As the president and chief executive officer of WRTP | BIG STEP, Lindsay Blumer has provided transformational leadership to the workforce development sector. It’s the impact she sees that reignites her passion as a leader. “The continual passion I have for this organization and the work stems from learning and listening from those who have graciously shared their journey with us,” she said. “Attending graduation ceremonies is inspiring and an honor to witness because it is a joyous time for graduates, family members and staff.”
The mission of WRTP | BIG STEP is to enhance the ability of public and private sector organizations to recruit, develop, and retain a more diverse, qualified workforce in construction, manufacturing and emerging sectors of the regional economy.
Under Blumer’s leadership, the organization has enhanced an actionable model that moved the organization from a training provider to a true workforce intermediary using a sectoral partnership model that is inclusive and has built-in feedback and innovation pathways. She has also led efforts to raise the national profile of the organization as the voice of workers, particularly women and people of color, in non-traditional occupations in most federal workforce discussions, including those at the White House.
She has also transformed culture and policies to increase equitable hiring within the organization, developed agile programming that meets partners and participants in their career pathway and outcomes journey to create clear impact-driven results to better communities and healthier families, and transformed and centralized data-driven decision-making and storytelling to accurately represent and advocate for the imperative need for an integrated workforce ecosystem.
“Blumer has been a tireless advocate and leader in the nonprofit community bringing disparate partners to the table to create robust referral systems, open communication lines, and funding alignment to better equip communities with the resources necessary to be change agents,” said her staff.
Her efforts have led to personal, professional and organizational accolades. Blumer has been named a woman of influence 2023 and sits on the WI Technical College System board, the Department of Workforce Development bureau of apprenticeship standards, the Governor’s council on workforce investment, the Near West Side Partners BID 10 district board, and the community advisory council of the Chicago Federal Reserve. She mentors emerging women leaders as a member of TEMPO, a women’s leadership organization.
“She does not take this trust lightly and understands the immense responsibility of ensuring that every voice is heard so that every person and every worker and every family thrives,” said her staff.