Mayor Tom Barrett

Mayor Tom Barrett recently took another step forward in making the City of Milwaukee the lead agency for Milwaukee County workforce development initiatives with the announcement of a 20-member transition team headed by Donald Sykes, director of the Mayor’s Office of Workforce Development.

Barrett requested the city be the lead agency for workforce development back in February of this year with a letter to Governor Doyle asking for the designation, one that had currently resided with Milwaukee County’s Private Industry Council (PIC).

"I want to engage the city as a leader in workforce development so that we can energize and mobilize our community for workforce excellence," said Mayor Barrett.

Members of the transition team include:
Phil Neuenfeldt, AFL-CIO
Dan Bader, Bader Foundation
Julia Taylor, Greater Milwaukee Committee
Lupe Martinez, UMOS
Reverend Louis Sibley, MICAH
Tim Sullivan, CEO, Bucyrus International
Vince Martin, Retired
Dr. Darnell Cole, MATC
Joseph Tucker, MMAC
Melanie Holmes, Manpower
Milwaukee County Supervisor Willie Johnson, Jr.
Howard Snyder, Community Economic Development Corp.
Wallace White, Metropolitan Milwaukee Sewage District
Thelma Sias, WE Energies
Dennis Conta, Conta & Associates
Milwaukee Alderman Willie Wade
Milwaukee Alderman Ashanti Hamilton
Carol Sample, Spotted Eagle High School
John Hiller, Private Industry Council
Douglas Jansson, Greater Milwaukee Foundation
In the coming weeks, team members will meet to discuss the transition from the Milwaukee County Private Industry Council to the City of Milwaukee, which will take place on July 1, the end of PIC fiscal year.

The transition team will closely examine programming, finances and staffing levels of the current operation and conduct a thorough analysis of its effectiveness.