On Monday, September 29th, MAX board chair Jenny Taylor, vice chair Dana Inman, and facilitator Joy Wilkins led a session on MAX as a best practice at the Southeastern Employment & Training Association (SETA)’s Fall Conference in Biloxi, Mississippi. The concept of working across boundaries to strengthen connections, collaborations, and practices resonated well with workforce professionals across the Southeast looking to replicate what MAX has done in their regions. Taylor, who serves as Chief Mission Officer and Vice President of Career Services for Goodwill of North Georgia, began the session by describing the conditions that led to the launch of MAX. Back in 2013 and 2014, connecting workforce developers to employers and economic developers was an aspiration and not a reality, she noted. Providers needed help promoting awareness of the assets they bring to the table.
Following Taylor’s remarks, Wilkins discussed the evolution of MAX which has grown over the years to reach more than 2,400 workforce partners, including nearly 400 members of the MAX Membership Association. Inman, who serves as president & CEO of the Atlanta Center for Self Sufficiency, next laid out her vision, as incoming board chair, of where MAX is heading and how the partners engaged in MAX will work together to enhance the cumulative impact of all. The session was wrapped up with Taylor reviewing lessons learned and the reasons MAX is a successful and dynamic workforce development network. Contributing to the conversation with his observations of why MAX is successful was MAX board member Brett Lacy, Managing Director of Workforce Solutions with the Atlanta Regional Commission who also serves as the Georgia State Representative on the SETA board.
Special thanks to the SETA board for including this session on the “MAX Journey” in the conference experience.
