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Michelle Baer has spent 32 years helping transform Western Partitions, a commercial construction company, from an $8 million, single-state operation into a nearly $600 million enterprise spanning 18 states and international markets.

When Baer joined Western Partitions in 1992, she managed an accounting team of four. Despite the company’s 75-fold revenue increase, her team has grown to only 14 members – a testament to her focus on efficiency and automation. She directly oversees accounting, business systems, contracts, insurance, payroll, human resources and talent management, while co-managing contract strategy, dispute resolution, labor relations, fleet operations, security, risk management and information technology.

Baer has led two major enterprise resource planning system conversions, including the Timberline to Vista transition in 2016. She champions Western Partitions’ expansion into prefabrication services and manufacturing, identifying opportunities to mitigate construction risks through controlled environments.

Baer serves on the Association of the Wall and Ceiling Industry West Region board of directors and the Signatory Wall and Ceiling Contractors Alliance Western Region board. She previously served four years on the AWCI Caring Action Relief in Emergency Situations Foundation board.

In the community, Baer has served as finance chair for St. John Fisher Catholic Church’s building committee and the school’s advisory committee. She is a member of the Portland Rose Society and trains as an apprentice rose judge for the American Rose Society.