Oliver Baines is a 25-year resident of Fresno with an extensive record of community service. His professional career began in law enforcement as a police officer for the Fresno Police Department. During his 11 years as a Fresno Police officer, he was a highly decorated officer, receiving two Life Saving Medals, 2008 Officer of The Year recognition, Chief’s Commendations, and multiple Peer Commendations. Mr. Baines’ experience in community policing caused him to run and become a Councilmember for the City of Fresno, representing District 3 from 2011 to 2019. During this time as Councilmember, he was active in many programs addressing the economic, social, and environmental problems afflicting Fresno including Workforce Investment Board, the Fresno Works, the San Joaquin Valley Air Board District, the Successor Agency to the Redevelopment Agency of the City of Fresno, along with numerous community-based programs. Mr. Baines also became involved in workforce development programs and was Founder of the Valley Apprenticeship Connections (VAC), a workforce development program that focuses preparing young men and women from the hardest neighborhoods to serve populations in the Fresno Region for a career in the Construction Trades. Since 2016 the VAC has had 339 students enrolled, 250 completed (73%), with 196 gaining employment (78%) with wages averaging over $20/hour, and 185 students (94%) keeping employment. Mr. Baines was a Board Member of CVNMTC for nine years and recently he transitioned to the roll of President and CEO of CVNMTC. During his time on the Board, he was actively involved in sourcing deals from the Fresno area and was involved in the Board approval process for CVNMTC’s investments of $95M of Allocation with $140M in project costs. Currently oversees CVNMTC’s last investment of $25M into project that will greatly revitalize an impoverished area of Fresno.
