Will Lufburrow, right, incoming CEO and president of Goodwill Industries of Central Oklahoma, joined the organization June 17. He will succeed Jim Priest, left, who is retiring Friday. (Photo courtesy of Goodwill)
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OKLAHOMA CITY — Goodwill Industries of Central Oklahoma is onboarding a new leader and preparing to launch a new mobile learning lab.
Will Lufburrow began working at the nonprofit June 17 and will transition into the role of president and CEO on July 1 following the retirement of Jim Priest, who has been at the helm since March 2020.
Lufburrow and Priest came to the job from different paths but share an enthusiasm for Goodwill’s mission of providing essential job training and education to put people to work.
“We’re a very well-recognized entity, but we’re not that well understood,” Priest said.
Many people think Goodwill is just a thrift store and a place to donate goods, he said. The stores help fund the mission, but they aren’t the mission.
“We’re a people development organization that helps people overcome challenges to employment,” Priest said. “We provide training to help people find jobs and help employers find employees.”
Priest represented Goodwill in employment matters during his years as a labor attorney.
“I only got on the front porch. I didn’t know how big the house was,” he said. “The thing that drew me into Goodwill was the good work they can do through jobs. We talk about the power of work.”
Lufburrow, on the other hand, grew up running the halls of Goodwill of Houston, where his grandfather and father both served as CEO. And he did his share of “volunteer work” when his misbehavior required discipline.
Lufburrow said as a young adult he wanted to play guitar for a living or work in tourism or wilderness training.
But after he married and moved to Houston, he joined the family business, serving Goodwill of Houston in roles spanning from marketing to training. He was promoted to director of fund development and special projects where he worked closely with the CEO and the board of directors.
Most recently, he was the chief operating officer and president of contract services for Goodwill of South Texas. Lufburrow was responsible for growing retail operations, fundraising, board relations and strategic planning. He grew the annual operating revenue from $20 million in 2019 to $32 million in 2022.
“Through the years I fell in love with every aspect of the business,” he said.
The Goodwill of Central Oklahoma board of directors decided Lufburrow’s passion for balancing business success with social impact aligns well with their mission of helping people overcome challenges to employment. Clients come to the organization after incarceration or battling addiction. Others have no computer skills or don’t know how to engage in a job search.
“Will is deeply experienced in the operations side, which is great,” said Priest, whose last day is Friday. “I believe he is uniquely qualified to lead us to new and expanded opportunities in service to our community.”
Both men said the transition has gone well.
Lufburrow said he has enjoyed learning about what the local Goodwill staff members are doing and what they would like to get started. “It aligns with what I wanted to do. I wanted a Goodwill that wanted to keep moving on,” he said.
The nonprofit has 915 employees and just opened a store in Weatherford. It has stores from Ponca City to Ardmore and Shawnee to Weatherford.
Plans call for expanding both stores and workforce development efforts, Priest said.
A new bus coming in July will be the organization’s largest mobile workforce development training lab with about 10 lab stations inside and an instructional screen outside. The “classroom on wheels” will increase Goodwill’s reach in areas that are not near its physical employment services centers.
“One of our biggest partners is the Department of Corrections. We’re in seven prisons and some minimum-security folks can come here,” Priest said. “Reentry employees need more than jobs, they need to be supported, encouraged and perhaps help with transportation.”
Many other Oklahomans also need help gaining employment, he said. A recent 2-hour Goodwill job fair drew 160 people.
“When we look at the challenges today’s world brings, we are faced with the reality a growing gap is separating society,” Lufburrow said. “Whether it is a skills gap, an income gap, education gap or a gap caused by lack of opportunity, our communities are in more need than ever for leaders who seek to balance business with social change.”
