Communications Officer Ann Barrett presented with City Manager Leadership Award

City Manager Tom Hatch named Communications Officer Ann Barrett as the recipient of his monthly Leadership Award at the employee Meet and Greet Thursday Dec. 7 at City Hall.

“Ann is known for her exemplary work ethic, commitment to service and professionalism as well as her dedication to the development of new communication officer trainees,” City Manager Hatch said. “She is viewed as a leader within the Telecommunications Unit and her co-workers rely on her knowledge and experience daily.”

Barrett began her career with the City of Costa Mesa in February of 2010, when she was hired as a communications officer. Prior to that she had worked the year before as a part time communications officer for the city of Downey.

But her experience in the field goes back even further. She originally began her career as a dispatcher in 1981 with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. She worked there for eight years and in 1989 left that job to raise her children.

During her seven years with the city, she has diligently applied herself to expanding her knowledge with the aim of providing the highest level of service to the public safety profession and the community. Regardless of the task assigned, Barrett approaches it with a very positive attitude.

In August of 2013, Barrett earned the title of communications training officer.  This position is critical to the training of new employees.

Her experience in dispatch also helped police officers and detectives recently to solve what at first seemed like a call from an assault victim, but it was later discovered that the alleged victim had instead been involved in a homicide.

In addition to honoring Barrett, City Manager Hatch congratulated several new employees or newly promoted employees as well as four employees who are retiring. He also had a special recognition for outgoing Interim Finance Director Steve Dunivent, who is leaving the city at the end of December.

The new employees include Ellen Medalle, a new human resources analyst and from Economic and Development Services new hires include Ryan Bohr, building inspector, Courtney Harvey office specialist II, Sheila Larson, building technician, Kim Martinez intern and Aaron Thompson combination building inspector.

In the Parks & Community Services Department the new hires include Caitlin Knight recreation leader II, Amanda Mansfield recreation leader III, George Mosqueda recreation leader III and Vanessa Romero instructor guard.

Police Department new hires include Sarah Davila, crime scene specialist, Danielle Whitehead police records technician and Oscar Nichols police aide and in the Public Services Department Elliot Huang assistant engineer was welcomed.

The newly promoted employees are Ameerah Ghaznavi management aide in the City Manager’s Office, Jon Neal who has been promoted to assistant fire marshall, longtime employee Mike Tucker who moved from Code Enforcement to Parks and Community Services as a new management analyst and Catherine Pimentel, who was promoted as a new community service specialist for the Police Department.

Those honored for their retirements included Fire Captain Lenny Goodsir, who started his career in 1985 as a fire prevention intern, Ronald Penley who spent 28 years with the city as an equipment mechanic, Jody Gonzalez a police training assistant who started with Costa Mesa in 1987 and Liz Wright, a senior records technician who began her Costa Mesa career in 2004.

And finally, City Manager Hatch thanked Steve Dunivent for his four years of dedicated service to Costa Mesa. Dunivent took on the role of interim finance director in 2013 after retiring from the County of Orange, where he had a distinguished 30-year career.