Parks Salutes Its Employees Of The Month (Part IV)

Braulio Thillet is the Commissioner’s Employee of the Month for October.
Braulio started with Parks in 2007. He is currently a Network Site Administrator for the Olmsted Center where he is responsible for the maintenance and operations of Capital’s network and computer equipment. He also assists over 400 people at Olmsted with day-to-day computer issues and questions.
In the beginning of June 2012, the Olmsted Center received a shipment of almost 300 new computers and monitors for the Capital and Forestry staff. Braulio, with Terrence Hartwell and other colleagues, quickly created a distribution plan for the equipment, reached out to the unit heads to inform everyone of the plan, and imaged all of the computers so that everyone had the appropriate software needed. Braulio worked nights and weekends to complete the deployment in just over a month’s time, with minimal disruption to the staff.
Braulio’s daily job performance would be enough to garner him the Employee of the Month award. However, it is his efforts during and after the storm that crystallized his dedication to Parks.
Braulio, along with Sean Maloney from Olmstead Operations, reported to the Olmsted Center in the lead-up to the storm and were onsite for 48 continuous hours. The Olmsted Center Annex houses the Parks Department’s Central Forestry and Queens Forestry operations and uninterrupted service at that site is vital to Agency Operations. On Monday, October 29, Flushing Meadows Corona Park began to flood. While the rest of the building staff was evacuated to an area that was not affected by rising waters, Braulio and Sean stayed behind in the building to keep the server room (and thus the data lines) up for as long as possible. By 10 p.m., water rose knee deep, yet they remained until two electrical fires broke out. After putting out the fires, they finally allowed themselves to be removed to a safer location, and communications were finally severed to the Olmsted Center.
Going beyond his already exhaustive efforts, Braulio returned at 5 a.m. the next morning to restore power to the server room, despite the continued presence of flood water within the building, which constituted a grave personal risk. He was successful in his attempts, and because of this, Forestry was able to resume normal operations just as the storm broke. For his hard work, Braulio was nominated by Chief of Staff Diane Jackier and Deputy Commissioner Therese Braddick. Terrence Hartwell was also nominated, but was unable to attend the recent awards breakfast and will instead be recognized him at a future ceremony.

Artie Rollins is the Commissioner’s Employee of the Month for October.
Artie Rollins has been with Parks since March 1995. He is now the Assistant Commissioner for Citywide Operations.
From the start of the preparations for Hurricane Sandy throughout the storm itself and into the recovery operations, he exemplified the highest level of performance that can be expected of a Parkie.
Assistant Commissioner Rollins seemed to be in all places at all times. Whenever one of the boroughs or divisions was in need of technical support, equipment, vehicles, or supplies, they turned to AC Rollins for advice, counseling, assistance, and help. Never someone to say no, AC Rollins always responded immediately with unwavering determination and “can do” spirit.
AC Rollins ensures that his staff also reflects his spirit and attitude. His staff was deployed wherever they were needed. The various trades titles under his direction, including plumbers, electricians, and carpenters, provided technical support and were ready to assist at a moment’s notice. AC Rollins’ staff shares his work ethic and his attentive attitude, and they are the glue that holds the agency together.
Not a day went by where AC Rollins’ contributions were not acknowledged on the Citywide Storm Response call. AC Rollins made it clear that he was an available resource to anyone in the Agency. He truly responded where needed to relieve the burden for many impacted by Sandy.
AC Rollins is the type of manager who approaches his work with enthusiasm and a “can-do” attitude that is contagious. He leads by example and because he models this type of behavior and sets such high standards for his staff, they too are top-notch.
For his unmatched commitment, dedication, and exemplary performance, Assistant Commissioner Rollins was nominated by Commissioner White.


As one of Parks’ 30 Green Gurus, Kate Willsen has been a dedicated advocate for environmental sustainability. Her volunteer Green Guru role could easily be confused with her day job: Deputy Director of Training at the Parks Academy Training Center. She has added sustainability tips to the mandatory training for seasonal maintenance workers. In the Personal Finance course, trainers discuss how living “green” can save you “green.” Thanks to Kate, the Health Living course includes information on choosing environmentally-friendly cleaning products and the benefits of walking or biking instead of driving. Kate has also attended borough staff meetings to teach about energy conservation and recycling to park managers. She has inspired the other Green Gurus through an informal “Do you have? We could use” e-mail chain she started that encourages the reuse of supplies across agency divisions.

Kate was nominated by David Barker, Director of Sustainability Initiatives.

Parkies – Catch someone “Green Handed” at your work location! E-mail sustainableparks@parks.nyc.gov with your nomination.

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