Champion Business Leader

Shirley Maike – City of Medical Lake

Champion Business Leader Shirley Maike is the Mayor for the City of Medical Lake. She also served as the ETC for many years at Eastern State Hospital.

Shirley believes it’s important for the City of Medical Lake to model commute behavior and to share tips and successes with residents and businesses so they too can see the benefits. With Medical Lake’s large trail system, walking or biking to work is safe and easy.

With Medical Lake being a small town, almost everyone who lives in the city can walk or bike to work and commuting with another employee is easy on everyone. Shirley believes their CTR program has generated a sense of teamwork where everyone can share their commute stories and plans for how they’ll fulfill their obligation to use a commute option.

Shirley feels one of the biggest challenges in promoting CTR is the age-old excuse, “I might need my car for work”. Vehicles have become indispensable and we’ve all gotten into the habit of driving everywhere.

As a leader, Shirley thinks it’s important to model walking or biking to work. Ensure staff are aware of worksite amenities provided to support commute options. Make it a regular point of discussion, not just when there’s an event.

Shirley says, “ETC, Felicia Irish, has done a fabulous job and has increased employee awareness of CTR and why using any commute option is good for the employee and the planet”.