Michael Baker
Manager - Strategic Planning and Innovation @Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity
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WORK HISTORY
Manager - Strategic Planning and Innovation @Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity
Springfield, IL, US
Lead teams devoted to strategic planning, grants management and innovation grants for the Office of Employment and Training. I provide staff support to the Illinois Workforce Investment Board on various sector strategy and innovation initiatives and the Illinois Workforce State Strategic Plan. I also work with national, state and local public and private organizations that make up the workforce development system to prepare and maintain a workforce with skills that are needed by employers. Most recently I have been involved in: updating the State Workforce Strategic Plan; helping lead a team that plans, creates and delivers professional development training to hundreds of workforce system leaders and front-line staff across the state; and serving as my program\'s representative on the State WIOA Inter-Agency Statewide Technical Assistance team. From 20••••17 I led a team implementing a statewide workforce innovation initiative in manufacturing. The team established a new innovative program model designed to shorten time to earnings for people in skill upgrade training in demand occupations. I provided implementation guidance and technical assistance to state and regional public-private partnerships and track overall performance. An independent impact evaluation found that participants in this innovation program had better employment outcomes than those in a control group.
EDUCATION
East Richland High School
High School
Southern Illinois University, Carbondale
MPA
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
B.S.
Illinois Eastern Community Colleges-Olney Central College
Associate of Science (A.S.)
SKILLS
ABOUT MICHAEL BAKER
Let\'s collaborate! Whether in the public or private sector, I am adept at finding creative alternatives for policy, operations and workflow processes to meet the challenges of today, and planning for those of tomorrow. I have the benefit of a broad background in policy and project, grant and fiscal management experiences to avoid most problems and the skills to solve the few that are truly unforeseeable. I can see the big picture and figure out how to incorporate the tasks at hand to further strategic goals. I can think on my feet – and can make a decision with less-than-perfect information. I’m the calm one. Something most people don\'t know about me is that I am certified to teach high school government, US history, world history, economics, geography, sociology and language arts. Teaching is something I\'d like to return to in \"retirement\", at either the secondary or post-secondary level. Specialties: Problem Solving, Creative Thinking, Strategic Planning, Budgeting, Program Development, Project Management, Grant Management, Data Analysis, Communications, Collaboration, Economic Development, Workforce Development, Public Speaking, Event Planning, Teaching 2013 recipient of the Heart of Gold Award sponsored by the University of Illinois-Springfield Volunteer & Civic Engagement Center and the Junior League of Springfield. Favorite Maxims: Not everything that can be counted counts and not everything that counts can be counted. None of us is as smart as all of us. There is a time in the life of every problem when it\'s big enough to see and small enough to handle. A good solution applied now with vigor is better than a perfect solution applied next week. Strive for excellence, not perfection. The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place. The only constant is change. If you know in advance that it\'s going to work, it\'s not an experiment. A witty phrase proves nothing.
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