Biography William O. Howland, Jr. Director, Department of Public Works   William O. Howland, Jr. is the Director of the DC Department of Public Works, a position he has held since 2004.  As Director, Mr. Howland provides the leadership to achieve DPW’s mission of providing environmentally healthy municipal services that are both ecologically sound and cost effective.  To that end, DPW serves all District residents, businesses, visitors and commuters by providing: - Solid waste, recycling and bulk collection from 110,000 households. - Street and alley cleaning of the District’s residential neighborhoods as well as cleaning along commercial corridors. - Solid waste education and enforcement. - Parking enforcement, including towing, booting and removing abandoned vehicles. - Fleet management, including vehicle acquisition and disposal, fueling more than 6,000 DC government vehicles and vehicle maintenance services for 3,500 mission-critical vehicles.   He is especially well-versed in managing organizational operations such as finance, human resources, information technology, and procurement.  At his direction, the District became the first jurisdiction to apply the Zipcar reservation model to its motor pool operation.  The District also is the first Washington area jurisdiction to provide free, weekly document shredding for residents.  Mr. Howland increased the District’s residential recycling rate by 50 percent by introducing the single stream recycling program (blue carts); initiated weekly household hazardous waste and e-cycling collections; improved snow and ice removal operations along residential streets; eliminated the backlog of abandoned vehicles from public space; consolidated the city’s impoundment lots thus saving over $1 million per year in lease costs; increased fleet operations productivity by applying integrated management techniques; and continued to increase its use of alternative fuel vehicles in the District’s fleet.    Mr. Howland’s vision of incorporating technology in DPW’s operations is now a reality.  For instance, the District is the first local jurisdiction to apply license plate recognition technology to a range of parking enforcement operations.  The newest application is Sweepercam, which a camera mounted on a mechanical sweeper that photographs vehicles illegally parked along residential street cleaning routes.  The vehicle auction program now is Internet-based so anyone in the world may bid.    From 2002 to 2004, Mr. Howland served as Chief of Staff to the Deputy Mayor for Operations, resolving issues in the Department of Motor Vehicles, the Office of Contracting and Procurement and the Office of Property Management.  Mr. Howland joined the District in 2001 as Deputy Director for the Department of Human Services, where he directed administrative management.  He also managed the capital budget, oversaw construction and renovation of agency buildings and led a team of eight departments to create an emergency management plan to shelter displaced residents and reunify families.   Mr. Howland also served in the Fairfax County government for 17 years, as a Personnel Analyst, an Assistant to the County Executive, and finally as Director of the Department of Administration for Human Services. Mr. Howland is Vice President of the Board of Directors of Vanguard Services, a provider of substance abuse/recovery treatment programs.