Oct. 19, 2020

This paid piece is sponsored by the Sioux Falls Development Foundation.

Amy Baete’s job is as diverse as the students she serves.

From kindergarteners through high school seniors, from fitness to STEM skills, her role at Sanford Health bridges them all.

As program director for Sanford’s K-12 education and outreach programs, Sanford Fit and Sanford PROMISE, Baete sits at the center of how the health system is connecting with the next generation.

“I like the ability to connect kids with resources they didn’t have access to before,” said Baete, who joined Sanford in 2010 as a research program manager and subsequently moved into multiple new roles.

“That’s the part that’s fulfilling. Parents and teachers can’t do it all, and these programs are a supplemental way to bridge a gap and provide all kids equitable access to extracurricular and academic opportunities.”

Baete will be part of a panel discussion, “How to Encourage and Equip the Next Generation of Employees With the Skills Your Business Needs Them to Have,” as part of the WIN in Workforce Summit from noon to 5 p.m. Oct. 27 at the Sioux Falls Convention Center, organized by the Sioux Falls Development Foundation.

Her co-panelists will be Dr. Brian Maher, executive director of the South Dakota Board of Regents; Chris Houwman, president of Malloy Electric; Dr. Jane Stavem, superintendent of the Sioux Falls School District; Kyle Gross, superintendent of Bishop O’Gorman Catholic Schools; and Dr. Benjamin Valdez, vice president of administration at Southeast Technical College.

“I’m excited for this event, and to sit on the panel will be a really cool opportunity,” Baete said. “I’m looking forward to it.”

Baete’s own story is a study in how skills can transfer throughout a career. A native of Waubay in northeast South Dakota, she lacked exposure to the sort of science, technology, engineering and math areas she now helps provide to kids.

“STEM wasn’t a word back then,” she said. “I didn’t identify as a science kid, I didn’t think I was good at it, and now from working in this field, I want to bring that perspective of equity for out-of-classroom experiences that give kids a chance to get close to STEM and ask questions and form an emotional connection.”

Her career led her first to law enforcement, where she started working for the Brown County Sheriff’s Office while completing her degree in sociology at Northern State University. She later worked for the Department of Corrections after college and then became a parole agent.

“It was a great career, but I was frustrated at the high incidence of recidivism and constantly sending offenders to prison for failing to be successful,” she said.

She became connected to Sanford Research through a family friend and applied to be a research project manager, working on research around development of kids with fetal alcohol syndrome.

“I didn’t know anything about research or fetal alcohol syndrome disorders, but I said if I could manage 100 convicted felons I could handle a couple hundred first-graders in a research study,” Baete said.

She got the job, and “I got the bug right away for health care,” she said.

It led her to the University of Sioux Falls for her MBA with a health care focus and began her career at Sanford. She became a business operations manager in 2016 and has been in her current role since mid-2018.

In addition to PROMISE’s K-12 programming, Sanford Research offers a research shadowing program, internships and undergraduate opportunities for students. Along with equipping the next generation of workers with direct connections to STEM fields, Baete’s work helps them build softer skills that are just as much in demand.

“We’re encouraging kids to solve problems and that it’s OK not to have the right answer every time,” she said. “We’re building social and emotional skills, and that leads into being able to critically solve problems and be a good team player. Ultimately, employers are looking for well-equipped and diverse workforces.”

To learn more and register for the WIN in Workforce Summit, click here.