Bill Strickland is one of the world’s great social innovators. As head of both the Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild and the Bidwell Training Center, located on Pittsburgh’s gritty north side just down the street from where he grew up, Strickland has created a youth development and adult training center like no other. With Globeshakers host Tim Zak, Strickland talks about the environment he has helped to create over the past 40 years, in which stunning art, the sounds of jazz, beautiful orchids, and brilliant architecture abound. He shares how this world-class facility provides free programs that get kids into college and lead adults to jobs with a future in culinary arts, horticultural technology, or medical coding.
Bill Strickland is the president and CEO of Manchester Bidwell Corporation and its subsidiaries, Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild (MCG) and Bidwell Training Center (BTC). His duties include fundraising, working with boards of directors, and encouraging participation of corporate executive officials from major multinational Pittsburgh corporations. Strickland has completed the development of a new 40,000 square-foot production greenhouse, a 70,000 square-foot medical technology complex, and a 62,000 square-foot facility as a mortgage free asset for both MCG and BTC. The facilities include a 350-seat music/lecture hall, library, arts studios and labs, dining and meeting rooms, and a state-of-the-art award-winning audio and video recording studios. Strickland was born in Pittsburgh in 1947, and graduated from David B. Oliver High School in 1965. In 1969, he earned a bachelor’s degree in American history and foreign relations from the University of Pittsburgh, where he graduated cum laude.
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