Champion Commuter

Lisa Gillingham, WA State DSHS Trent/CSO/CCNE/Region 1

Lisa is a Public Benefits Specialist 3 for DSHS. She began working for DSHS in Spokane in 2007. Living west of town, and having a 32-mile round trip commute, Lisa wanted to save money on gas and reduce the miles and wear & tear on her vehicle. She began carpooling to work with a couple of co-workers and did so for about 4 years. In 2011, Lisa had the opportunity to apply for a full-time teleworking position and has been doing so for the last 13 years!

Lisa is a very independent worker and enjoys the quiet when working from home. It also provides her a better work-life balance. She gets up each morning and gets herself ready for the day as if she’s going into the office. On occasion, she may have some equipment issues and if they’re not able to fix them, she’ll have to drive into the office. So, she always wants to be prepared. Lisa also uses less leave because even if she’s not feeling great, she can still work from home.

ETC, Nick Swan, says “Lisa has been a consistent participant and fills out her calendar without reminders. Even when there were no incentives, she always updated her calendar”.

Since Lisa began logging her trips in 2011, she has saved nearly 70,000 miles from being driven on our roads and nearly $20,000 in fuel and maintenance costs.

Congratulations Lisa!