Barnes Management Group was founded in 2006 by David Barnes and is still shaped by the experiences gained through his career in social work spanning 25 years. In the beginning of his career, David worked in child welfare as a social worker. Through his consistent engagement with families, community agencies and hospitals, David witnessed the value of collaboration and recognized the significant impact of supporting families through bringing together the necessary resources to make a difference in the lives of the children and families with whom he worked. Within three years, David became a supervisor and then a Director of Service. In this new capacity, and faced with a wide array of client needs, David increasingly brought together professionals from different sectors to combine their knowledge and develop more targeted and effective plans to support the dedicated staff working with families receiving child welfare services.
Partnerships would oftentimes arise from a lack of resources and specific knowledge needed in one sector and supplied by another. David realized that collaboration and shared decision-making practices were critical for promoting both growth and capacity building within a community and also within families. Throughout his experiences, David understood that vulnerable families facing mandated services occupied a sensitive space in our communities. It was critical to find solutions that emphasized co-creating and elevating the voices of these families to find a solution that worked for them.
Many years later, establishing a consulting firm seemed a natural course of action given David’s passion for his work. In creating Barnes Management Group, David wanted to continue bringing together professionals and industry experts from different sectors to benefit society. The company’s core values of collaboration and teamwork influence everything from its approach to leadership, to its operating structure and to how the organization engages with their clientele. In connecting so many individuals to organizations and vice versa, Barnes Management Group is able to act as not only a consulting firm but also a resource network to provide greater value to their clients.
“We are flexible, issue-driven, and passionate. Our goal is for our clients to look forward to not only working with us on various projects but also to working with our vast network of qualified and knowledgeable associates, partners and members of our Community of Interest.”
– David Barnes