Dawn Busick
Project Director, MoHealthWINs/MoManufacturingWINs
Dawn has direct management and oversight responsibilities for Missouri’s two TAACCCT grants–totaling $35 million–with some 17 years working with job training programs, as well as SBA programs. She is currently ‘on loan’ from Ozarks Technical Community College, where she served as Executive Director of the Center for Workforce Development and Center for Community Enrichment. Prior to Dawn coming to academia she served as the Director for the Missouri Department of Economic Development’s Division of Workforce Development where she administered and had direct oversight over all state workforce and job training programs consisting of 540 employees with a $172 million annual budget. She has a bachelor’s degree in Business Management from the University of Illinois at Springfield, is a Certified Workforce Development Professional, Certified Grant Writer, and an alumnus of the John F. Kennedy School of Government Program for Senior Executives in Innovations in Governance – Harvard University.
Liz Roberts
Deputy Project Manager, MoHealthWINs/MoManufacturingWINs
With extensive statewide program management experience, Liz has been working with federal grants for more than six years. As Program Development and Training Officer for the Missouri Community Service Commission, she coordinated the application process and quarterly reporting for the state AmeriCorps program. Most recently, as DED Project Development Coordinator, Liz oversaw the application process for the $20 million annual state Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, collaborating with multiple partnering agencies and communities across the state. Liz also chaired a statewide coalition which coordinates long-term disaster recovery efforts, leading the successful attainment of a $5.3 million FEMA grant for Disaster Case Management in the aftermath of the Joplin tornado. Liz lives in Holts Summit with her husband, two children, and very spoiled cat. She enjoys reading, playing the piano, spending time with family and friends, good coffee, and being outdoors.
Mike Waltman
Communications Director, MoHealthWINs/MoManufacturingWINs
Before joining the MCCA team to help promote Missouri’s grant programs, Mike had an accomplished career managing diverse communications functions for Missouri’s Workforce Development system. With a master’s degree in Public Administration and a stint at the US Department of Labor, Mike has been influential in the creation of numerous websites, learning products, and information supports for workforce professionals for over 14 years. Most recently, he was integral to the development of the jobs.mo.gov web portal and helped the workforce agency increase its social media presence. He has taught undergraduate and graduate marketing courses for William Woods University and worked for Motorola, General Dynamics, and the US Air Force. Mike is interested in art history, dancing, and nature, and loves being outdoors with his three grown sons.
Associate Team Members:
Cosgrove & Associates, Grant Lead Researchers The Lead Researcher’s role includes designing a grant deliverables data collection system, training college staff on the use of the system, analyzing data, manage the required third party evaluation, and assist the Grant Lead Team with reporting requirements to the US Department of Labor (USDOL).
Betty Denson, Grants Accountant Betty handles grant fiscal management and oversight. She is a CPA with CGFM certification, employed by Ozarks Technical Community College.
Laura Lester, Economic Information and Analysis Laura is a Planner with the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center who provides Job Market Summaries and other data analysis tools used with grant implementation.
Deb Bragg, Third Party Evaluator (MoHealthWINs only) In this capacity, Deb’s role is to collaborate with Cosgrove & Associates to structure and provide leadership for an evaluation process that includes timely feedback for program implementers and leaders at the consortium institutions. Some of her specific responsibilities include but are not limited to partner in developing best practices for comparison cohorts and accountability data reporting requirements; partner in acquiring, analyzing, and comparing Unemployment Insurance (UI) employment and wage data for program completers and comparison cohorts; partner in ensuring the use of best practices for the timely and accurate reporting of all DOL required performance data; and partnering in sharing and publishing research and evaluation results associated with TAACCCT grant innovations.
