Michael Urness Email & Phone Number

Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Area

Co-founded evaluation consultancy focused on equitable research design andoutcomes.Develop research plans in collaboration with clients involving, data collection,analysis and presentation.Create and administer evaluations for program assessment and development.Conduct statistical analysis and modeling to understand and report programmaticresults.Advise on federal and state grants for clients in the nonprofit sector.Facilitate strategic planning processes for improved system performance.

Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States

Review assigned pipeline to anticipate the estimated closing date.Prepare loan documents; entering loan information into the System of Record.Communicate with the Settlement Agent and Customer to coordinate the signingof correct loan documents.

Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States

Sort, organize, and perform detailed case work in the Allegation System ofRecord.Prioritize and organize work with limited supervision and manager multipleassignments simultaneously while adhering to deadlines.Communicate issues and developments to Conduct Risk Lead Consultant.Build strong collaborate with business partners.Create, revise and update SOP and multiple ob aides for the Complaints withAllegations intake progress.

Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Area

Facilitated weekly design lab for 30 students to work in groups and engage in praxis.Advised students in one-on-one meetings to improve composition skills for a writing intensive course.Evaluated, graded and provided constructive feedback on projects, tests and essays.Mentored first-year teaching assistants and collaborated with instructor to improve content and delivery of curriculum. Received Student Academic Excellence Team Award (2018) and Mary Hoover Award for Teaching Excellence (2017).

Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Area

Assisted Professor Becky Yust on her research, topics included green building technologies, housing discourse and factors that influence housing desirability.Coordinated research activities including scheduling interviews, organizing research notes, and transcribing recordings.Conducted literature reviews to contextualize research and inform inquiry. Collaborated in the construction of research questions and investigative tools.Coded and analyzed interview and survey data.Collaborated on production and revision of manuscripts, verified citations, and produced reports and presentations.Undertook a textual analysis of The Encyclopedia of Housing, this included data extraction, coding, analysis and generation of a report on the findings.Presented research findings to academic and professional audiences.

Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Area

Managed a paid staff of four and up to 40 volunteers and Habitat for Humanity homebuyers on a daily basis.Cultivated relationships with businesses and individuals to secure material donations and ensure the store remained stocked with items of interest and use to customers.Scheduled full time donation pick up team logistics, accompanying them to provide assistance as needed.Streamlined donation process through changes in store layout and function and implementation of an online system for donation coordination.Set budget and worked with the larger organization to established goals and benchmarks; informed and motivated staff to meet and exceed expectations.Generated sales reports and forecasts .Collaborated with the University of Minnesota College of Design to facilitate student projects to research and propose redesigns of the retail space.Decreased reliance on purchased inventory, reducing expenses while increasing revenue and returning operation to profitability.

Lafayette, Louisiana Area

Spearheaded the opening of a new fundraising and mission advancing endeavor, converting an empty warehouse into a donation based home improvement materials retail operation (ReStore) in four months; included securing needed permits and tax registrations, coordination with contractors and code enforcement and design and assembly of a retail space.Researched and visited other ReStores to develop paperwork and policies and learn best practices for the new store; created and updated operations manual to ensure institutionalization of knowledge.Cultivated relationships with businesses and individuals to secure material donations and ensure the store remained stocked with items of interest and use to customers.Scheduled pick ups, drove truck and handled loading and unloading of donations as well as pricing and staging on salesfloor.Recruited, trained and directed volunteers to promote a successful and productive retail operation; supervised up to 20 volunteers on a daily basis.Ran point of sale system, maintained records and filed sales tax reports.Set budget and worked with the larger organization to established goals and benchmarks, reported performance to Board of Directors at monthly meeting.Created and maintained a social media presence to publicize operation to donors and customers. Organized events and leveraged earned media to promote operation.

Fergus Falls, Mn

Engaged in direct efforts to recruit and retain volunteers for the affiliate’s home building program and various supporting roles.Convened a volunteer committee to me bimonthly and ensure continuation of efforts to recruit and retain volunteers.Created and maintained a social media presence for the organization, including promotion of upcoming events and documentation of activities.Assisted in the creation and maintenance of a database of supporters including in kind donors, financial donors, contractors and volunteers.Secured $1000 in funding for volunteer engagement through successful grant solicitation to local foundation and assisted in production of several other grant applications.Collaborated in all-staff efforts including production of newsletters, annual reports, events, as well as office management and administration.

Lafayette, Louisiana Area

Assisted Senior Team Leader in coordinating sales floor staff to stock inventory, maintain store cleanliness and provide fast, fun and friendly customer service.Oversaw Electronics, Entertainment and Stationary departments. Duties included construction and maintenance of product displays, dissemination of information to staff regarding new product availability, assisting customers with understanding of technical products and training and supervising dedicated department specialists.Conducted initial interviews with job applicants, summarised performance and provided advisory input to hiring managers.

Billings, Montana Area

Launched a collaborative program with Deering Clinic to address the legal components of children’s medical problems.Created and administered a survey tool to parents at Deering clinic and mobile WIC clinics; coded, analyzed and interpreted survey results.Convened discussions with clinic staff to understand how the program could address unmet needs.Researched similar programs to develop best practices and tailor program to fit local needs, as informed by gathered data.Presented program plan to clinic administration and staff to secure buy in.Developed policies and procedures for referrals, intakes and client case evaluations for program.Generated communications materials to raise awareness of program among patient population. Initiated outreach, including mailings and press release, to local legal community to solicit volunteers to assist in staffing program.

Doctor Of Philosophy (Ph.D.) (Abd), Housing Studies, 3.8

Master Of Science (Ms), Housing Studies, 3.9

B.A., English, Political Science

Activities and Societies: University Register, MCSA, Curriculum Committee