Governor Fallin today announced regional leaders from business and industry to support the “Oklahoma Works” education, workforce and job creation initiative.
Oklahoma Works is a prosperity-boosting job creation project that seeks to increase educational attainment and match skilled workers with rewarding careers. By building local partnerships between state agencies, educational institutions, the business community and other stakeholders, Oklahoma Works aims to ensure students and adults find rewarding, lucrative careers and businesses have access to the highly educated and skilled workforce they need to succeed in today’s modern economy.
To address regional workforce needs, Oklahoma Works establishes nine Key Economic Networks (KENs). Each region has a “business champion” to coordinate local efforts to support Oklahoma Works. Those leaders are listed below:
- Northwest region: Jimmy Stallings, president, Envirotech Engineering and Consulting, Inc., Enid
- Southwest region: Jeff Greenlee, president, NBC Oklahoma, Altus
- Central region: Nathaniel Harding, president and petroleum engineer, Harding and Shelton Exploration, Oklahoma City
- South Central region: Ryan Posey, president, HSI Sensing, Inc.; Chickasha:
- Eastern region: John Barton, president, BancFirst, Muskogee
- East Central region: Chuck Mills, president, Mills Machine Co., Shawnee
- Northeast region: Jeff Wargo, human resources director, Orchids Paper Products Co., Pryor
- Tulsa Area region: Stuart Solomon, president and CEO, PSO, Tulsa
- Southern region: Lundy Kiger, vice president and director of government relations, AES Shady Point, Poteau
“Oklahoma Works operates at the local level, identifying local and regional workforce needs, working with employers to identify career opportunities, and collaborating with educational institutions,” said Fallin. “Each of these ‘business champions’ will be responsible for helping to coordinate that local work and developing specific performance goals. I appreciate each of these leaders stepping forward to help address the needs of their communities.”
