Randy Yagiela, Development Director of Lenawee Now, has been awarded an Innovation Fellowship for The Align Center for Workforce Development by the MSU EDA University Center for Regional Economic Innovation (REI). They were created in 2011 by the Michigan State University Center for Community and Economic Development and funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce – Economic Development Administration (EDA). The Innovation Fellows program was established in 2016 to attract and support top champions in communities and organizations to tackle the tough economic development issues that our distressed communities face every day. Innovation Fellows provide on-the-ground support and coordination to move concepts to actions, implementing new economic development tools, models, and policies.
As an REI IF, Randy’s goals are to create a unified resource center that addresses the gap in workforce training and local career development, especially for nontraditional clients overlooked by existing resources. Learn more,
The Align Center for Workforce Development offers empowerment and training programs in a shared space by housing multiple organizations in a collaborative culture. The goals include producing unified client pathways and employer-centric workforce certification while addressing the gap in workforce training and local career development, especially for nontraditional clients. Align is focusing on assisting adults who need reskilling and have not had a workforce center with staff dedicated to guide them; k-12 graduates needing certifications for local careers, and employers that will utilize the training offered to advance their competitiveness.
Yagiela credits the work of many stakeholders in the success of the Align Center. Tom Gannon, a consultant, for leading the Design Team that created the business plan; Sheila Blair, the executive director of the Align Center, for being instrumental in the organizing of present and future challenges and opportunities of the organization; Bill Blackerby, retired business professor from Siena Heights University, along with Chuck Chase, a highly regarded sales expert for mentoring the Design Team effort. A community task force assisted in the planning.
Lenawee Now engaged in producing a talent system in 2017 under the leadership of Jim Van Doren. The organization’s current Executive Director, Pat Farver, believes that collaboration is central to solving Lenawee’s workforce challenge and many other challenges to the local economy.
Yagiela has spent twenty-five years with Lenawee Now and has been awarded over $19,000,000 in grants for workforce development, education, and non-profit programs