Department of Defense Education Activity

Employee of the Quarter Second Qtr 2019

Stephen Hertz Pic# 3

Mr. Stephen M. Hertz

Facility Operations Specialist, Headquarters

Employee of the Quarter

April - June 2019

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As a Facility Operations Specialist, Mr. Hertz is responsible for a vast and diverse portfolio of products and services including facility construction, repair, and maintenance services; real property management; facility condition assessments; environmental issues; custodial services; grounds maintenance; pest control; refuse and recycling; utilities; space management; and special systems. He supports students, parents, educators, and administrators that utilize DoDEA educational and administrative facilities in CFAY including Kinnick High School, Yokosuka Middle School, Sullivans Elementary School, and Ikego Elementary School.

Mr. Hertz has demonstrated time and again his dedication to his customers, his team, and his organization. Utilizing collaborative leadership, Mr. Hertz worked with Kinnick High School administration, his Logistics Division and IT Division colleagues, and the Public Works Department to accomplish a complete relocation of 10 classrooms from a failed structure to a newly renovated space within very tight scheduling constraints, accommodating annual student testing.

Mr. Hertz is the “face of the organization” for his supported parties and is the consummate communicator, the paragon of transparency, with a talent for the straight talk that his customers expect.

As a credentialed Facility Management Professional and a Project Management Professional, Mr. Hertz often times goes beyond his job duties, temporarily expanding his role when necessary and working the necessary extra time to ensure that the overall job is correctly and completely executed.

Mr. Hertz demonstrates innovation by pursuing contracted solutions for facility requirements utilizing the DLA Prime Vendor, a program that allows DoDEA to rapidly procure solutions that include incidental construction. Responsibly exploiting additional avenues of execution will allow DoDEA to reduce backlog of smaller facility requirements, freeing engineering and acquisition resources to focus on more complex and extensive requirements.

Mr. Hertz shows keen political acumen by working behind the scenes with his contacts and the leadership at Public Works Department to acquire long-term utilization of existing facility space, obviating the need for the construction of a new facility, and saving DoDEA and taxpayers $6 million.

Mr. Hertz’s sustained excellence, sense of duty, and demonstrated responsibility bring great credit upon himself, DoDEA, and the Department of Defense.