Laurie Mays has built a career around one core belief: strong economies are built when people have access to meaningful work and the support they need to succeed in it. As Senior Program Manager at the Kentucky Chamber Foundation, she leads statewide initiatives that bring together employers, educators, and community partners to strengthen Kentucky’s talent pipeline, advance job quality, and expand economic mobility. She spends much of her time helping partners design workforce solutions that serve businesses and the people who power them, essentially ensuring workforce systems operate more like a thoughtful strategy and less like a potluck where everyone brings forks but no one brings food.  With a background spanning agriculture, education, youth development, and workforce strategy, Laurie specializes in translating big-picture workforce goals into practical programs that support whole-person success.