TRACY, Calif. –
Kristen Roberts, administrative assistant, at DLA Distribution San Joaquin, California is the recipient of the DLA Distribution 2019 Equal Employment Opportunity of the Year Award.
“Mrs. Roberts’ focus on people and culture and her efforts throughout the year reached across the installation and local community, and truly captured the essence of the Equal Employment Opportunity Employee of the Year,” said DLA Distribution San Joaquin Deputy Commander Ms. Jodie Johnson-Micks.
Whether in an administrative capacity or volunteering on team building efforts, she worked diligently to create an inclusive environment for more than 1,500 employees across the installation and was passionate about improving the morale and welfare for San Joaquin’s diverse workforce.
As the administrative assistant for the Distribution and Specialized Missions Group, she meticulously managed administrative actions for the organization’s most diverse group, supporting three divisions, five branches, over 300 employees and 27 managers. She was the cornerstone to managing a multitude of administrative programs including training, appraisals, leave, time keeping, staffing, record keeping and new employee on-boarding.
Further, she single-handedly managed the group’s $125,000 awards budget, including cash awards, hazardous pay incentives and honorary awards. She created a detailed tracking mechanism to ensure the money was being distributed equitably among all work centers and employees.
As the human resource staffer for the group, she helped increase diversity across demographics, to include Schedule A and veterans. During her tenure, she played a key role in 70 hiring panels resulting in on-boarding over 100 new hires.
Roberts is the distribution center’s “go-to” for administrative support. She served as our administrative subject matter expert and trained six subordinate administrative assistants assigned within her group. She also fielded questions from admins outside her group and ensured they were equipped to support their respective areas.
Always willing to go the extra mile, she went above and beyond when employees were unable to come to work and update their medical and insurance information due to extended medical leave. She even traveled to their homes and helped one employee fix his medical coverage during open enrollment and assisted another employee, who was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and undergoing chemotherapy treatments to update his life insurance beneficiary.
Roberts is a true team player. She routinely volunteered to support the command office, by stepping in and serving as the command secretary. The exceptional, last-minute support she provided was quintessential in keeping the front office manned and, more importantly, allowing the senior staff to remain focused on our critical and demanding mission. Further, when the command secretary was put on extended medical leave, she was selected by the commander to fill-in fulltime.
People and culture are her top priority. She currently serves as the president of the Civilian Welfare Fund. In line with EEO tenants and sustaining our people, Roberts served admirably going above and beyond in recruiting representatives from each work center across the distribution center. She understood the importance of having a diverse group of employees on the team to add value and ensure all areas were represented and had a voice with CWF activities.
Throughout the year she orchestrated fundraisers, hosted team building events, gave back to the community and raised over $9,000 to fund future morale boosting activities for over 1,500 San Joaquin employees and their families.
Additionally, her stellar reputation for excellence led to her appointment as the treasurer for the American Federation of Government Employees Local 1546 when the previous treasurer was sidelined unexpectedly due to a medical condition.
She stepped-up to assist during the implementation of the president’s executive order and prior to the union’s election. She assumed this role without missing a beat and kept financial operations up and running.
Her outstanding work and ethic and leadership skills go beyond the fence line. Roberts vigilantly bolstered community relations by donating to our site’s annual food drive by donating a record-breaking 210 turkeys, 30 pounds of perishable goods and 150 gifts for 33 less fortunate children.
“Mrs. Roberts is an integral part of Team San Joaquin and key to our center’s exemplary commitment to equal employment opportunity, diversity and inclusion for all employees. Her performance this past year was nothing less than remarkable,” concluded Johnson-Micks.