Pub. 1 2021 Issue 1

46 Laurie Bakri, a Helena native, taught middle school for several years until she moved on to New Jersey where she took a role in the private sector with a supplemental edu- cation provider. For 19 years, she worked her way through different roles all working with quality service, efficiencies, and profitability. Her last role there was as the VP of Edu- cation in the Gulf area, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Bahrain, and Kuwait. Most recently, Bakri was the Business Services Supervisor in the Montana Secretary of State’s Office. Ms. Bakri assumed her new position with the Montana Motor Vehicle Division January 4 of this year. This is a new appointment for you. Was this something part of your career plan? Actually, no, it wasn’t in my game plan, but I am loving it. Most of my career path has resulted from someone saying, “Laurie, come fix this!” It’s worked well for me, I like new opportunities, and I am into quality and efficiency as it relates to the customer experience. I was the business services supervisor in the Secretary of State’s Office, and we received emails, thank you cards, and even gifts commenting on our excellent customer service, which is something that I was and still am very proud of. What are your plans for the Montana Motor Ve- hicle Division in the short-term and long term? We’re focused on driving customer service for both the short-term and long term. In the immediate future, we’ve started and plan to complete a customer service improvement project, which includes a customer survey to get a feel for what is going on. Reaching out to the public will help us plan for improvements – and I am not sure they have ever been asked what we can do to improve their experience. We can determine what needs to happen beyond our imme- diate plans of improving our customer service when that project is more in hand. I expect that better and improved use of technology will be part of our long term vision. Everyone needs licenses and titles, and the faster and more responsive we can be, the better for everyone. How do you plan to work with the dealers? I just recently met with Bruce Knudsen and the entire board of the Montana Automobile Dealers Association via Zoom. We have a great relationship with our dealers; the partnership is very strong. GETTING TO KNOW LAURIE BAKRI, MONTANA MOTOR VEHICLE DIVISION ADMINISTRATOR