Black Belt
Rock Stars In The Making-Cohort #74
Congratulations to April’s Cohort #74! Not only did they rock their week of Black Belt Training, they hit the ground running with the first innovation submitted a mere 72 hours […]
Congratulations to April’s Cohort #74! Not only did they rock their week of Black Belt Training, they hit the ground running with the first innovation submitted a mere 72 hours after Ignite presentations on Friday! It should also be mentioned that at least three people in Cohort #74 were already working with many teams and committees back at their agencies to lead innovation efforts. So, like I said, Rock stars!
Cohort #74, also known as Mt. Ouray, represented the following agencies and cities:
- Denver Parks & Recreation- Parks Maintenance
- Department of Finance- Real Estate and BMO
- Public Works- Street Maintenance
- Tech Services- Applications Development and Project Management
- Office of Economic Development- Division of Small Business Opportunity
- Department of Environmental Health- Public Health Inspections
- City Council- Operations
- Denver Human Services
- Denver Public Library
- Denver Fire
- Denver County Courts
- Community Planning & Development
- The City of Boulder
- Kaiser Permanente
They are a diverse group, a passionate group, and open to reaching across the city and departments to seek advice and partnership.
While the highlights for Mt. Ouray’s week in Black Belt are very important-
They went on Gemba Walks to Denver Elections Division, Denver Human Services’ Child Welfare Placement Navigation, and the Office of Economic Developments’ Division of Small Business Opportunity. Mt. Ouray also had special external participants from Boulder and Kaiser who brought great perspective and energy to the class. What stands out the most is the solid engagement and innovative thinking post Black Belt for Cohort #74.
Park’s Jason Bazanac has already created standard work for his crew, which sparked production boards and multiple 6S projects in his shop; Curtis Anthony from Real Estate not only created a form to help his customers flow through a city process, but he brought together multiple teams for a process mapping session to visualize their workflow for billing and invoices; and Aaron Johnson from Public Works accidentally created a movement on his team…upon his return from Black Belt, three of his colleagues sent in innovations to become Green Belt certified! These are just a few examples of what it looks like to go back and execute on your ideas.
Keep Innovating, Keep Elevating, & Repeat!
patricepeakacademy
Patrice Hawkins is a Process Improvement Specialist for the City and County of Denver with the Peak Academy. Before joining Peak in 2013, Patrice started her career with the city as a Supervisor with Denver Human Services, and became Manager of the Customer Service Team, supporting intake processes for food assistance, Medicaid, and critical risk teams. During her first two years with the Peak team, Patrice worked closely with her colleagues facilitating process improvement events and trainings with the Office of Economic Development, Denver Public Library, and Denver Parks and Recreation. Patrice rejoined the Peak Academy in early 2018 after completing her Masters in Social Work at New York University, where she specialized in policy, advocacy, and juvenile justice. She works to improve the daily experience for customers and city employees, and loves seeing the diversity of people, talent, and innovation in our city. Patrice grew up in Des Moines, Iowa and currently lives in Denver where she enjoys running, thrifting, and drinking too much coffee.
Denver Peak Academy 
I really miss the ENERGY that this GROUP brought to this experience! I certainly hope everyone is doing GREAT!!!!!
All the best!!! COHORT 74
Curtis I. Anthony
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