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Women Making History Award nomination
Mary Harker, ITD Human Resource Services manager

It is an honor and a privilege to write this nomination letter recommending Mary Harker for the Women Making History Award. Mary not only makes extraordinary contributions daily as the Human Resource Services Manager of the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD), she willingly shares her gifts, talents, passion, keen eye and expertise with others. Although Mary is not a civil engineer, she consistently shares her talents of “building bridges” with those in and outside of state government. In today’s transportation industry environment, mentors and leaders must be capable of working in concert with others to collaborate in creative endeavors, innovate, inspire and contribute without dominating any task. These are the talents Mary possesses that contribute to the environment in which her staff and colleagues can grow. Her contributions have given life, breadth and depth to support the message and vision of our organization.

Mary has also been dedicated to her own professional growth. She has educated herself throughout the years, earning a micro MBA and receiving certifications within a variety of HR disciplines.

Mary is not only ITD’s Human Resource Services Manager, she also serves within a variety of other leadership capacities such as partnering with members of the Idaho Legislature to positively impact ITD’s opportunity for success and serving as the chairperson of a national engineering organization – American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Subcommittee on Personnel and Human Resources. Recently she served as the chairperson for the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies Field of Special Projects completing the NCHRP PROJECT 20-72 PANEL report. This report is the product of National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Project 20-72, intended to assist transportation agencies in assuring that their personnel have the capabilities needed to meet the agencies’ critical mission requirements 5 to 10 years into the future. The specific objective of this project was to provide a guide to finding, selecting, and applying practical management tools for characterizing and assessing HR assets. These tools address personnel core competencies, preservation of institutional history and other mission-critical knowledge, staff recruitment and retention, staff development, and management succession. This report was nationally recognized and will be used as a tool to assist departments of transportation with meeting future transportation issues.

I have witnessed Mary mentor many people throughout her career. The example that I feel the most qualified to provide would be me. Over 16 years ago, Mary hired and trained me for a position within the ITD Human Resource Services section. She provided me the opportunity and security to learn, make mistakes, and grow within the Human Resource arena. Because of Mary’s efforts and willingness to allow me to learn, even at times stepping back to provide me the chance to shine, I had an opportunity to earn a promotion for a position within the Bureau of Human Resource Services for the Idaho State Police (ISP). The position provided me once-in-a-lifetime experiences, including projects that propelled me onto a national stage. During the years I was away, Mary continued mentoring me even though I didn’t work for her. While I received commendations and awards with ISP, a card or e-mail would always follow to Mary thanking her for helping me grow. I truly believe I would not be working in my position today if it wasn’t for Mary mentoring me.

Mary has always modeled what she expects from others. I have always said “Mary walks the talk;” she does what’s right, not necessarily what’s popular. I have personally witnessed situations where Mary could have taken the easy way out but she continues to do the right thing. Mary exemplifies the qualities of an outstanding, dedicated leader, who possesses personal integrity and a thoughtful communicative style. Her goal is to solve the problems not lay blame with those who caused them. In addition to helping others, she also provides them the opportunity to help themselves. She allows employees to make mistakes, brush themselves off and start again without demeaning their efforts.

When ITD was faced with difficult recruitment issues, including a shortage of staff engineers, Mary created and implemented a recruitment program that is now recognized throughout the state as being one of the most innovative and effective ideas within Human Resources. Her program not only provided ITD the qualified candidates to fill all open staff engineer vacancies, but continues to provide the best and brightest for all ITD positions. Other state agencies now contact ITD for guidance on recruitment issues, especially those that are deemed as “difficult or unattainable.” Mary refines all Human Resource processes and procedures regularly to ensure customers receive accurate information quickly and can make sound employment decisions with confidence.

Mary is the first to say “if one of my programs isn’t working, let’s change it!” She continually instructs her team to look for efficiencies that produce quality results. “If we are tracking something just to do it, stop it! We’re paid to support our customers, not to conduct busy work!” An example of Mary’s tenacity is when she reviewed an internal process that had been in place for many years, she told her staff to improve it. When she was faced with resistance she said “we must change, otherwise what value are we to our customers?”

Mary applies “best practice” business solutions, blending her technology and business savvy along with her commitment to constant improvement. She models a high level of performance and expects the same from those that work with her.
I am an ardent admirer of Mary’s giving spirit, creative talents and gifts no matter how demanding or pressing the situation. I urge you to please consider this nomination for Ms. Harker after many years of dedicated service. I feel it’s important to recognize her achievements and commitment.

Michelle George,
Senior Human Resources Specialist