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Michigan Works!
Workforce Development Board
Rick Diamond
Community-Based Organization RepresentativeBoard Member since November 11, 2003.
Rick Diamond is the Director of Employment Services for the Disability Network of Lakeshore, Lakeshore Center for Independent Living. Rick has been in his position for 13 years.
Rick serves as a member of MiJob Coalition (Statewide) and Co-Chair of the Michigan’s Freedom to Work Initiative Implementation.
Rick says the most important thing he has learned in his professional career is that networking and collaboration with all stakeholders in the community is essential to the success of effecting systems change, and leveraging resources to benefit not only our common "clients" but, the community as a whole.
The biggest change in the industry is that given the reality of budget cuts, a poor economy, and so forth, people seeking services have multiple needs in multiple areas. Additionally, the capacity of service providers to provide services has been strained. Organizationally, we're finding that staff cannot possibly address every need or issue that arises, therefore, we have to do our work differently, by bringing all stakeholders together to collectively address the need or issue.
