Cathy Brown, DEQ Materials Management Program, Western Region 
Bill Moore, Water Quality Program, Headquarters 
Jaclyn Palermo, Air Quality Manager, Headquarters 
Submitted by Jennifer Taylor, Grants & Business Systems Coordinator, Headquarters 
Donald Hendrix, Operations & Policy Analyst, Headquarters 
Kimberlee Van Patten, Emergency Response Duty Officer, Headquarters 
Brian Creutzburg, Tualatin Basin Coordinator / Water Quality Trading. Northwest Region 
Sophia Cain, Chemist at the Laboratory and Environmental Assessment Division 
While Oregonians are practicing physical distancing and taking other precautions as we weather the COVID-19 pandemic together, staff can still connect whether it’s 6 feet or 6 miles apart. Here are some friendly faces of staff from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality who continue to adjust to working at home.
It may sound great to be able to work at home – especially if it means working in your pajamas or doing laundry over the lunch hour. But it’s not always easy when for example, you’re a caregiver, have kids or pets needing attention, a noisy rommate or if there’s loud construction work going on next door.
At the same time, DEQ’s teleworkers recognize and appreciate the significant risks that essential workers take everyday when they go to the office or work in the field to keep operations going to protect the health of the public and the environment.
DEQ’s staff in the information technology office managed to connect hundreds of their colleagues remotely at a level that’s never been needed before. At this point, more than 80 percent of DEQ employees are working remotely either full time or part time.
As this slide show attests, we are making the best of this challenging situation.
Click here for updates on DEQ’s response to COVID-19.
— Jennifer Flynt, public affairs specialist