Mike McGill
WDB BOARD MEMBER MIKE MCGILL BELIEVES IN ‘LONG-HAUL COMMITMENT’
If you are involved in community service in Contra Costa County, chances are good you’ve come across longtime WDBCCC board member Mike McGill.
Mike is president and principal engineer at MMS Design, supporting community and private development projects through civil engineering design, planning, surveying, project management and engineering plan review services.
Between work projects, Mike fits in community service that runs deep and wide. In addition to serving on the board of the WDBCCC, he serves on the board of directors of the East Bay Leadership Council, formerly serving as co-chair of its Land Use Task Force. He is a commissioner on the Contra Costa LAFCo and a board member and chair of CALAFCo. He served as Antioch Chamber of Commerce vice chair of economic development and co-founder of EC2. His education interests include serving as trustee and board chair at John F. Kennedy University, trustee at National University and City University of Seattle, and member and past president of the Los Medanos Community College Foundation Board.
Mike says these interests caused his name to surface more than 10 years ago as one who could contribute to the WDBCCC.
“Between the education focus and the economic development focus [of WDBCCC], people were telling me I would be ideal for the workforce development board because it addresses another niche – what we need to do to have a balanced community, a rounded community, and make sure everybody can participate to their fullest potential if they want to.”
Mike joined the board of the WDB in 2011, and except for his first year on the board, he has served in leadership roles, including chair or co-chair of one of the organization’s committees. He served as board chair during the transition of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014.
His current focus is the Youth Committee, which seeks to increase the number of young adults who graduate prepared for postsecondary vocational training, further education, and/or a career. Mike reports that our community has numerous organizations that are “best-kept secrets” for serving youth and wants the community to understand these disparate groups better.
Mike appreciates that the WDBCCC has a real impact on workforce training that can benefit individuals and create work-ready employees.
“I like to see that linkage come together so individuals have this great income, as well as businesses in the county can fill their need and help the county economy.”
Mike is the longest-serving member of the WDBCCC and plans to stay as long as necessary.
“Economic development and workforce training programs are long-term and not ‘in and done’,” Mike says. “Many of the goals and responsibilities of programs span many, many years – bridging election cycles, administrations and people’s retirements. These programs require long-haul commitment, and I’m in for as long as I can do it.”
