Kulas reflects on his term as WIB chair and is confident about the future in Ramsey County

When I agreed to become Chair-elect of the Workforce Innovation Board of Ramsey County (WIB) in the summer of 2018, little did I know what would happen over the next five years. We saw a global pandemic force many employees to work at home, while many others lost their jobs. We saw civil unrest and a greater call for social justice. And this was all just in a few months in 2020.

But the WIB and Ramsey County were well-positioned to adapt and help those who needed support the most. As I look back at my time as Chair, I fondly remember how we identified the need for unemployed residents to get laptops and internet access through our TechPaks program. After hearing from so many employers the difficulty in finding workers, I was happy to see an in-person job fair at Allianz Field in the summer of 2021, an event which has now been repeated twice and similar events extended to other parts of the county.

The pandemic resulted in many local governments receiving federal funding. The American Rescue Plan Act and CARES Act allocated over $200 million to Ramsey County, which was partially spent directly on our residents who needed it the most.

So much has been accomplished over the last few years thanks to the hard work of Ling Becker and everyone at Workforce Solutions. The WIB is also fortunate to have very supportive members who were able to better determine how we could be an impactful group. The County was able to adapt to the needs of our residents and employers and I am so grateful we have such a dedicated, hard working staff and Board.

The pandemic didn’t make us weaker; in fact, it made us stronger, and it showed how important our work is to help our residents, employers and job seekers. As I leave my time as Chair, I feel confident in what’s ahead for our community. 

So much has been accomplished over the last few years thanks to the hard work of Ling Becker and everyone at Workforce Solutions. The WIB is also fortunate to have very supportive members who were able to better determine how we could be an impactful group. The County was able to adapt to the needs of our residents and employers and I am so grateful we have such a dedicated, hard working staff and Board.

The pandemic didn’t make us weaker; in fact, it made us stronger, and it showed how important our work is to help our residents, employers and job seekers. As I leave my time as Chair, I feel confident in what’s ahead for our community.