Mary Freeman is the owner of Lean & Green Michigan and is working to enhance PACE outreach, education and government relations. She has been with the company since January 2019 and currently works to spread the word about PACE and how it supports economic development, creates jobs, saves money, saves natural resources and is a win-win opportunity and solution for local governments, property owners and contractors. Mary has a background in adult education, workforce development, and non-profit management and enjoys working with economic development organizations and local governments to successfully bring PACE financing to their communities.
Previously, Mary was Senior Policy Associate at Corporation for a Skilled Workforce, a national workforce development consulting group based in Ann Arbor. CSW contracts with states, organizations and municipalities to assess, evaluate, advise and design systems and programs that engage businesses with the workforce system to ensure a quality, well-trained, resilient workforce for the 21 st century. Prior to that she was Director of Workforce and Operations at Southwest Solutions in Detroit, working with a team to integrate adult education, workforce training, financial coaching, homeownership counseling and access to entrepreneurial training for Detroiters. She became interested in economic development while managing construction and energy efficiency federal training grants from 2011-2015. Mary has a background in both K-12 and adult education, having worked as a teacher and curriculum consultant in the public schools, and manager and director in community college and community-based organizations. She founded two non-profits that are robust 20 years later, one serving adult students and the other low-income middle school girls.