Bill Strickland is the President and CEO of Manchester Craftsmen's Guild and Bidwell Training Center, Inc., both founded in 1968. His duties include: developing and implementing major fund-raising plans of action; working with Boards of Directors and an Industrial Advisory Board; encouraging participation of corporate executive officials from major multi-national Pittsburgh corporations; and planning and implementing other strategic plans such as a recently completed eight million dollar campaign for the construction of a 62,000 square-foot facility as a mortgage free asset for both agencies. The facility includes a 350-seat performing arts music/lecture hall, library, art studios and labs, lunchroom facilities, an IBM Center and specially designed classrooms for vocational training. Strickland has recently completed the development of a 70,000 square-foot medical technology complex, which has exceeded eight million dollars in value.

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 and graduated cum laude. Currently he is a Masters of Arts Degree Candidate at the University of Pittsburgh. Throughout his distinguished career, Strickland has been honored with numerous prestigious awards for his contributions to the arts and the community. In 1999, he was presented with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Arts Leadership and Service Award. In 1998, he received the Kilby Award and "Coming Up Taller" Award presented in a White House ceremony by first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. In 1996, he received the MacArthur "Genius" Award for leadership and ingenuity in the arts.

He has served as Chairman of the Expansion Arts Panel of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) in Washington, D.C. and served a six-year Presidential appointment as a Council Member to the NEA. He was also a Council Member on the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and the Pennsylvania State Board of Education, a trustee at the Carnegie, and a Consultant with the British/American Arts Association in London, England.

Strickland has excelled in cultivating collaborative partnerships in Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Baltimore and Kansas City. He has developed successful relationships with prominent foundations such as the ALCOA Foundation, Helen Bader Foundation, The Danforth Foundation, Ford Foundation, The Forbes Fund, the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation, the Milwaukee Foundation, W. K. Kellogg Foundation, Social Venture Partners, Pittsburgh Foundation, E. M. Kauffman Foundation, Heinz Foundation, R.K. Mellon Foundation and Pew Charitable Trust.

Nationally and in Pittsburgh, Mr. Strickland has engaged in numerous leadership roles related to the arts, education, public policy, economic and workforce development. He has served on numerous boards of directors including: Mellon Financial Corporation, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Mattress Factory Ltd., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Business and Industrial Development Corporation, Northside Civic Development Council, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Americans for the Arts, Washington, D.C.; Phipps Conservatory, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Pittsburgh Fund for Arts Education, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and the Institute for Social Enterprise, Harvard Business School, Cambridge, Massachusetts. He has served as a lecturer in the arts and arts education, community development and social enterprise at the Kellogg School of Business, Harvard Business School, Harvard School of Education and Stanford Business School. He has also served as a consultant to the British/American Arts Association, London, United Kingdom