that those who are marginalized by society are equally supported and served. He frequently uses the phrase “government in the sunshine.” That phrase captures his philosophy of open government that is accountable to the people of the State of Washington.
It is for these reasons and more that the managers of the WSHRC respectfully nominate Executive Director Brenman for the 2008 Leadership Award.
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