Willard Walker
Senior Policy Consultant
Willard K. Walker is a senior policy consultant at Public Policy Associates. He is currently working on Reshaping Michigan’s Workforce, a project on behalf of the Michigan government, in which he is assisting the Department of Labor and Economic Growth in the strategic planning and implementation of state regional skills alliance development and organizational issues pertaining to the functioning of the department.
Mr. Walker has extensive experience working with workforce, state policy, school-to-work, and race and diversity issues. He has provided consulting services such as recruitment and retention of African American teachers in urban districts, development of a coordinated recruitment planning process for urban districts, and discussion on a specific curriculum for urban students through Grand Valley State University. While consulting for the C. S. Mott Foundation, he worked on school-improvement issues for Flint Community Schools, developed and implemented a communitywide antiracism strategy with major agencies in Flint, and provided capacity building and other assistance for community organizations.
Mr. Walker has held several positions with the State of Michigan, including director of the state’s School-to-Work Office. For the Michigan Department of Commerce, he served as director for the Office of Business and Education Coordination, director of human resources, and deputy director of the Neighborhood Builders Alliance. For the Michigan Department of Labor, Bureau of Employment and Training, Mr. Walker served as assistant to the director and director of program evaluation and planning. He also served as a training consultant for the Bureau of Rehabilitation Services, Michigan Department of Education.
Mr. Walker has also worked as a research associate for Systems Research, Inc., as assistant director of the Birmingham, Alabama Urban League, and as a mathematics teacher for the Chicago Public Schools.
He holds a bachelor’s degree from Albany State University, Albany, Georgia and both a master of labor and industrial relations and a master of arts from Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan.
119 Pere Marquette Drive • Lansing, MI 48912
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