Lars B. Applewhite
State Agency Director, State workforce services
Little Rock, AR · (501) 555 0106 · name@example.com · linkedin.com/in/larsbapplewhite
Key Qualifications
EXPERIENCE
26 years in state government, 7 as an appointed agency head
INDUSTRIES
State workforce services, unemployment insurance, community colleges
SPECIALTIES
Federal grant stewardship, unemployment insurance operations, agency modernization, legislative relations
SYSTEMS
Workday, Salesforce, ServiceNow, Snowflake, Power BI
CREDENTIALS
Certified Public Manager and member of the American Society for Public Administration
EDUCATION
Master of Public Administration, University of Arkansas at Little Rock
Results at a Glance
40
Year old unemployment
31 days
Days and cleared
9
Federal monitoring findings
22
Legislative hearings
Executive Summary
Director of a state workforce services agency with 2,400 employees and a 690 million dollar budget, most of it federal. Twenty six years in public administration, appointed by 2 governors of different parties, and responsible for unemployment insurance, job centers and the workforce grants that fund them.
Signature Achievements
- Directs an agency of 2,400 employees, 34 field offices and a 690 million dollar annual budget across 11 federal grant streams.
- Replaced a 40 year old unemployment insurance benefits system, delivered in 26 months and 4 million dollars under the appropriation.
- Reduced first payment time from 31 days to 12 days and cleared a backlog of 84,000 claims.
- Cut improper payment rate from 12.4 percent to 5.9 percent, moving the state from the bottom quartile to above the national average.
- Cleared 9 federal monitoring findings inherited at appointment and closed the last one within 18 months.
- Testified in 22 legislative hearings and secured 3 consecutive appropriations without a reduction to field operations.
Professional Experience
Director
State Department of Workforce Services, Little Rock, AR 2019 to present
Cabinet level agency head appointed by the governor and confirmed by the senate, reporting to the governor and to a 15 member workforce board.
- Sets agency policy, promulgates rules under the state Administrative Procedure Act and signs every federal grant application and assurance.
- Manages a senior team of 9 division directors and the agency response to the annual single audit.
- Represents the agency before appropriations and oversight committees and answers open records requests under the state freedom of information law.
- Negotiates agreements with community colleges, local workforce boards and the state chamber on training capacity.
Deputy Director for Field Operations
State Office of Employment Assistance, Little Rock, AR 2012 to 2019
Second in command over 34 job centers, 1,100 staff and the reemployment services program.
- Consolidated 41 offices into 34 with a service coverage plan that kept every county within a 45 minute drive.
- Introduced statewide performance measures for job placement and retention now reported quarterly.
- Led the operational response during a period when weekly claims rose 900 percent.
Division Chief for Program Compliance
Arkansas Delta Community College District, Pine Bluff, AR 2000 to 2012
Compliance leadership for federal training grants across a 4 campus district.
- Administered 24 million dollars a year of federal and state training awards.
- Built the subrecipient monitoring system that eliminated repeat audit findings.
- Managed the reporting relationship with 3 federal agencies and 2 state departments.
Licensure and Certification
Certified Public Manager, National Certified Public Manager Consortium
Member, American Society for Public Administration
Member, National Association of State Workforce Agencies
Education
Master of Public Administration, University of Arkansas at Little Rock
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Arkansas State University
Core Skills
Agency leadership · Federal grant stewardship · Administrative rulemaking · Legislative testimony · Large system replacement · Single audit response · Performance management · Field operations · Public records compliance · Executive team development