Volume 06 | July 2025

From the Director's Desk

Happy July, everyone! I hope your summers are off to a beautiful start. Last month, we were hosted by Networks Northwest, GST Michigan Works! And Southwest Michigan Works! I just wanted to take a moment to thank those regions for allowing us to hold classes in their spaces, and a big thank you to all of the staff who helped coordinate. 🙂 We appreciate you and love to visit you at your centers. We are looking forward to the Trauma Informed virtual training this month and are expecting a large audience! Keep an eye out for more training opportunities being added to the calendar. Happy summer!

Questions? Ideas? Contact Emma at harbaughe@michiganworks.org

Big thanks to these Michigan Works! teams for welcoming us and learning with us this June!

Our Community Listens with GST Michigan Works! (Flint)

It was an honor to lead this experience for such a thoughtful and committed group. We appreciate your openness, participation, and the meaningful conversations that took place—we can’t wait to see how you carry this work forward in your community.

Policy Essentials with Michigan Works! Southwest (Kalamazoo)

Thank you so much for your curiosity, your commitment to understanding the "why" behind the work, and your openness to new tools and perspectives. We’re excited to see how you apply this knowledge to strengthen your programs and serve your communities with even greater impact!

July Lineup for Learning and Development

Professional growth starts here—explore what’s on deck for July.

Trauma Informed Care Two-Part Series

Virtual Webinar (Zoom)

Tuesday, July 8th & Tuesday, August 5th

Both sessions run from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM

This is a two-part series, with the virtual dates about a month a part from one another. Both training dates will run from 9AM-11AM.

Session 1: Tuesday, July 8th from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM EDT via Zoom

Trauma and Resiliency Basics: Signs, Symptoms, and Key Principles to trauma informed practice

1. Understand trauma, toxic stress, and resiliency.

2. Understand the dimensions of stress, toxic stress, and trauma.

3. Understand how trauma and toxic stress impact well-being at work, including the well-being of self, colleagues, and customers.

4. Be able to identify resilience strategies to use with self and others.

Session 2: Tuesday, August 5th from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM EDT via Zoom

Trauma Informed and Resiliency Practice Strategies: Integrating theory into practice, strategies and enactment

1. Identify 6 principles of trauma-informed practice

2. Identify 6 strategies to incorporate into a professional role

3. Apply principles and strategies of trauma-informed practice to scenarios

Workforce Learning On The Calendar

More chances to learn, lead, and connect all year.

Our Community Listens: Communication Skills You Can Use

In-Person Training

August 20th - 22nd

Gladwin County Michigan Works!

Our Community Listens is a three-day communication skills training offering a transformational learning experience to strengthen relationships, align teams, and build stronger communities.

What Michigan Works! attendees are saying:

"I learned more about myself and how I am the message. That was impactful. The facilitators were VERY engaging. It was one of the best trainings I have attended."
"I left a conference with real tools."
"Practical applicability to work and home!"

Business Solutions Professional (BSP) Cohort 49

In-Person Training

Starts Tuesday, September 16th

Michigan Works! Macomb / St. Clair - Verkuilen Building

Business Solutions Professionals (BSPs) are local community leaders and practitioners who are trained to make use of a vast array of business and economic assets to assist businesses.By participating in BSP training, offered by the Michigan Works! Association, local teams can network and learn from: Workforce development professionals, Economic developers, State / federal employees, Chamber of Commerce representatives, Education and training professionals, Nonprofit representatives.....and more!

3-Part Employee Development Webinar Series

Virtual Webinar

September 23rd - November 20

Zoom

This unique 3-part webinar series can be personalized to YOU! Presented by ATHENA Consulting and taught by Colleen Mathias, Vice President of ATHENA. Take all three virtual trainings for a discounted price, or pick and choose which ones you would like to attend. This training opportunity is for everyone, please feel free to share with your networks!

Emotional Intelligence - September 23rd, 10-11:15am

Emotional Intelligence (EI) training focuses on developing key workplace competencies such as self-awareness, self-regulation, empathy, and effective communication. Tailored for professional environments, this training enhances leadership effectiveness, team collaboration, conflict resolution, and employee engagement. Participants learn to manage stress, navigate challenging conversations, and build stronger relationships, leading to improved performance, a more positive work culture, and better organizational outcomes.

Customer Service Skills - October 28, 10-11:15am

Customer Service Skills training equips employees with the communication, problem-solving, and interpersonal skills needed to deliver exceptional customer experiences. Focused on professionalism, empathy, and responsiveness, this training helps build customer trust, improve satisfaction, and strengthen brand loyalty. Ideal for front-line staff and support teams, it enhances service quality and contributes to long-term business success.

Time Management Training - November 20, 10-11:15am

Time Management training in the workplace is designed to help employees prioritize tasks, set realistic goals, and use practical tools to manage their time effectively. This training enhances productivity, reduces stress, and supports better decision-making by teaching strategies for planning, delegation, and minimizing distractions. Ideal for improving individual performance and overall organizational efficiency.

Our Community Listens: Communication Skills You Can Use

In-Person Training

October 21st - 23rd

Michigan Chamber of Commerce

Our Community Listens is a three-day communication skills training offering a transformational learning experience to strengthen relationships, align teams, and build stronger communities.

What Michigan Works! attendees are saying:

"I learned more about myself and how I am the message. That was impactful. The facilitators were VERY engaging. It was one of the best trainings I have attended."
"I left a conference with real tools."
"Practical applicability to work and home!"

Our Community Serves

In-Person Training

October 29th - 30th

Michigan Bankers Association

Our Community Serves, a program designed to seamlessly incorporate service concepts into your everyday leadership moments, is now open to alumni of Our Community Listens.

The course provides opportunities for self-reflection, personal practice, and tangible takeaways that encourage a service and accountability mindset, reinforcing and expanding upon the skills acquired through Our Community Listens.

Our Community Serves is only available to alumni of Our Community Listens.

Serves will run from 8:30am-4:30pm EST each day and attendees are required to complete each day in full. Mandatory pre-work will be sent to the email address on file 3-4 weeks ahead of the class start date.