Ginny Gnadt 
Senior Public Relations Specialist
(414) 297-6770, gnadtv@matc.edu

MILWAUKEE  (Jan. 21, 2010) – Lauren Baker, chairperson of Milwaukee Area Technical College’s District Board, received the 2010 Board Member of the Year Award from the Wisconsin Technical College District Boards Association at its winter meeting in Milwaukee today. The honor is awarded annually to one trustee statewide who exemplifies excellence in trusteeship, service to the local college, and state and national trustee leadership.

The winner is selected by a committee comprised of representatives of each of the state’s 16 technical college boards. Paul Gabriel, executive director of the Wisconsin Technical College District Boards Association, said “I don’t believe the awards committee could have made a finer choice. Lauren is not only held in very high regard in Wisconsin, she is known as a national leader among community and technical college trustees.” Gabriel said honoring Lauren Baker, who is program coordinator of career and technical education for Milwaukee Public Schools, was particularly fitting because Thursday’s meeting was a culminating event in the association’s strategic efforts to build strong and sustained relationships between Wisconsin technical colleges and K-12 boards and administrators.

Baker was appointed to the MATC board in 1995. This is her fourth one-year term as chairperson of the board.  She also has served as vice chairperson and chairperson of the board’s Educational Services and Institutional Relations Committee. Baker has collaborated with elected officials, business and manufacturing executives, and employers to emphasize the high-quality education and training provided at MATC. She is known for her advocacy of programs that serve the poorest and neediest Milwaukee-area citizens – including the Adult High School program, early childhood education services and bilingual services.

In addition to her work on behalf of MATC, Baker has been an advocate for all Wisconsin Technical Colleges, serving on numerous committees focused on education and workforce development. She has served on U.S. Congresswoman Gwen Moore’s Educational Advisory Committee, the YWCA Workforce Advisory Committee, the Regional Taskforce of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) Education for the M7 region, the Workforce Investment Act Youth Council and the Tech Prep Consortium Council.

She has been co-chairperson of the Legislative Committee for the Wisconsin Technical College District Boards Association, and was unanimously elected by her colleagues in the Wisconsin and the Central Region to serve on the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) national Board of Directors.