In 2022, MAX Board of Directors created the MAX Wendell Dallas Excellence in Leadership Award in honor of founding board chair Wendell Dallas.
The Wendell Dallas Excellence in Leadership Award recognizes individuals who have gone above and beyond in providing leadership in workforce development through the Metro Atlanta eXchange for Workforce Solutions (MAX) and/or MAX partners. An individual recognized through this award is known for leading with integrity, devotion, and selflessness in service to others in the workforce development sector.
Dr. Barbara Wall, Deputy Superintendent, Georgia Department of Education, and MAX board member, has been named the third recipient of the MAX Wendell Dallas Excellence in Leadership Award. Dr. Wall was recognized during the 2024 MAX Annual Meeting.
MAX Board Chair Jenny Taylor, Vice President and Chief Missions Officer for Goodwill of North Georgia, presented the award to Dr. Wall noting our workforce community’s appreciation for Dr. Wall and all she does to advance workforce development in our state.
Special thanks to Trudy Smith with the Georgia Department of Education for her nomination of Dr. Wall!
MAX congratulates Dr. Barbara Wall as the 2024 MAX Wendell Dallas Excellence in Leadership Award recipient!
ABOUT DR. BARBARA WALL
Dr. Barbara Wall serves as the Deputy Superintendent of Career, Technical, and Agricultural Education (CTAE) at the Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE). Dr. Wall supervises over 40 state staff employees and supports over 7,400 CTAE teachers and 4,000 school counselors. In FY 23, over 700,000 K-12 students participated in CTAE programs in Georgia (CTAE Delivers: 2022-2023 Annual Report). CTAE programs are in every school district, including the region that MAX serves. CTAE programs build the future talent pipeline for in-demand careers in the Metro region. Additionally, Dr. Wall and her staff have participated in several MAX professional learning events, industry site visits, and panels when requested. Moreover, with Dr. Wall’s support, Patrick Ledford, GaDOE’s Economic Development Liaison, has been an active member of MAX since his hire.
With a career spanning over 40 years, Dr. Wall has epitomized the roles of teacher, administrator, and state leader. Since FY2016, Dr. Wall’s leadership at the state level has supported CTAE becoming an equal partner in Georgia’s workforce development ecosystem. Her steadfast belief in CTAE being for “all students”, the role CTAE plays in economic and workforce development, and the impact that CTAE programs have on a student’s quality of life has enabled Dr. Wall to thrive as a leader across multiple education and industry channels, ensuring CTAE’s success and growth for years to come. While reading her bio may list her accolades and stellar career path, there is no accurate measurement of the immense impact Dr. Wall has had on so many educators, other leaders, and thousands of our State’s most precious asset, our students. It is with humility and grace that we nominate Dr. Barbara Wall for this award, not only for what she has already accomplished, but also for what is yet to come.
Special thanks to Trudy Smith for providing this information.
ABOUT THE MAX WENDELL DALLAS EXCELLENCE IN LEADERSHIP AWARD
Wendell Dallas and partners launched MAX in 2014. Says Wendell about the development of MAX: “Not only are we committed to the workforce system, and we’re working together and supporting each other, we know each other, we trust each other, and we like each other.”
In 2016, Dallas accepted the invitation to serve as MAX’s founding board chair and continued to develop the board of directors and MAX organization in the years that followed while also serving as chair of Georgia’s State Workforce Development Board, in leadership roles with the National Association of State Workforce Board Chairs, and in many other civic leadership capacities. Dallas is well-known for going above and beyond in providing leadership in workforce development and for leading with integrity, devotion, and selflessness in service to others in the workforce development sector.