Michael Kenyatta Joynes is the vice president of government and community relations at Philadelphia Works, the city’s workforce development board. Michael has more than 30 years of experience in workforce development. Throughout his career, he has developed and nurtured positive working relationships with city, state and federal elected and appointed officials, the corporate community, faith based institutions, area non-profit agencies and has received great respect for his hard work from the residential community of the tri-state area. A great deal of his time was spent working on the development of one stop systems to benefit the minority community such as but not limited to the selection, development and monitoring of Pennsylvania Regional Centers, PA Employment, Advancement, and Retention Network (EARN) centers and PA CareerLink® centers.
Michael has previously worked as the Deputy Director of the City of Philadelphia’s Enterprise Zone, Director of Employment for the Pa. Chamber of Commerce, Executive of the House of Umoja Ex-Offender Program where he developed and coordinated the first project in the city’s history that allowed inmates to leave a correctional facility daily to come to a inner city workforce project then return each night.
Michael Joynes has received many community service, city, state, and federal merits of recognition because of his unwavering commitment to the community. To name a few, he has received the Ebony Mae Leadership Award, Senatorial Citations, Governors’ Award of Merit, Proclamation from the City of Philadelphia and the Governors’ Award of Service from the State of New Jersey and many others.
