08/14/2026
Celebrating JMG Excellence Across Northwest Michigan! 🎉
Networks Northwest is proud to celebrate the incredible members of our Jobs for Michigan’s Graduates (JMG) team who were recognized during Youth Solutions’ Annual Summer Summit in Mount Pleasant!
These awards highlight the dedication, leadership, creativity, and commitment our JMG professionals bring to helping young people build skills, overcome barriers, and prepare for successful futures.
🏆 Living Our Values Award – Authentic
Cathy Schanski, JMG Specialist at Petoskey High School, was recognized for consistently going above and beyond to help young people reach their full potential. Her genuine care, hands-on career preparation, and ability to make students feel valued and empowered exemplify what it means to live the JMG mission.
⚔️ JMG JAGForce Jedi! Award – Demonstrated Excellence Through Data
Congratulations to:
• Josh Todd, JMG Specialist and Char-EM WBL Coordinator serving East Jordan HS, Central Lake HS and Beaver Island HS
• Kali McNamara, JMG Specialist serving Boyne City HS, Crooked Tree HS and Lakeview HS
Their commitment to using data to strengthen programs and support student success demonstrates the power of informed, purposeful JMG programming.
📣 JMG Influencer Award
Eric VanVleet, JMG Specialist at CASMAN Academy, was recognized for using social media to celebrate students and share the JMG story. Through his LinkedIn presence, Eric highlights lessons learned, advocacy, programs, youth and communities while serving as a thoughtful leader and trusted voice for the work we do.
🌟 6 of 6 National Award
Congratulations to the following JMG professionals for meeting or surpassing performance standards in six critical areas: graduation, employment, full-time placement, positive outcomes, connectivity and postsecondary enrollment.
• Kali McNamara – Boyne City HS, Crooked Tree HS, Lakeview HS
• Josh Todd – East Jordan HS, Central Lake HS, Beaver Island HS
• Lisa Baldyga – Northwest Education Services CTC
• Marc Svatora – Pellston HS, Harbor Springs HS, Alanson HS
• Cathy Schanski – Petoskey HS
• LeAnne Bush – Wexford-Missaukee CTC – BBAM & WBL
• Kim Benz – Wexford-Missaukee CTC – Culinary, DMP & CTE Referrals
👏 JMG Community Service Award Winners
We also celebrate the programs recognized for going above and beyond to serve their communities and create lasting impact:
• Wexford-Missaukee Career Tech Center – Building Business & Marketing
• Wexford-Missaukee Career Tech Center – Digital Media Production
• Wexford-Missaukee Career Tech Center – Culinary
• Crooked Tree High School
• Central Lake High School
🎖️ JMG Milestone Award
We are especially proud to recognize professionals whose years of dedication have made a lasting difference for students, schools and communities:
• Lisa Baldyga – 5+ years of service
• Kim Benz – 5 years of service
• Tracy Beckley – 5 years of service
💙 A Special Thank You to Our JMG Partners
These accomplishments would not be possible without the incredible support of our school, career and community partners who work alongside our JMG team every day. Thank you for opening doors, providing work-based learning opportunities, supporting students, and helping young people connect what they learn in the classroom to their future careers.
Together, we are helping Northwest Michigan youth overcome barriers, build confidence and career-ready skills, and create pathways toward successful futures.
Congratulations to all of our award recipients, and thank you to Youth Solutions for recognizing the outstanding work happening across the JMG network!
Read the full media release and learn more about these accomplishments:
https://www.networksnorthwest.org/about-us/media/press-releases/networks-northwest-professionals-recognized-at-youth-solutions-statewide-summer-summit.html
