Staff Spotlight, Cristy Disbrow
Staff Spotlight, Cristy Disbrow
Cristy Disbrow is the recipient of the 2022 Excellence in Administration Award. The Award for Excellence in Administration is given to an individual who made significant administrative contributions.
Cristy began her career with Florida State Parks in 2006 as the administrative assistant at Oscar Scherer State Park. Her ability to learn quickly and multitask was immediately recognized as she simultaneously provided oversight of the volunteer program while performing her duties.
In 2014, Cristy was promoted to park services specialist and officially assumed the role of volunteer and events coordinator. From there she was promoted to the District 4 accounting position and next to the Government Operations Consultant I position for the district.
In each of these roles, she created, changed and improved numerous processes. In 2022, she was promoted to the role of operation management consultant II, where she continues to thrive.
As she navigated her new role, Cristy continued her previous role while someone new was hired for those duties. She also covered the role of the park programming development specialist while that position was vacant.
In September 2022, Hurricane Ian caused catastrophic damage in several parks in the district. While taking care of her own family, Cristy worked to ensure that park staff was supported too. Cristy arranged disaster purchases, and she tracked over a $1,000,000 of purchase orders and other purchases along with setting up a tracking system for them by FEMA category.
Cristy assisted the park management teams with insurance adjusters, and she helped managers vital equipment necessary for beginning the recovery effort. She coordinated with the bureau chief and assistant bureau chief to prioritize administrative personnel to assist parks. Without Cristy’s efforts and talent, the district’s recovery effort would have been far less smooth.