Awards and Commendations
APWA Accreditation
In 2023, Jenny O’Brien led the City of Lawrence’s Municipal Services & Operations through their initial accreditation effort. She led a team of over 50 staff to create documentation for 344 practices in 33 functional areas. MSO received three model practice commendations.
Career Advancement Program
The Career Advancement Program (CAP) that O’Brien designed with Municipal Services & Operations received the APWA Kansas Chapter’s 2023 Management Innovation Award . Designed specifically for Public Works front-line and technical staff, CAP has proven to be a popular and highly effective program.
Between January 2022 and December 2025, the department processed 117 CAP advancements, representing 103 participating employees. Program analysis showed that CAP helped the department retain qualified staff, incentivized skill development, and improved employee morale.
Excellence in Snow & Ice Control
In 2022, Lawrence, Kansas won APWA’s Excellence in Snow & Ice Control award. The award recognizes agencies that demonstrate excellence in the management and administration of public works snow and Ice operations. The Snow & Ice Control Plan O’Brien wrote was instrumental in helping Lawrence be one of five award winners.
Great Snow & Ice control plans set both department and community expectations for winter events of any size, making winter operations run smoothly and efficiently.
Model Practices
During the City of Lawrence’s accreditation evaluation, the evaluators identified two Model Practices:
Controlled Documents Plan - This plan outlines everything to do with the agency’s policies, procedures, plans, forms and workflows. It included responsibilities, workflows for creation and review, numbering system, a stakeholders list, document templates, and roll-out recommendations.
Operational Impact Assessments - The OIA is a process to evaluate and mitigate impacts to services and operations for any project or event - planned or unplanned. OIA forms are used for major road construction, work on major water or wastewater components, or emergency repairs.
