Louise Baker

Vice President & Founder, Baker Industries

Baker Industries was founded through the energy of Louise Baker and her husband Charles, who wanted to find an appropriate working environment for their epileptic, learning-disabled son.  The Bakers learned after years of searching that many rehabilitation programs existed to benefit the mentally challenged, the blind, the deaf, and other disabled groups, but no programs existed to help high-functioning men and women who could not readily succeed in the workplace due to learning disabilities or other specific challenges.  The Bakers have devoted 25 years of their lives to the creation and building of Baker Industries, and they have done so for essentially no compensation.  In 1980, with two employees, they opened a small direct mail and outsourcing business in their garage to begin to fill this void.  In the years following, the company found an abundant market for its services, and Baker grew.  In 1988 a second Baker work site was established in Philadelphia to employ ex-offenders and recovering substance abusers that also typically have difficulty getting jobs.  Several moves and expansions later, this modest nonprofit enterprise has grown to include a work site in Malvern employing 75 people and a location in Philadelphia with over 100 employees.  Baker Industries strives to employ individuals with the most difficulty holding jobs, such as those with physical or emotional disabilities, recovering substance abusers, individuals on parole or probation, and the homeless.