Standing Tall: Voices in Leadership Upskilling the Future and Closing the Engagement Gap with Michelle Barry
In this episode of Standing Tall: Voices in Leadership, host Randy Lindquist sits down with Michelle Barry, the visionary leader behind Ignite Pathways in Woodbine, Iowa. Michelle shares her journey from a general education teacher to a pioneer in Career and Technical Education (CTE), explaining how she works at the intersection of education and workforce development to change student lives.
Key Topics Discussed
The Engagement Gap: Why Michelle felt disconnected from 40% of her students in the traditional classroom and how CTE became the solution.
Building Ignite Pathways: The creation of a system designed to upskill students for four-year universities, trade schools, or the direct workforce.
The "Village" Approach: How collective efforts between education, labor, and community make transformation possible in rural Iowa.
Leadership Through Iteration: Why "fail forward" is the unofficial middle name of her organization and how to lead by example.
The Tommy Gate Success Story: A specific look at how a partnership with a local manufacturing company created a direct welding apprenticeship pipeline.
Resources & Links Mentioned
Organization: Ignite Pathways — Empowering students through career-linked learning in Woodbine, Iowa.
Industry Partner: Tommy Gate — The local manufacturing company partnering with Ignite for student apprenticeships.
Conference: MAISA / Michigan Fall Leadership Conference (FLC) — The event where this episode was recorded.
Inspiration: The Nebraska Huskers Tunnel Walk — Michelle’s pick for her motivational "walk-in" song.
Memorable Quotes
"We stand tall because of those who came before us and because of those who we serve." — Randy Lindquist
"I think being okay with failing to fail forward... iterate over and over. If you keep that end goal in mind... transformation happens." — Michelle Barry