Randy Griffith, Leadership Portage County Class of 2005, is our guest for the fifth episode of The Best Leadership Podcast Ever! As the Superintendent of Maplewood Career Center, Randy is a leader in public vocational education. In his conversation with Andra, Randy describes his winding professional journey, starting with his undergraduate experience in computer programming at the University of Akron, and then moving toward education, as he became a certified middle school math and history teacher while coaching in Southwest Ohio. Randy shares how he returned to Northeast Ohio to work in construction and received a job offer to work at Trumbull Career and Technical Center (TCTC) as a building trades teacher, which helped him recognize his passion for vocational education. Randy then describes taking a supervisory role at Maplewood and quickly moving up the organizational chart to fill the Superintendent role in 2004.

In addition to discussing the programs offered at Maplewood, Randy and Andra also touch on whether it's important to be liked as a leader, the difficult process of making change in organizations, and Randy's view that comprehensive education needs to move beyond rote memorization to incorporate experiential education and prepare students to have productive careers. Randy also describes the surging interest in career tech--and Maplewood--among area students.

------ The Best Leadership Podcast Ever is a project of Leadership Portage County in Northeast Ohio and showcases alumni from the program. Guests share stories of leadership successes and challenges. Follow "The Best Leadership Podcast Ever" wherever you get your podcasts.