Staff Spotlight: Mike Lee

What happens when a super smart business guy leaves a corporate career of over 35 years and decides to give back by taking a part-time job at a small foster care and adoption program? Amazing things! Since joining our team as Finance Administrator, Mike has brought his wealth of knowledge and experience to our program, truly changing it for the better. Not only does he take care of the money, he also helps to keep us on track in so many other ways like streamlining workflows, optimizing programs, and utilizing data to evaluate and inform decisions. On an unofficial basis, he has also transformed our lunch times with his enthusiasm for world cuisines, introducing us to lots of awesome new places to order from. We all enjoy hearing his stories of living and working in many different countries and cities around the world over the course of his career. In short - we are so glad Mike chose to join our team!

Get to know Mike:

What is your role at The Salvation Army and what does it entail?

I am the Finance and Contract Administrator at Children's Services. I'm responsible for maintaining contracts mainly with counties, our contractors, and other services. I also invoice all our revenues, pay our vendors and families, record all accounting entries and create reports to measure our financial performance. I also manage projects, automate our workload, create dashboards and help with things around the office (anything tools in a toolbox).

What drew you to a career in social work?

After some 35+ years in the corporate world, I wanted to give back to help those with needs in our society.

If you could wave a magic wand and change one thing about the child welfare system, what would it be?

I would wave my wand and make sure there's enough funding to make sure the needs of foster children and families are fully covered for the difficult work in fostering.

What is one piece of advice you have for people considering becoming foster/adoptive parents?

Perseverance - these foster children are traumatized through their experiences. Be kind and generous with them to recognize their trauma and help guide them through life.

What are you doing for self-care these days?

I renovate houses to release anxiety through swinging a hammer or cutting a piece of wood. :)

And just for fun...what are your favorite:

• Animal - penguins
• Color - orange
• Food  - everything, I'm a self-proclaimed foodie!
• Sport - ice hockey
• Vacation Destination - Having traveled to 40+ countries and 39 states (mainly for work), anywhere I haven't been to see and learn their local culture and FOODS!!!

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