New team to lead Honolulu Department of Facility Maintenance
Mayor Rick Blangiardi is pleased to announce Roger Babcock, Jr. Ph.D. P.E. and Dawn Szewczyk, P.E. have been selected to lead the City and County of Honolulu’s Department of Facility Maintenance (DFM).
“Roger and Dawn are incredible additions to our team and I have full confidence their leadership will improve the City’s infrastructure that the community depends on every day,” said Mayor Rick Blangiardi. “In this very difficult moment in time, we knew we had to find men and women of high character and integrity who would not fade against tough challenges and I believe Roger and Dawn are the exact leaders we need.”
“I am so happy that Dawn has agreed to come home to Honolulu to help me lead DFM; she brings energy, enthusiasm and public works experience and we have worked very well together for a long time,” said Director Babcock. “Together, we look forward to working with all of the 600 dedicated DFM employees to continue to maintain the City’s infrastructure and to prepare for and adapt to the current and future impacts associated with climate change including sea level rise.”
Dr. Babcock was confirmed by the Honolulu City Council to serve as the Director and Chief Engineer of the Department of Facility Maintenance of the City and County of Honolulu on February 17, 2021. He is on leave as a Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering in the College of Engineering and the Water Resources Research Center at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (UHM). Dr. Babcock was selected as Hawai‘i’s Engineer of the Year in 2019 and has been active in engineering professional organizations, including serving as president of both the American Society of Civil Engineers, Hawaii Section, and the Hawaii Water Environment Association. Dr. Babcock is the current Chair of the Hawaii Council of Engineering Societies, serves on the Board of Certification of Wastewater Treatment Plant Operators, and is director of Hawai‘i’s Statewide Wastewater Operator Training Center.
Dr. Babcock obtained his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from UCLA in 1991.
Szewczyk joins the City after leaving her post as the Deputy Public Works Officer of the U.S. Department of the Navy – Naval Facilities Engineering Command Far East, Public Works Department Singapore. As the DPWO, Szewczyk served as the primary advisory to the Public Works Officer for all matters relating to public works and was responsible for the oversight of facilities planning, design, utilities, transportation, and environmental services for 215 facility assets. Szewczyk was selected as Hawai‘i’s Young Engineer of the Year in 2011 and has also been active in engineering professional organizations, including serving as president of the American Society of Civil Engineers, Hawaii Section, and past-chair for the Hawaii Council of Engineering Societies. She was selected as a 2010 fellow for Pacific Century Fellows program, and selected as one of Pacific Business News’ Forty Under 40 honorees in 2011. Szewczyk’s first day as the City’s Deputy Director for DFM is May 1.
Szewczyk was born and raised in Wahiawā, is a Punahou graduate and earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Science, Engineering from Loyola Marymount University in 1998.
The Department of Facility Maintenance administers programs for City facilities including, but not limited to, roads, traffic signs and markings, bridges, streams, flood control systems, and City buildings.
