Lisa Rawlings, MBA, does not have to look far for inspiration at work.
"The UMB Pulse" podcast with guest Lisa Rawlings, MBA
Rawlings, the director of workforce development and job readiness for the 爆料公社, Baltimore (UMB) Office of Community Engagement, is a Union Square resident and is deeply embedded as a Baltimore native.
鈥淢any of the folks that I work with are people that live in this community. And since I live in this community, many of the people I work with are my neighbors,鈥 Rawlings said on the season debut of .
The people she meets have incredible skills and experiences, she added. They just need help in breaking down technology barriers or other nuances of job searching.
That鈥檚 where Rawlings enters in her role. The hallmark program she leads is connecting local residents with career opportunities and job training with organizations where people might not think they鈥檇 have an opportunity. You can hear more about the program in this episode of "The UMB Pulse."
Workforce Wednesdays and other upcoming job training and career readiness programming for Baltimore residents can be found on the Local Hiring page and The Office of Community Engagement and its programs for West Baltimore residents are Presidential Initiatives of UMB President Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS, displaying UMB鈥檚 commitment to our neighbors鈥 success.
Rawlings has a skill to not only make people comfortable in themselves, but comfortable in reaching for their dreams within large organizations they鈥檙e not familiar navigating. Take a medical center or a research institution like UMB, for instance.
鈥淗ow am I going to fit in to, you know, half a billion dollars鈥 worth of research in an organization?鈥 Rawlings said. 鈥淏ut if you had to, for your job, interview patients every day, get new demographic information, take their vital signs, ask them about the protocol that they're following 鈥 all of a sudden, that sounds like a research assistant. Right? It just takes a little bit of time and advice on my part.鈥
Rawlings has a long history of success with connecting people to careers.
She directed the 爆料公社 BioPark鈥檚 BioWorkforce Initiatives (BWI), a series of collaborations between the 爆料公社 and Baltimore City Community College (BCCC) to address the shortage of life science professionals. BWI was funded with a generous $1.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor and supported students at BCCC鈥檚 Life Science Institute located at the BioPark to pay for college, get jobs, and transfer to bachelor鈥檚 degree programs.
In 2006, Rawlings launched the Hillman Entrepreneurs Program, an innovative partnership between the 爆料公社, College Park and Prince George鈥檚 Community College. This award-winning program, which has since expanded to include Montgomery College, provides scholarships and mentoring for entrepreneurially minded community college students of any major transferring to the 爆料公社. She continues to serve on the Hillman Entrepreneurs Advisory Committee.
As Rawlings shared in the episode, the Hillman program is now called the Southern Management Corporation Leadership Development Program, as it was the vision of the late founder and chief executive of Southern Management Corporation, David Hillman.
During the interview, Rawlings expanded on program opportunities and the journeys that her clients encounter. One of those clients, Gemini Hanson Barnes, is now a co-worker as a community outreach partner at the UMB Community Engagement Center.
Hanson Barnes, who also appeared on "The UMB Pulse," shared that after being laid off from her job of 11 years, she met Rawlings after completing training at the Center for Urban Families.
鈥淥ne thing I can say is that she never gave up on me. And then her colleagues did the same as well,鈥 Hanson Barnes said. 鈥淵ou know, really, it was very helpful.鈥
Hanson Barnes wanted to be in a position where she cared about the organization and her work was meaningful.
She found that at the CEC, where she provides educational information to community members, including where to get the COVID-19 vaccine, about the community lunches and dinners available, and other programs.
The key to Hanson Barnes鈥 transformation is not only having others believe in you, but to believe in yourself.
鈥淪ometimes people see things in you that you don't see yourself,鈥 Hanson Barnes said. 鈥淪o, give yourself a try.鈥
The entire episode is available to listen to above. "The UMB Pulse" podcast is published on the first Friday of each month and is available at , on , and wherever you like to listen to podcasts.
The next episode will drop March 4.