LaVada Varner

LaVada Varner is a Center Director serving both Birmingham and Sumiton centers. LaVada collaborates and grows partnerships with stakeholders in business and industries throughout Central Six Regional Workforce Council (Region 4) and West Alabama Workforce Regional Workforce Council (Region 3).

LaVada has over 36 years of experience in the automotive and manufacturing industry which includes 14 years with ATN, where she has served as Project Engineer for the first six years and Center Director for the last eight years. During her time with ATN, she has worked with manufacturers throughout Alabama in coaching, training, implementing, & auditing for lean transformations and quality management systems as well as marketing, partnership, & business development. LaVada has served in numerous roles for key projects/organizations throughout Alabama.

Prior to joining ATN, LaVada held various leadership roles with General Motors which included assignments at five different divisions. While there, she achieved progressive positions from engineering to the leadership of workstations up to General Motors Global Management System.

A graduate from the University of Alabama, LaVada holds a B.S. in Industrial Engineering and an MBA in Global Management from the University of Phoenix. She holds certifications in Six Sigma Black Belt, Integrity Coaching, and numerous lean manufacturing and quality management systems. When not hard at work, LaVada enjoys movies, sports, and spending time with her family.