SAGINAW COUNTY, MICHIGAN – Jenny Geno, Executive Director of Career and Technical Education for Saginaw Intermediate School District (SISD), is the recipient of this year’s Manufacturing Talent Champion Award presented by the Michigan Manufacturers Association (MMA). This annual award is one of seven Manufacturing Excellence Awards presented in 2021 by the MMA, which honors individuals who bring awareness and focus to the critical need of attracting Michigan’s next-generation workforce to the manufacturing industry.
With over 17 years of Career Technical Education (CTE) experience, Ms. Geno passionately works to transform Saginaw County into a premier location for talented workers with high skilled employment opportunities. Since joining the Saginaw ISD in 2017, Jenny has collaborated and partnered with regional leaders to: Establish a CTE department at Saginaw ISD; grow a county-wide career counselor’s network to guide career awareness, and work-based learning opportunities; help pass a 10-year countywide CTE millage; receive over $6.5 million dollars in CTE program grants; lead the Marshall Plan for Talent effort through the development of the M-46 Talent Consortium comprised of 74 partnering entities; develop several new CTE programs and career pathways at the Saginaw Career Complex; complete numerous infrastructure, renovation, and equipment upgrade projects at the Saginaw Career Complex; launch the Saginaw County Youth Ambassador Program, and; transform seven school districts into SME PRIME locations across Saginaw County as a pathway to manufacturing careers.
Ms. Geno has served on a variety of state and local boards throughout her career, including the Learning Disabilities Association of Michigan State Board and the Michigan Occupational Special Populations State Board. She is currently a board member on the Great Lakes Bay Michigan Works Career Education Advisory Council, the Great Lakes Bay Manufacturers Association, Partnershift, and Saginaw Future, Inc. Jenny serves as a legislative liaison and past president for Michigan’s CEPD (Career Education Planning District) Council Executive Board, which represents CTE Directors from across the state. She also sits on the Perkins V Executive Board for Michigan, which oversees and provides direction for Career and Technical Education in Michigan. In 2020, Jenny was appointed to Michigan’s Workforce Development Board and Michigan’s Apprenticeship Advisory Board. Most recently, she accepted an appointment to the Saginaw County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors for a term beginning in January, 2022.
Ms. Geno completed her Bachelor’s Degree in Education from Michigan State University with a focus on special education. She has since obtained her Master’s Degree and Education Specialist Degree in Educational Leadership, both from Saginaw Valley State University, with additional credits in Career and Technical Education from Wayne State University. She is currently pursuing her doctorate degree in education from Central Michigan University. Jenny was a Gerstacker Fellow in 2016, studying different educational systems within high-performing nations, including a travel abroad enrichment trip to Japan. Further, Ms. Geno was a participating member of both the Leadership Saginaw County 2019 Cohort and the 2020 Henry Marsh Institute for Public Policy Cohort. In 2020, Jenny was awarded Junior Achievement’s Education Achievement Award and was inducted into their Hall of Fame.
In regard to the announcement of Ms. Geno’s award recognition, Jeffrey Collier, Superintendent of Saginaw Intermediate School District, stated, “This is an excellent and deserving recognition of Ms. Geno’s modeled leadership, passionate advocacy for student interests, and expansive partnership and program building for career pathways. She is a tireless champion of Career Technical Education and forms broad, positive relationships with stakeholders throughout the Great Lakes Bay Region and across the State of Michigan to extend opportunities for our students. The greater Saginaw region is a fortunate recipient of her servant leadership.”
The MFG Excellence Awards, held in Lansing, Michigan, is the annual statewide celebration of the exceptional contributions that Michigan manufacturers make to their workforce, their communities, the economy, and the industry. The MMA honored each of the selected winners during their MFG Excellence Awards statewide celebration program on Thursday, November 4, 2021. Learn more about the MMA and MFG Excellence Awards by visiting www.mimfg.org.
About MMA and the Manufacturing Excellence Awards
The Michigan Manufacturers Association (MMA) is the state’s leading advocate focused solely on securing a prosperous future for Michigan manufacturers through effective advocacy, meaningful education, and strategic business services. The Manufacturing Excellence Awards recognize industry leaders, supporters, and programs that have made exceptional contributions in the face of adversity to their workforce, communities, economy, and industry. The awards promote the inspiring stories of Michigan’s manufacturing industry, the thousands of unique manufacturing companies across the state, the hundreds of thousands of Michiganders employed in the industry, and the local communities that support them. Learn more about the MMA and MFG Excellence Awards by visiting www.mimfg.org.
About Saginaw Intermediate School District
Saginaw Intermediate School District (SISD) is an educational service agency that provides effective and innovative leadership, services, resources, and programs throughout Saginaw County, Michigan. Saginaw ISD serves 12 local school districts, 5 public school academies, and 22 non-public schools, with a total enrollment of approximately 27,000 students. Public school districts supported include: Birch Run Area Schools, Bridgeport-Spaulding Community School District, Carrollton Public Schools, Chesaning Union Schools, Frankenmuth School District, Freeland Community School District, Hemlock Public School District, Merrill Community Schools, Saginaw Public School District, Saginaw Township Community Schools, St. Charles Community Schools, and Swan Valley School District. Saginaw ISD provides career and technical education, early childhood, finance, human resources, instruction, pupil accounting, special education, technology, and transportation services. In addition, SISD operates multiple educational programs to meet the unique needs of students ages birth to 26 across Saginaw County, including: Hartley Outdoor Education Center, Head Start/Early Head Start and Great Start to Readiness Programs, Great Lakes Bay Early College, Saginaw County Juvenile Detention Center School, and Special Education Center Programs. Learn more about Saginaw ISD by calling (989) 399-7473 or visiting www.sisd.cc.