Carey Baker
After giving birth to her daughter in August 2007, Carey Baker was faced with
the dilemma familiar to a lot of new parents – balancing work and family. “I did
not want to work part-time I just wanted corporate America to value productivity
and efficiency over how much time you spend in the office.”
"My work life had always been such a large part of my identity. I didn't want to
lose that part of my life, but I also love being a mother and a wife," Baker
said.
Knowing she wasn't alone, Baker and her husband, Brett, launched a business
the following March aimed at giving professionals flexibility in the workplace.
"I have several friends who are degree-educated professionals, and I knew
they would be interested in resuming or continuing their careers. That's why we
started Part-Time Pros staffing company," she said. “I just never dreamed it
would grow into so much more!”
Part-Time Pros staffing company unites talented professionals with companies
that have full- and part-time needs. The professionals range from stay-at-home
moms wanting to contribute to their household income, to the early retirees
looking to supplement retirement to the independent contractor who is extremely
talented but perhaps not the best marketer of their own services. The
Tulsa-based company, which took second place in the 2009 Mayor's Entrepreneurial
Spirit Award, works with more than 350 employer contracts and a more than 6000
professionals.
"Today's business environment calls on mentors and leaders capable of working
in partnership with others," said Rose Washington Rentie, executive director of
Tulsa Economic Development Council's Creative Capital. "Success is sometimes
measured by the ability to collaborate, innovate, inspire and contribute without
being dominant. These are extraordinary skills that Ms. Baker effortlessly
brings to every challenge."
Prior to starting her own business, Baker worked for Chapman Foundations
Management, The Advisory Board Co. and Williams Energy Marketing and Trading.
"I've had the opportunity to work with intelligent, well-vested individuals
throughout my career. However, my biggest influences tend to be those who work
every day to balance career and family life. Being a working mom is an
incredible motivator – if you are going to take time away from your children and
family, you better make it worthwhile and mean something," Baker said.
Baker said her husband is a huge influencer as well. "Without his
encouragement, support and involvement in the business, it would not be able to
be successful. There is the old saying – 'behind every good man is a good
women.' In my case, I have a wonderfully strong man by my side." There are no
“who wears the pants” in our family it is a partnership!
The Bakers reside in Tulsa with their daughters, Kennedy and Gentry. In
December 2011, Part-Time Pros assumed a medical staffing company Medical
Professionals which they are re-naming and branding Tulsa-Med Pros.
Baker also finds time for her community, volunteering with the United Way and Junior League of Tulsa. She has chaired the Tulsa Chamber Task Force for Business Expansion and Development for two years and is a member of the Chambers Small Business Council. In addition, she is a board member of Operation Aware and a graduate of Leadership Tulsa. She graduated Cum Laude from Vanderbilt University in 1995.
The Rest of the Group
Shannon Wilburn, Just Between Friends
Cindy Morrison, Social Media Strategist
Adrienne Kallweit, SeekingSitters
