The Second Annual Meeting: Building on Success
June 19-20, 2012  Cincinnati, OH
SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES
Stephen Adams
Deputy Director, National Fund for
Workforce Solutions
Steve Adams has more than 25 years of
experience in the fields of workforce and
community development, economic policy, and
public management. Before JFF, he provided
advisory services in workforce program
evaluation and entrepreneurship policy as
principal at Enabling Civic Innovation. He has
also worked as New England’s small business
advocate for the U.S. Small Business
Administration, as president and CEO of a state
policy research institute, and at several senior
state government posts in Maine and
Massachusetts.
Mr. Adams has served on several boards
including the Martin Luther King, Jr. Business
Empowerment Center in Worcester,
Massachusetts, and the Council of Governors
Policy Advisors. He holds a Master’s of Public
Administration from Penn State University and a
Bachelor’s in political studies from Queens
University in Kingston, Ontario.
Kathy Atkinson
Director of Education Services,
Mercy Neighborhood Ministries
Kathy had 40 years of experience in the fields of
education/training/and workforce development;
27 of those years in the early childhood arena
designing and delivery early childhood programs
as work supports for families in both the public
and private sector.
While providing direct services to working
families, she has served as work site supervisor
for field placements and internships for students
Speaker Biographies
in early childhood, nursing, social services as
well as the criminal justice system.
For the past decade, Kathy’s energy has been
focused at the grassroots level on developing
opportunities for economically disadvantaged
families to move toward self-sufficiency through
a variety of work-ready and compensatory
educational programs for adults. She is
committed to supporting individuals and
families to move from entitlement to
empowerment through education and
workforce training and on to employment.
John Baker
Director, Greenville Works
John Baker serves as Director of Greenville
Works, a role has held since its founding in
2009. Prior to the formal start of Greenville
Works, Baker led the development of the
Greenville Business Retention and Expansion
Program in 2007. Baker currently serves as
director for the Greenville Regional Workforce
Collaborative as part of his Greenville Works
duties.
Prior to 2007, Baker spent 22 years in the
engineering and construction industry in roles
ranging from marketing and training, to business
development and quality management. He is a
1980 graduate of the University of Georgia.
Lawra J. Baumann
Executive Director, Health Careers
Collaborative of Greater Cincinnati
Lawra was hired in June 2010 by Cincinnati State
Technical & Community College and the Health
Careers Collaborative of Greater Cincinnati
(HCC) to serve as Grant Manager for the
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Collaborative’s $4.9 million Department of Labor
ARRA grant. In January 2011, the Collaborative
asked Lawra to assume the additional role of
Executive Director of the HCC. As of March
2011, Lawra was appointed by President O’dell
Owens to serve as Director of Grant
Administration, overseeing the college’s pursuit
and management of federal and state funded
grants. In that role, Lawra oversaw the
development of a successful $19.6 million
proposal for which Cincinnati State will lead 9
other community colleges in 5 states in
expanding health career pathways and the
creation of a common credential. Lawra’s
professional experience includes diverse
executive and consulting responsibilities in the
corporate, government and nonprofit sectors,
philanthropy, and politics. She holds a Master’s
of Public Administration and a Doctorate in
Political Science & Public Policy.
Marc Bellisario
CEO, Primary Health Solutions
Marc Bellisario is the CEO of Primary Health
Solutions, a community health center serving
Butler County, Ohio. Primary Health Solutions
delivers services to over 14,000 patients. Mr.
Bellisario has been working in the health care
industry for the past 30 years, 15 of which have
been in community health. His organization is an
area leader in the concept of integrated care
especially in the area of mental health and
physical health. He serves on numerous nonprofit and health care boards in the area. Mr.
Bellisario is passionate in the area of innovation,
quality outcomes, and changing the way we
deliver health care services.
Tony Bohn
System Vice President and Chief Human
Resources Officer, Norton Healthcare
Tony Bohn is the System Vice President & Chief
Human Resources Officer for Norton Healthcare.
Norton Healthcare is the Louisville, KY area’s
leading hospital and health care system and
third largest private employer, providing care at
more than 125 locations throughout Greater
Louisville and Southern Indiana. Norton
Healthcare is the 2011 recipient of the
prestigious National Quality Forum Quality
Healthcare Award, along with the 2011
Kentucky Hospital Association Quality Award.
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Mr. Bohn is responsible for the planning,
organizing, implementing and strategic
oversight of all human resources functions and
acts as a strategic advisor to senior
management, the board of trustees and various
business partners regarding a full range of
human resources and organizational issues. The
scope of responsibility extends to all phases of
human resources including, but not limited to;
employee relations, compensation and benefits,
training and development, talent acquisition,
workforce planning/development and employee
health/wellness. Mr. Bohn graduated from
Bellarmine University with a Bachelor of Arts
Degree in Business Administration and from
Webster University with a Master of Arts Degree
in Human Resources Development. He has over
20 years of progressive human resources
leadership experience in the healthcare arena.
Julie Brown
Project Director, Dan River Region
Collaborative
Dr. Brown provides management services to the
Dan River Region Collaborative, a regional
partnership dedicated to working with
employers to address workforce needs while
moving individual employees to high-skill, highwage situations. She previously served as the
Director of Education and Outreach Programs at
Institute for Advanced Learning and Research
(IALR). Dr. Brown has eighteen years of
experience in education, working for a public
research university, two community colleges,
and regional K-12 districts. Dr. Brown has
extensive experience in federal grant reporting,
program development, and fiscal accountability,
managing over $4 million in local, regional, state
and federal grant funds.
Dr. Brown received a B.A in Environmental
Science from the University of Virginia, a M.S. in
Environmental Studies from Longwood
University, and her Ph.D. from Old Dominion
University in Community College Leadership.
She serves on numerous Boards including
Riverview Rotary, The Arc of Southside, United
Way, Danville Pittsylvania County Community
Services Board, and the West Piedmont WIB.
Dr. Brown is a 2012 participant in the UVA
Sorensen Political Leaders Program.
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Laura Chandler
Executive Director, Southwest Alabama
Workforce Development Council
Laura Chandler joined SAWDC in 2010. Prior to
joining the Council Ms. Chandler’s most recent
previous position was president and CEO of the
Gulf Coast Renaissance Corporation, a nonprofit, public-private partnership formed
following Hurricane Katrina. Earlier, she served
as senior deputy director of Fannie Mae in
Mobile and as development manager for the
Mitchell Company, Inc., a Mobile-based real
estate development and management firm.
Ms. Chandler holds a Bachelor of Science degree
in business administration from Auburn
University and a master’s degree in city and
regional planning from the Georgia Institute of
Technology.
Linda Collins
Executive Director, Career Ladders Project
Linda Collins is the Executive Director of
the Career Ladders Project (CLP), a non-profit
organization working to foster educational and
career advancement for Californians through
research, policy and direct support to colleges
and their workforce partners. Linda has
extensive experience with workforce
development, academic leadership as well as
educational policy and programs, having worked
closely with the Board of Governors for the
California Community Colleges (CCC) to develop
the statewide Ladders of Opportunity policy
initiative and the large scale Career
Advancement Academy (CAA) demonstration
project designed to connect underprepared and
underemployed youth and adults to high wage
career pathways.
Linda taught sociology and interdisciplinary
studies at Los Medanos College in Pittsburg, CA
for 15 years. She served two terms as the
President of the CCC Academic Senate and was
the founding director of the Inter-segmental
Major Preparation Articulated Curriculum
(IMPAC), a major initiative to improve
articulation across the segments of higher
education in California. Linda is frequently asked
to consult on state and national policy efforts.
Most recently she has served on: California
Tomorrow's Community College Advisory Board,
the Consumer-Directed Services Network
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(CDSN) Board, the Bay Area Manufacturing
Renaissance Council and the Leadership Council
of the National Skills Coalition. She is a founding
member of the California EDGE Campaign, a
non-partisan coalition—including business,
labor, community colleges, workforce boards,
and community and social equity groups—
focused on policy change and systems alignment
to improve the state’s workforce development
system. Linda is also the founding director of
LearningWorks, a new center for linking
knowledge, policy and practice with a focus on
improving student completion in the California
Community Colleges.
Richard Cornwell
Career & Leadership Development Coordinator,
UPMC Hamot
Rick Cornwell is the Career Development
Coordinator at UPMC Hamot in Erie,
Pennsylvania. He holds a BS in Education from
Edinboro University of Pennsylvania and an
MBA from Penn State University. Rick is the
Steering Committee Chair of the Northwest PA
Healthcare Industry Partnership, and serves as a
board member for the Northwest PA Area
Health Education Center, Northwest PA Youth
Council and the Youth Leadership Institute of
Erie.
He has 20 + years of experience as a leader in
healthcare, manufacturing and retail. He speaks
to audiences on a variety of leadership topics
and workforce development initiatives. He is a
member of the CareerStat Leadership Team and
facilitates a pilot at UPMC Hamot measuring the
effects of enhanced screening, on-boarding, and
coaching on the retention of front-line hospital
workers.
Susan Crane
Executive Director, SkillUp Washington
Susan Crane joined SkillUp Washington, the
workforce education funders collaborative, as
Executive Director in 2010. For the prior 13
years she served as Executive Director of Port
Jobs. Under her leadership, Port Jobs created
the Financial Tools for the Trades Program,
Working Wheels, and the Airport Jobs
employment program at Sea-Tac Airport. In
2003, Port Jobs received the Governor’s Best
Practice Award for the Airport Security Screener
Project.
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Ms. Crane joined Port Jobs after ten years as a
policy analyst for the Seattle City Council. She
has been the public member (a governorappointed/Senate confirmed position) of the
Washington State Apprenticeship and Training
Council since 1999, and is also the Vice Chair of
the Adult Education Advisory Council (AEAC) of
the State Board of Community and Technical
Colleges. The AEAC advises the State Board on
policy issues related to adult basic education
and ESL. Ms. Crane holds an M.P.A. from Seattle
University and is an alumna of the Program for
Senior Executives in State and Local
Government at Harvard University.
Rebecca Dernberger
Vice President and General Manager,
Northeast Division, Manpower
Rebecca Dernberger began her career with
Manpower 25 years ago as a recruiter with the
Holland, Michigan office. Rebecca currently has
responsibility for more than 100 branch offices
in the Northeast.
Currently, Rebecca serves on the board of
directors for Lakeshore Advantage, Holland
Hospital, and HEDCOR. She also serves on the
Patient Care Delivery Committee for Holland
Hospital and Zeeland Public Schools Business
Education Advisory Committee.
A graduate of Hope College, Rebecca has a
Bachelor of Arts degree with a double major in
business and psychology.
Fred Dedrick
Executive Director, National Fund for
Workforce Solutions
Fred Dedrick has more than 30 years of
experience in addressing local and regional
needs, including improving workforce
development through partnerships. Most
recently, he served as Pennsylvania’s deputy
secretary for workforce development,
overseeing roughly $150 million in federal and
state workforce funding. He also served on the
executive committee of JOIN, Philadelphia’s
regional collaborative supported by the National
Fund for Workforce Solutions.
Prior to his tenure as deputy secretary, Mr.
Dedrick was the executive director of
Speaker Biographies
Pennsylvania’s statewide Workforce Investment
Board, developing recommendations for
Governor Ed Rendall regarding workforce policy
and strategy. He also has held various leadership
roles statewide and in Philadelphia that involved
attracting new businesses, developing industryspecific education programs, and engaging in
other workforce-related activities.
He currently
serves on the leadership council of the National
Skills Coalition. Kevin Doyle
Principal, Green Economy
Kevin Doyle is Principal of Green Economy, an
independent consulting firm offering a wide
range of services, including: “green” labor
market research, strategic planning, multistakeholder facilitation, program evaluation,
and professional development training.
Kevin is the workforce development program
leader for the New England Clean Energy
Council and the leader of the Green Careers
Affinity Group for the National Fund for
Workforce Solutions. He is the co-author of
four popular books about environmental
careers, speaks frequently about green
careers at conferences and campuses, and
serves on numerous “green job” advisory
committees in New England and nationwide.
Before starting Green Economy in 2007, Kevin
was the National Director of Program
Development at The Environmental Careers
Organization (ECO) for fifteen years. In that
role, he helped launch the environmental
careers of more than 11,000 people, 25% of
whom were Asian, African, Hispanic and Native
Americans. Previous to his national work with
ECO, Kevin served as the Regional Director of
ECO's Pacific Northwest office in Seattle; as the
director of Neighborhood Economic
Development Corporation (NEDCO) in Eugene,
Oregon; as a land use planner and community
development coordinator for Kitsap County,
Washington in the Seattle metro area; and as a
Washington, DC lobbyist for the Iowa Public
Interest Research Group and American Rivers.
In 1999, Kevin was selected by the University of
Iowa to be honored as one of six inaugural
members to receive the university's new Alumni
Fellows award.
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Barbara Endel
Program Director, Jobs for the Future
Barbara Endel co-leads Accelerating
Opportunity: A Breaking Through initiative,
which seeks to fundamentally change the way
Adult Basic Education is delivered in 11 states,
and to ensure that those states’ policies
encourage dramatically improved student
outcomes in terms of completing credentials of
value in the labor market.
Ms. Flynn’s responsibilities at the Labor
Department included coordinating the agency’s
legislative, regulatory, and international affairs
agendas and outreach to philanthropic
organizations. As the agency’s policy director,
Ms. Flynn played a key role in the development
and implementation of the Workforce
Innovation in Regional Economic Development
Initiative (WIRED).
Most recently, Endel served as a policy
consultant to JFF on the Developmental
Education Initiative, a six-state subproject of
Achieving the Dream focused on mining and
utilizing data to improve student success in
community colleges. Before that, she helped the
Greater Cincinnati Workforce Network create
career pathways for over 3,000 participants
through a project funded by the National Fund
for Workforce Solutions.
Within the Employment and Training
Administration, Ms. Flynn previously led the
Division of One-Stop Operations, where she
developed the policy and technical assistance
framework necessary to enable states and local
communities to establish comprehensive OneStop delivery systems designed to provide
quality services to job seekers, workers, and
employers. She also served as team leader for
the interagency policy group charged with
implementing the Workforce Investment Act of
1998.
Endel has also developed career pathways and
managed policy initiatives for KnowledgeWorks
Foundation and designed and implemented
community college assessments and research
solutions for ACT.
In the 1990s, Ms. Flynn played key roles in the
National School-to-Work initiative and in the
launch of the Secretary’s Commission on
Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) Initiative.
Maria Flynn
Vice President, Building Economic Opportunity,
Jobs for the Future
As vice president of JFF's Building Economic
Opportunity Group, Maria Flynn leads JFF’s work
to help low-skilled adults advance to familysustaining careers, while enabling employers to
build and sustain a productive workforce. Ms.
Flynn guides the activities of several key JFF
projects and partnerships, including the
National Fund for Workforce Solutions, Jobs to
Careers, and Breaking Through.
Ms. Flynn has nearly 20 years of experience in
the workforce development field. As the
administrator of the Office of Policy
Development and Research in the U.S.
Department of Labor’s Employment and
Training Administration, she oversaw the
assessment and development of employment
and training policies, managed the design of the
agency's research and evaluation strategy, and
provided direct support to agency budget and
appropriations activities.
Speaker Biographies
Robert G. Garraty
President & CEO,
Garraty Workforce Investment
Bob Garraty’s work experience consists of over
40 years in workforce and economic
development including stints at the PA
Department of Labor and Industry, a statewide
economic development agency, Penn State
University, owner of a business, a local & statewide Workforce Investment Board.
Bob started his career in workforce
development as an Employment Interview and
Employment Counselor in the West and North
Philadelphia local PA CareerLinks (known then
as State Employment Offices). He also served as
the Head of Placement and Employment
Counseling Services for the Employment Service,
Regional Director for the Department in Erie,
Executive Director of the labor-management
economic development agency called the PA
MILRITE Council and Senior Research Associate
at the Penn State Institute of State and Regional
Affairs. He also served as Executive Director of
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the local South Central Workforce Investment
Board and the statewide Pennsylvania
Workforce Investment Board. He recently left
the position of Deputy Secretary for Workforce
Development at the PA Department of Labor &
Industry.
He has a Doctor of Philosophy in Public
Administration from Penn State University and
has an undergraduate degree in History and a
Master’s Degree in Public Administration.
Michael B. Gritton
Executive Director, KentuckianaWorks
Michael B. Gritton has served as the Executive
Director of KentuckianaWorks since August
2002. The organization serves Bullitt, Henry,
Jefferson, Oldham, Shelby, Spencer and Trimble
counties through a variety of programs that
address the lifelong education, training and
employment needs of residents in the sevencounty region. During his tenure,
KentuckianaWorks has established a set of OneStop Career Centers on the campuses of the
local community college, become the nation’s
first Workforce Investment Board (WIB) to run a
college access center and created a strong youth
program serving high school drop-outs. He has a
B.A. from Duke University and a J.D. from
Columbia University School of Law.
Jessie Hogg Leslie
Senior Regional Field Director, East, National
Skills Coalition
As Senior Regional Field Director for the eastern
United States, Jessie helps create multistakeholder coalitions that advocate for
workforce policy changes at both the state and
federal levels. She provides technical assistance
to state partners in the areas of coalitionbuilding, policy analysis and press outreach, and
supports more intensive legislative and
communications campaigns within targeted
states. Jessie joined National Skills Coalition in
2004.
Prior to joining National Skills Coalition, Jessie
was Manager of Strategic Resources and Public
Policy for the United Way of Greater Cincinnati,
where she built a statewide advocacy network
and served as lead policy advocate within
Kentucky, in addition to supporting ongoing
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policy efforts within Ohio. She was previously
Deputy Director of Kids Voting Southwest Ohio.
Brandynn Holgate
Research Associate, Center for Social Policy at
the University of Massachusetts Boston
Brandynn Holgate has been a Research
Associate with the Center for Social Policy at the
University of Massachusetts Boston since 2003.
She holds a master’s degree in business
administration and is a doctoral candidate at the
McCormack Graduate School of Policy and
Global Studies. She has experience in applied
policy research relevant to employment
services, workforce development and organized
labor. Holgate is a co-author of "Finding the
Right Fit: How Alternative Staffing Affects
Worker Outcomes" (2011) with Françoise Carré
and Helen Levine. This report highlights new
findings from the national Alternative Staffing
Demonstration, which was launched by the
Charles Stewart Mott Foundation in 2003.
Robert Holm
Program Director, Jobs for the Future
Robert Holm is a program director for workforce
and economic development in JFF’s Building
Economic Opportunity Group. Since joining
NCEE's Workforce Development Strategies
Group (now part of JFF) in 2005, Holm has
managed regional workforce and economic
development consulting and research for NCEE
and has assisted regions to align economic and
talent development. During that time has
helped manage the U.S. Dept. of Labor,
American Association of Community Colleges
(AACC), and foundation-funded projects to learn
and apply the lessons of regional collaboration
for economic growth and talent development.
Mr. Holm assisted in the creation of the AACC
Center for Workforce and Economic
Development to help community colleges
engage in regional economic development, and
has assisted USAID and other international
agencies to identify effective workforce
development practices internationally and apply
those lessons in Latin America, Africa, and Asia.
Prior to joining NCEE in 2005, Mr. Holm
established a regional workforce consulting
center with Harley Davidson, Manpower,
Johnson Controls, the University of Wisconsin,
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and others in southeastern Wisconsin,
developed Welfare-to-Work training programs
for Goodwill’s One-Stop Job Centers in
Milwaukee, and founded Venture Creation, a
consulting practice assisting minority-owned
companies with strategy and financing.
Mr. Holm holds a Master’s degree from the
Kennedy School of Government at Harvard
University and a B.A. in economics from the
University of Wisconsin at Madison. He served
in the U.S. Army as an Arabic linguist and
studied at the American University in Cairo,
Egypt.
Suzanne Kathman
Executive Director,
Mercy Neighborhood Ministries
Suzanne (Sue) Kathman provided the vision and
leadership for the merger of three community
agencies that became Mercy Neighborhood
Ministries in 2007 and currently serves as the
organization’s Executive Director. An
accomplished health care professional with a
passion for community service, Ms. Kathman
previously served as the Executive Director of
Healing Connections Associates (HCA), which
she founded in 1993, as a direct response to the
growing need for employment for low-income
women and home health care for senior citizens
living in poverty. In addition to her work at HCA,
Ms. Kathman served as founding Director of the
Nurse Aide/Home Care Aide Training Program at
Bethany House Services for fifteen years. Ms.
Kathman received her registered nurse diploma
from the Jewish Hospital School of Nursing and
a Bachelor of Arts in history from Xavier
University in Cincinnati. Sue worked as a critical
care nurse for 21 years before founding Healing
Connections Associates. She is an Associate of
the Sisters of Mercy and a dedicated community
activist in the Walnut Hills neighborhood. Ms.
Kathman has been recognized for her leadership
and community service with the Health Care
Hero Award, the TriHealth Spirit of Women
Award for Community Outreach, and as a 2008
Cincinnati Enquirer Woman of the Year.
Speaker Biographies
Marianne Krismer
National Director, Health Professions
Pathways Consortium
Dr. Krismer’s career at Cincinnati State spans
over 35 years, with service as faculty, program
chair, associate dean and dean in the health and
public safety professions. She is now the
National Director of the Health Professions
Pathway Consortium, directing a $19.6 million
Department of Labor, Trade Assistance Act
Community College Career Training (TAACCCT)
Grant for 10 community colleges in 5 states and
the District of Columbia with a focus on
transforming health education pathways to
employment in healthcare.
Dr. Krismer has been a community leader and
innovator in health and public safety education.
Of her many accomplishments Dr. Krismer is one
of the founders of the Health Careers
Collaborative of Greater Cincinnati, a college
access program for entry level health care
workers into Nursing and Allied Health careers.
She has received several governmental and
private grants to support education and access
for “at promise” students.
Most recent accomplishments include
implementation of the Bridge to Employment
Program sponsored by the Johnson and Johnson
Foundation and acquisition and oversight of
three Department of Labor grants in excess of
$26 million.
Dr. Krismer has also served as vice chair for the
Greater Cincinnati Tech Prep Consortium and
has facilitated career pathway development for
health careers. She has spoken to various
groups such as the Conference Board in New
York City, American National Standards Institute
and the Workforce Council in Seattle
Washington to share our community success
with access programs in health care for high
school and adult incumbent workers. Dr.
Krismer is a 2009 graduate of Leadership
Cincinnati, a selective Greater Cincinnati
Chamber of Commerce program for community
leaders focused on civic engagement.
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William T. Lecher
Senior Clinical Director, Cincinnati Children’s
Hospital Medical Center
Bill Lecher is a registered nurse with over twenty
years of clinical and administrative health care
experience. He received his Bachelor of Science
in Nursing degree from the University of
Wisconsin. He received his Master of Science,
Administrative Studies in Nursing and MBA,
Entrepreneurial Studies from the University of
Illinois. He is viewed as a highly effective leader,
self-directed with a strong work ethic. He has
competent relationship and collaboration
abilities and is a builder of consensus.
Bill is the Senior Clinical Director for the
Specialty Resource Unit and related
departments at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital
Medical Center, where he has administrative
responsibility for five departments and 350
clinical and administrative staff.
At the hospital, he has responsibility for
employees in both entry-level healthcare and
professional positions. As a result, Bill is able to
actively bridge the need for educated
employees in entry-level positions and is in a
position to promote them as they proceed along
the career pathway. He is an advocate of
diversity in the workplace, and champions
gender diversity in the nursing workforce. He is
currently President-elect for the American
Assembly for Men in Nursing. In addition, he
actively promotes community stewardship and
benefit as a major employer in the Greater
Cincinnati area.
Bill has long been engaged with career pathways
and adult workforce development, serving as
the chairperson of the Health Careers
Collaborative of Greater Cincinnati for four
years. He is presently the Collaborative’s
Executive Director.
Bill was recently honored by the
KnowledgeWorks Foundation as a Champion of
Change, and by the Cincinnati Business Courier
as a Health Care Hero by the Health Foundation
of Greater Cincinnati for Excellence in Nursing
Leadership for his employer engagement and
leadership with career pathways.
Speaker Biographies
Chauncy Lennon
Program Officer, Ford Foundation
Chauncy Lennon focuses on helping low-income
workers gain economic security through access
to good-quality jobs that offer benefits and
opportunities for promotion. The goal of his
grant making is to help working families
overcome poverty and achieve self-sufficiency
through improved work supports such as the
earned income tax credit, and building employer
support for policies that promote retention and
advancement.
Before joining the Ford Foundation in 2009,
Chauncy was senior vice president for Asset
Building at Seedco, where he was responsible
for the growth and operation of national
initiatives that connect low-wage workers to
income-enhancing benefits and services. He has
more than 10 years of experience researching
the mobility patterns of the working poor and
organizing and implementing workforce
development programs. He was research
director for a study of these patterns among
low-wage workers in New York City that was
featured in two books written by Katherine S.
Newman, "No Shame in My Game: The Working
Poor in the Inner City" (Vintage, Russell Sage
Foundation, 2000) and "Chutes and Ladders:
Navigating the Low-Wage Labor Market"
(Harvard University Press, Russell Sage
Foundation, 2008).
Chauncy earned his Ph.D. in anthropology from
Columbia University, master's degree from the
University of Chicago and bachelor's degree
from Williams College. He has taught urban
studies at Columbia's School of International
and Public Affairs and at Barnard College.
Kelly Ryan Lucas
CEO, Incourage Community Foundation
Kelly Ryan Lucas is the CEO of Incourage
Community Foundation, serving in that role
since 1996. She has been nationally recognized
for her transformative work at the foundation,
which has catalyzed unique strategic leadership
and economic development opportunities in the
central Wisconsin area that it serves.
Kelly is the lead organizer of a rural initiative
designed to close the work-skills gap by aligning
resources, strategies, and policy through
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coordination across a regional workforce
system; Incourage's initiative is one of the first
rural sites in the US selected to participate in
the National Fund for Workforce Solutions.
Named to The NonProfit Times' Power &
Influence Top 50 in 2011, Kelly was specifically
recognized for increasing access and
opportunity through her leadership in rural
community development philanthropy.
Kelly Ryan Lucas has been a driving force in the
innovation of community foundations, and has
helped redefine the role of these organizations
in our nation's economically-challenged rural
areas. She has served on numerous boards and
steering committees, including: Council on
Foundations' Community Leadership Team,
Community Foundation Division of the
Wisconsin Donors Forum, National Task Force
on Community Leadership through CFLeads and
Knight Foundation National Advisory Committee
on Information Needs of Communities.
Kendra Lodewick
Principal, Policy & Program Insights, LLC
Kendra Lodewick specializes in research and
evaluation that improves the well-being and
economic independence of low-income
individuals and families. Ms. Lodewick has over
six years experience conducting independent
evaluations with nationally recognized
evaluation firms, including Abt Associates and
Berkeley Policy Associates. As deputy director of
the evaluation of and technical assistance to the
TechReach Initiative, Ms. Lodewick provided
technical assistance and conducted a formative
assessment to Manpower Inc., one of the
world's largest placement firms, as it developed
its ability to serve as an effective employment
intermediary for low-income, low-skilled
workers.
Ms. Lodewick received her Bachelor in Public
Policy Administration and Management from
Cornell University and a Master in Public AffairsPolicy Analysis from the University of WisconsinMadison.
Speaker Biographies
Michele Mackey
Project Manager, Center on Wisconsin Strategy
Michele Mackey provides project management
expertise for the Center on Wisconsin Strategy’s
programs, including the State Smart
Transportation Initiative. Prior to joining COWS,
Michele managed numerous federally-funded,
multi-stakeholder projects in the areas of
workforce development, health care, economic
justice and social supports. She also evaluates
programs receiving federal or philanthropic
support. Michele has written, taught and
provided technical assistance on innovative
program design and implementation, as well as
administrative law and professional ethics. A
licensed California attorney with Silicon Valley
roots, Michele also has experience advising
emerging-industry leaders and minority
business owners on federal contracting, labor
and organizational management issues.
Patricia Maguire
Program Officer, SkillWorks: Partners for a
Productive Workforce
Tricia Maguire joined SkillWorks in 2009 where
in addition to supporting overall initiative
management, she also was responsible for the
development and coordination of a new Green
Collar Career Pathways Initiative launched in
2009 which led to the selection of SkillWorks as
a Green Jobs Innovation Fund sub-award
recipient in 2011. Prior to SkillWorks, Tricia was
the Government Programs Specialist for The TJX
Companies, Inc. where she built and maintained
employment relationships with community
organizations and state agencies.
Tricia serves on the ACCIÓN USA: Massachusetts
Green Advisory Council and the Board of
Groundwork Somerville. She was on the
Advisory Group for the 2011 Massachusetts
Clean Energy Industry Employment and
Workforce Needs Study. Tricia holds a Master’s
Degree in Macro Social Work from Boston
College and earned her bachelor’s from the
College of the Holy Cross.
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Katherine Mainzer
Project Director, The Workforce
Solutions Group
Katherine Mainzer has over 25 years experience
in public policy development, media relations,
and legislative advocacy. An innovative coalition
builder and entrepreneur, she has led successful
campaigns to reduce violence, prevent
homelessness, and develop jobs in distressed
neighborhoods. For the past four years Kathie
has served as communications and government
relations advisor to the Workforce Solutions
Group (WSG), and since January 2012 she has
served as Project Director. Katherine also serves
as Director of Advocacy and Communications at
The Strategy Group, a public affairs firm in
Boston.
As Executive Director of the Massachusetts
Coalition for the Homeless, Kathie developed a
statewide advocacy group of homeless families
and concerned advocates who worked to
educate city and state policy makers about how
homelessness can be prevented and
remediated. As Founder of Citizens for Safety,
Kathie brought community, youth and media
leaders together to create the Boston Gun
Buyback program and build a neighborhood
coalition to support community policing and
increased funding for youth development
programs.
In 1993, Kathie and three colleagues opened
Bella Luna Restaurant in the Jamaica Plain
neighborhood of Boston. For 18 years, Bella
Luna and the Milky Way Lounge have served as
a catalyst for economic revitalization and a
gathering spot for families. The restaurant has
created 50 permanent jobs and supports local
non profits and artists through diverse
programming. Kathie has served as President of
the local business association, as well as on
numerous boards including the Jamaica Plain
Neighborhood Development Corporation, Mass.
Law Reform Institute, the National Coalition for
the Homeless, the Civil Liberties Union of MA
and the MA State Welfare Advisory Board.
Nikki Means
CEO, Project Socialize
Nikki Means, is Founder and CEO of Project
Socialize, LLC, as well as being an instructor for
the Institute for Social Media at Cincinnati State.
Speaker Biographies
Project Socialize grew from Nikki’s passion for
Social Media. The interaction, the development
of community, the sharing of information, and
ever-evolving technologies fuels her passion
daily. Nikki’s background includes creating
strategy for successful social media programs
while leveraging eight years of project and
process management to ensure seamless
implementation. Based on seven years of
immersion in social media tools and online
marketing communication channels (blogging
and blog development, social networks, videos,
forums, and other online communities and
tools), Nikki has found ways to help others
achieve their business goals while doing what
she loves most – Social Media Marketing.
Kathryn E. Merchant
President & CEO, The Greater
Cincinnati Foundation
Prior to joining The Greater Cincinnati
Foundation in 1997, Kathryn E. Merchant was
the director of The Pew Charitable Trusts’
Neighborhood Preservation Initiative and a
partner in the New Haven-based consulting firm
Holt, Wexler & Merchant. She has also served as
the director of planning for the United Way of
Greater New Haven and as planner/grants
manager for the South Central Connecticut Area
Agency on Aging.
Ms. Merchant has served in leadership positions
on a number of nonprofit boards of directors,
including the Ohio Grantmakers Forum, SC
Ministry Foundation, United Way of Greater
New Haven and United Way of Connecticut. She
is a member of the Cincinnatus Association and
graduate of Leadership Cincinnati Class XXI.
Current board service includes the Center for
Effective Philanthropy, the National Center for
Arts and Technology, the Cincinnati USA
Regional Chamber, and the Metropolitan Club
(chairman 2004). Ms. Merchant served on the
board of the Council on Foundations 2001-07,
holding numerous leadership positions including
vice chairman 2006-07, and the Community
Foundations of America Board (Giving Net)
2000-2008, serving as chairman 2003-06.
In 2005, Ms. Merchant received a Career
Women of Achievement Award from the YWCA
of Greater Cincinnati, and in 2006 received the
Ohio Philanthropy Award from the Ohio
Grantmakers Forum. She is one of the “Top 50
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Power & Influence” leaders in 2008 selected by
The NonProfit Times. She was honored with The
First Tee of Greater Cincinnati and Northern
Kentucky core value award for Responsibility in
2011. Ms. Merchant received the Council on
Foundations’ Distinguished Grantmaker Award
in 2011.
Ms. Merchant has a bachelor’s degree from
Indiana University and a master’s degree from
the University of Connecticut School of Social
Work.
Holly Moore
Executive Dean,
South Seattle Community College
Dr. Holly L. Moore is a nationally recognized
educational leader with over 25 years of
executive and faculty experience. She received
her Ed.D in Educational Leadership from Seattle
University; M. Ed. in Special Education from the
University of Washington; and attained her B.A.
in Speech from California State University.
Her broad professional experience spans early,
elementary, community college and university
education. Currently, Dr. Moore is the Executive
Dean of the Georgetown Campus of South
Seattle Community College. She is also a
principal in Education and Workforce Solutions,
a consulting firm focusing on the connectivity
between the economy, the workforce and all
aspects of education. Her work has involved
bipartisan federal and state legislation regarding
Life Long Learning Accounts (LILAs) for
incumbent and low-wage workers; a state,
regional and national campaign entitled “Skills 2
Compete” sponsored by The National Skills
Coalition, and policies and programs directed
toward re-engaging youth in education and
training.
Previously, Dr. Moore was President of
Shoreline Community College in Seattle for five
years. A high point of Dr. Moore’s tenure at the
college came in 1996 when she conducted a
televised interview with President Clinton, Bill
Gates and a panel of students and community
members.
Dr. Moore has held several leadership positions
including Vice-President of Economic
Speaker Biographies
Development, Assistant Vice-President of
Academic Affairs, Academic Division Chair and
an Executive Director of a Foundation. Her
experience also involves a tenured faculty
position in Education as well as university and
public school teaching.
Gloria Cross Mwase
Program Director, Jobs for the Future
Gloria Cross Mwase’s work centers on helping
low-skilled adults advance to family-sustaining
careers, while enabling employers to build and
sustain a productive workforce. Her projects
include Breaking Through, enabling adults with
less-than-8th-grade skills to prepare for and
succeed in community college technical
programs. She also leads the capacity-building
and peer-learning efforts of the National Fund
for Workforce Solutions, which supports local
funding collaboratives investing in workforce
partnerships that recruit, train, place, retain,
and advance new and incumbent workers in key
industry sectors.
Dr. Mwase brings a decade of experience
managing projects in the nonprofit sector. Her
publications include studies that explore the
role of community-based organizations in
employment training and economic
development, as well as an analysis of state
policies affecting remedial instruction for adults.
Before coming to JFF, Dr. Mwase was a local
representative for the Annie E. Casey
Foundation, where she served on the Funders
Group of SkillWorks, a workforce intermediary
in Boston that is now part of the National Fund
for Workforce Solutions.
Dr. Mwase has taught at Cambridge College and
the University of Massachusetts, Boston. She
earned a B.A. in economics from Tougaloo
College and an M.S. and Ph.D in public policy
from the University of Massachusetts, Boston.
Kim Oliver
Manager, United Way of Central and
Northeastern Connecticut
Kim Oliver manages Workforce Solutions
Collaboration of Metro Hartford. She has vast
experience with program and project
management, sales, marketing, and
information systems, working for non-profit,
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for-profit organizations, internal, and external
customers. Kim has a great strategic sense of
relationship management and brings business
acumen, oral and written communications,
and technical-savvy to both her individual and
organizational endeavors.
Kim received a BA degree in economics from
Yale University and a master of business
administration degree from Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute. She lives in Hartford and
volunteers for several non-profit, communitybased organizations including Jacob and Lewis
Fox Foundation and 89.9 WQTQ FM.
John E. Padilla
Associate Director, Workforce Development
and Connecticut Programs, Center for
Community and Economic Opportunity, The
Annie E. Casey Foundation and Vice-Chair,
National Fund for Workforce Solutions
John E. Padilla is responsible for The Annie E.
Casey Foundation’s national portfolios in
workforce development and community reentry of former offenders. He also leads the
Foundation’s work in Connecticut where he
focuses on strategies that build financial stability
among low-income families, and supporting
policy work at the state level. Founded in 1948,
the primary mission of the Annie E. Casey
Foundation is to foster public policies, humanservice reforms, and community supports that
more effectively meet the needs of today’s
vulnerable children and families.
Prior to joining the Foundation, John was a
principal of New Paradigms Consulting, a New
Haven-based consulting firm with a national
practice providing technical assistance and
consulting services to nonprofit organizations,
foundations, and government. John’s
background includes over twenty years of
private sector experience in high technology
industries, and working as a consultant and
technical assistance provider to several national
workforce initiatives. As a technical assistance
provider John is particularly interested in
workforce development strategy and program
design, and asset-building strategies for lowincome workers. John has consulted to a
number of national workforce initiatives that
focused on career advancement for low-wage
workers.
Speaker Biographies
John lives in New Haven, Connecticut, and is a
strong advocate of community service. John is
the former Chair of the Board of Directors of the
Community Foundation for Greater New Haven,
where he served for seven years, including the
final two as Board President. Other affiliations
include St. Francis Home for Children, The State
of Connecticut Board of Academic Awards, and
the City of New Haven Parking Authority, and
Christian Community Action. Most recently,
John, his wife Frances, and a group of friends
joined together to found the Progreso Latino
Fund, which has raised over $200,000 to benefit
Latino children in the greater New Haven
community.
Joanne Pokaski
Director of Workforce Development,
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Joanne Pokaski is the Director of Workforce
Development at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical
Center. Under Joanne’s leadership, BIDMC has
launched programs that sponsor employees’
training and promotion to occupations facing
skill shortages, including nurses, research
administrators, patient care technicians and
medical laboratory technicians. BIDMC has also
developed a program to provide career and
academic counseling and free on-site precollege prep courses and college-level science
courses for all employees. Joanne also oversees
BIDMC’s ESOL classes, GED prep program, basic
computer skills classes and partnerships with
community organizations to hire adults from the
community and provide youths with summer
jobs.
Prior to BIDMC, Joanne served as Director of
Boston Career Link, a one-stop career center.
Before that, she worked at Morgan Memorial
Goodwill Industries and the Boston
Redevelopment Authority. Between college and
graduate school, Joanne worked in the Clinton
White House then served as Special Assistant to
the Administrator of the Medicare and Medicaid
programs.
Joanne is a member of the Boston Private
Industry Council (Boston’s workforce investment
board) and is the chair of the Boston Healthcare
Careers Consortium, which is convening
Boston’s healthcare employers, academic
institutions and workforce system to improve
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education and training pathways that lead to
jobs in healthcare. She is also a member of
Massachusetts’ Healthcare Workforce Advisory
Committee. In 2006, she was one of “Ten
Outstanding Young Leaders” honored by the
Boston Jaycees.
John S. Prout
President and CEO, TriHealth, Inc
John S. Prout is president and chief executive
officer of TriHealth, Inc. He also holds the
position of president and CEO of its two anchor
hospitals, Good Samaritan Hospital and
Bethesda North Hospital, which together serve
the tri-state region of Ohio, Indiana and
Kentucky. John has served in these capacities
since 1998.
In addition to his executive management
responsibilities, John currently serves as
Chairman of the Uptown Consortium (a
community partnership working on the
improvement of the physical and economic
environment of Cincinnati's Uptown
neighborhood) and also chairs the United Way
Partners for a Competitive Workforce.
John also serves on the following Boards: the
American Heart Association, the Queen City
Club, United Way of Greater Cincinnati, the
Greater Cincinnati Health Council Governance
Committee and the Strategic Planning
Committee, Premier AEIX and the Leadership
Institute. John has recently been appointed as a
state delegate and a member of the American
Hospital Association Regional Policy Board 5.
John earned a bachelor’s degree from Bowling
Green State University and holds a master’s
degree in health care administration from
Washington University in St. Louis.
Rock Pfotenhauer
Dean of Career Education and Economic
Development, Cabrillo College
Rock Pfotenhauer is the Dean of Career
Education and Economic Development at
Cabrillo College, a California Community College
located in Santa Cruz County. His responsibilities
include providing program development support
to Cabrillo’s CTE programs and administration of
contract and community education programs, a
Small Business Development Center, and a
Speaker Biographies
number of programs and projects that are
focused on developing workforce development
partnerships. He also chairs, and Cabrillo College
is the fiscal agent for, the 26 college Bay Area
Community College Consortium which seeks to
meet regional workforce development needs
through collaborative efforts of the member
colleges.
O. Steven Quimby
Principal, Steven Quimby Consulting
O. Steven Quimby is an independent consultant
specializing in labor market research, grant
writing, and program evaluations for nonprofit
organizations in the human services, workforce
development, and housing sectors. Dr. Quimby
provides site coaching services for four National
Fund for Workforce Solutions sites. He has
conducted training for nonprofit boards of
directors and senior leadership at local
nonprofits and for national convenings
sponsored by the U.S. Departments of Housing
and Urban Development and Health and Human
Services. He previously served as a Senior
Project Manager at Jobs for the Future and as
director of planning and policy research for the
Merrimack Valley Workforce Investment Board,
where he authored several studies on local labor
markets and the impact of “grow your own”
workforce development strategies.
Robert C. Reifsnyder
President and CEO, United Way
of Greater Cincinnati
Robert C. Reifsnyder is President and CEO of
United Way of Greater Cincinnati, the 6th largest
United Way in the United States. After receiving
his degree from Princeton University in 1975, he
served several United Ways, including
Cincinnati’s, before becoming President of
Metro United Way in Louisville in 1987. While
in Louisville he received awards including the
NCCJ Humanitarian Award and the IABC/PRSA
Communicator of the Year Award, and led
Metro United Way to become the 4th fastest
growing United Way in the country during his 14
years there.
Reifsnyder returned to Cincinnati to become
United Way’s President in 2001. During his
tenure here, United Way has initiated Vision
2010, United Way 2-1-1, Success By 6®, The
State of the Community Report and the Agenda
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for Community Impact, an ambitious and
focused plan to improve our community and
people’s lives. Most recently, United Way has
embarked on an ambitious strategic direction
for the next decade, Impact 2020, and convened
several dozen community partners to agree on
and work together to achieve Bold Goals in
Education, Income and Health.
Reifsnyder serves on numerous boards and
collaboratives including Cincinnati USA Regional
Chamber, Strive Education Partnership,
Downtown Cincinnati Inc., Every Child Succeeds,
Health Improvement Collaborative of Greater
Cincinnati, Metropolitan Club, Ohio United Way,
and Xavier University Williams College of
Business Advisory Council and Success by 6®.
Nationally, Rob chaired United Way of America’s
National Professional Council in 2003 and 2004,
and co-chaired the 2000 Staff Leaders
Conference. He is a graduate of both
Leadership Louisville and Leadership Cincinnati.
Rob has received the Strong Communities
Award from the YMCA of Greater Cincinnati,
given to adults who serve as role models and
exemplify a lifetime of community service, and
Northern Kentucky University’s Lincoln Award,
for distinguished public service.
Molly Seals
Senior Vice President
of Human Resources and Learning,
Catholic Health Partners North Division and
Humility of Mary Health Partners Region
As the chief human resources leader for Catholic
Health Partners North Division and Humility of
Mary Health Partners Region, Molly Seals
provides strategic leadership for the human
resources and learning functions.
Molly received her Master of Science in Business
Administration from Bowling Green State
University. She earned her Bachelor of Science
Degree in Human Resource Management from
The University of the State of New York. She is
also a graduate of Youngstown State
University.
Molly has 20 years of human resources and
leadership development experience in
healthcare. Molly has a passion for learning and
Speaker Biographies
a passion for coaching and mentoring others
and is actively involved with numerous
professional and community organizations and
contributes both her time and financial support
to a number of civic organizations devoted to
improving the quality of life. In recognition of
her business accomplishments, community
leadership, and mentoring of women in the local
community, Molly received the Mahoning Valley
Athena Award. In addition, Molly has received
numerous other awards, including the Omega
Psi Phi Community Leadership Award, the
Community Leadership Award of the Leadership
Mahoning Valley organization, ASHHRA Best
Practice Award for the cultural transformation
process engaged by her and her team, a CHP HR
Excellence Award for innovative design of a
manager feedback survey (which is now being
marketed nationally through a survey vendor),
Woman of the Year by the Iota Theta, and the
Board of Health Trustee of the Year presented
by the National Association for Local Boards of
Health for her work as President of the local
health department.
Molly has presented to numerous groups and
professional organizations, and participated in a
number of research and think tank efforts
across the nation, including serving as a member
of the CareerSTAT Steering Committee, the
Advanced Practice in Nursing Review Board, and
the ASHHRA think tank on multiple topics
related to workforce, learning and the future of
the healthcare workforce.
Eric Seleznow
State Policy Director, National Skills Coalition
As State Policy Director, Eric leads the State
Policy Team’s efforts to help state coalitions and
other state partners develop and organize
support for tangible state workforce policy
reforms. As a former state and local
administrator of federally funded workforce
programs, Eric also participates in NSC’s policy
reform efforts in Washington, DC.
Before joining National Skills Coalition, Eric
served for over three years as Executive Director
of the Governor’s Workforce Investment Board
under Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley. He
previously accumulated over twenty-five years
of experience in the workforce field, including as
Page 14
Director of Workforce Services for the
Montgomery County Department of Economic
Development, and within the corrections system
running jail-based training, employment, and
pre-release programs—re-entry efforts for
which he is still regarded as a national expert.
Eric holds a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice
from Northeastern University. He is based in
Washington, DC.
Marlene B. Seltzer
President & CEO, Jobs for the Future
Marlene Seltzer is president and CEO of Jobs for
the Future. With the goal of helping more
Americans obtain the skills they need to succeed
in today’s economy, JFF has grown since its
founding in 1984 to become one of the nation’s
leading research and policy development
organizations focused on education and
workforce strategies. Ms. Seltzer’s mission to
improve American public education and the
skills of our workforce is reflected in the
ambitious goal she has set for Jobs for the
Future: By 2020, collaborating with its partners,
JFF is committed to doubling the number of lowincome youth and adults who earn
postsecondary credentials or get training that
helps them advance to family-sustaining
careers.
A nationally recognized thought leader, Ms.
Seltzer is a frequent consultant and speaker on
systemic reforms in secondary and
postsecondary education and the ability of the
labor market to serve low-income workers,
employers, and local and state economies. Her
commentaries and other writing help the nation
think in new ways about policy and program
delivery at all levels of government.
Ms. Seltzer’s expertise is sought after not only in
the United States but abroad as well. In
directing JFF’s U.K./U.S. Welfare-to-Work
project, she drew on the U.S. experience in
welfare reform to help the British government’s
New Deal Task Force consider ways to improve
the performance of its workforce development
and welfare systems. She also led JFF’s work on
Employer-Led Efforts that Produce Results for
Ethnic Minorities, commissioned by the National
Employment Panel. This employer-led body,
which advises ministers on the design, delivery,
and performance of U.K. welfare-to-work
Speaker Biographies
policies and programs, asked for input on
strategies for increasing job opportunities for
ethnic minorities through employer action.
Ms. Seltzer serves on the boards of the Boston
Children’s Museum; WomenWork!, a national
policy and advocacy organization working for
the economic equity and advancement of
women; and the Rural Policy Research Institute,
which provides unbiased analysis and
information on the challenges, needs, and
opportunities facing rural America.
Neil Silverston
President, WorkSource Partners
Neil Silverston, President of WorkSource
Partners, co-founded the company with Mary
Culhane in 1995. Since that time, the
WorkSource team has provided clients with
unique entry-level career development
programs that combine career development
with personal "success" counseling, and
training. WorkSource Partners' approach to
investment in people is similar to Neil's earlier
efforts in social entrepreneurship. In 1987, he
was a co-founder and developer of City Year; a
privately funded "urban Peace Corps" based in
Boston. City Year brings together a diverse
group of young people, ages 17 to 23 for a year
of full-time community service. City Year has
served as a model for the country's National
Service initiative, AmeriCorps, and is now in
fifteen cities across the country. Prior to
WorkSource Partners, Mr. Silverston was a
Senior Consultant at Lochridge & Company, a
strategic management consulting firm in Boston.
He also worked as an Associate Consultant at
Bain & Company. Mr. Silverston earned his
M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.A.
in Economics from Tufts University.
Jennifer Skinner
Director of Organizational Effectiveness,
TriHealth, Inc
Jennifer Skinner is Director of Organizational
Effectiveness for TriHealth, a community
partnership of Bethesda and Good Samaritan
Hospitals in Cincinnati. In this role she is
responsible for leading, directing, and evaluating
the learning and development needs of a
10,000+ workforce spanning 80 local sites.
Page 15
Jennifer is accomplished in developing and
implementing creative retention and
development programs for all levels of
employees including TriHealth’s own Leadership
Academy. She is a highly accomplished and
dedicated educational leader with a proven
track record of implementing workforce training
and leadership development strategies to
achieve business objectives. Jennifer has spent
her career in healthcare beginning as a
registered nurse progressing to nursing
management and has led corporate training for
15 years. She earned her nursing diploma from
Bethesda School of Nursing, completed her
bachelor’s degree at Miami University and
obtained a masters degree from Xavier
University.
Jennifer currently serves as co-chair for the
Health Careers Collaborative of Greater
Cincinnati, a collective partnership among
healthcare and education institutions, and
community agencies to envision and create an
industry driven comprehensive Healthcare
Career Pathway.
Lisa Soricone
Senior Project Manager, Jobs for the Future
Lisa Soricone serves on JFF’s Building Economic
Opportunity Group, helping low-skilled adults
advance to family-sustaining careers, while
enabling employers to build and sustain a
productive workforce. Specifically, she will help
evaluate the success of programs that help
adults succeed in community college:
Accelerating Opportunity and the Adult Degree
Completion Project.
Before joining JFF, Dr. Soricone was a research
and evaluation analyst at Commonwealth
Corporation where she evaluated workforce
development programs in Massachusetts,
including the Workforce Competiveness Trust
Fund and the Massachusetts Learn at Work
Program. Before that, she served as research
associate for the National Center for the Study
of Adult Learning and Literacy, where she
coauthored a series of guides for training adult
education practitioners on how to integrate
health literacy skill development into ABE/ESOL.
Speaker Biographies
Dr. Soricone has a doctorate in Community
Education and Lifelong Learning from Harvard
University, a Master’s in International Education
(also from Harvard), a degree in literature,
linguistics, and French as a foreign language
from Université Paul Valery in France, and a
Bachelor’s in French and political science from
Hobart and William Smith Colleges.
Jennie Sparandara
Director, JOIN
Jennie Sparandara is the director of JOIN, a
public-private partnership that seeks to build
career pathways for low-skilled workers and a
talent pipeline for businesses in Greater
Philadelphia. Prior to leading JOIN, Jennie
served as the first Director of Human Capital
Investments in the City of Philadelphia.
Appointed to this role by Mayor Michael A.
Nutter, Jennie was responsible for the
coordination of the Mayor’s anti-poverty
programs and workforce development
initiatives, including the strategic realignment of
the city’s workforce agencies. Jennie earned a
B.A., cum laude, in Sociology and English from
Columbia University and a Masters in Public
Policy from Georgetown.
Chris Spence
Principal, New Growth Group
Chris is an urban planner specializing in strategic
planning, economic development, and
workforce development. His specialties include
regional research, process facilitation, strategy
development, and quantitative and qualitative
evaluation. Previously, Chris consulted at
Workforce Strategy Center, a New York-based
nonprofit that specializes in education and
workforce development. Chris earned a
Master’s in Urban Planning and a Master’s in
Program and Policy Evaluation, both from New
York University’s Wagner School of Public
Service. He holds a bachelor’s degree in
Economics and Political Science from Case
Western Reserve University. Early in his career,
Chris was a captain in the United States Army
10th Mountain Division.
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Bill Stackhouse
Director of Workforce Development,
Community Health Care Association of
New York State
Bill Stackhouse, Ph.D., has held the position of
Director of Workforce Development for
CHCANYS, the Community Health Care
Association of New York State since Spring 2011.
Dr. Stackhouse holds a Ph.D. in Counseling
Psychology from NYU, a degree with a particular
emphasis on the intersection of personal
development and career development. He also
holds a Masters in Divinity degree from Harvard
Divinity School, and graduated college with a BA
in Economics from Beloit College. He is a New
York State licensed psychologist.
In Fall 2011 Dr. Stackhouse, appointed by the NY
State Health Commissioner, served on the NY
State Medicaid Redesign Team Workgroup on
Workforce Flexibility and Scope of Practice. A
seasoned professional, for over 30 years Dr.
Stackhouse has worked in areas of health and
human services including: public health,
HIV/AIDS prevention and care, LGBT health and
mental health, substance use and human
sexuality issues. He has been a nationally
known leader in the HIV/AIDS field since the
1980s. From 1994 to 2005 he worked at the
New York City (NYC) Department of Health and
Mental Hygiene where he oversaw strategic
planning and program efforts to address needs
in HIV/AIDS prevention and care in NYC. He
chaired the NYC HIV Prevention Community
Planning Group and the Ryan White AIDS
Services Planning Council, representative bodies
appointed by the Health Commissioner and
Mayor respectively and which are responsible
for setting the priorities for HIV/AIDS program
funding for New York City. From 2005 to 2009
he was the Director of the Institute for Gay
Men’s Health at GMHC, Inc. and in 2010 he
worked for the Governmental Affairs Office of
Gilead Sciences.
Angie Taylor
Vice President of Workforce Solutions,
Gateway Community and Technical College
Dr. Angie Taylor serves as Vice President of
Workforce Solutions at Gateway Community
and Technical College. Acquiring over two
million in grant funding each year, Dr. Taylor’s
division procures funding for corporate training,
Speaker Biographies
assisting companies in developing and
expanding existing training programs. Dr.
Taylor’s primary work entails building
community networks of various employers,
agencies, secondary schools and post-secondary
institutions, creating new avenues of service to
enhance adult preparation for college and work.
Dr. Taylor also serves as a national speaker
coaching community colleges on career pathway
development. Recently, Dr. Taylor procured
funding to begin a new program, Gateway VETS
– Veterans Employment and Training Services
and over 300 veterans will be served.
Dr. Taylor holds an Ed.D. in Curriculum and
Instruction from the University of Cincinnati, an
M.Ed. in Counseling and Personnel Services
from the University of Missouri, and a B.S. in
Psychology and School Health from Eastern
Kentucky University.
Damian Thorman
National Program Director, The John S. and
James L. Knight Foundation, and Chair,
National Fund for Workforce Solutions
Damian Thorman joined Knight Foundation in
2007 as national program director. National
program supports innovative ideas and
leadership with the potential to drive
transformative change nationally and in Knight’s
resident communities. He helps develop new
grant opportunities at a national level that
target systemic change within the framework of
informed, engaged communities.
Thorman most recently served as assistant
prosecuting attorney of the Jackson County
Prosecutor’s Office in Kansas City, MO. He
founded and ran the Thorman Strategy Group, a
consulting practice that assisted foundations,
nonprofits and for-profit organizations from
2002 to 2005. He served as adjunct political
science professor at Avila College in Kansas City,
MO.
Thorman was the director of public affairs and
policy at the Ewing Kauffman Foundation in
Kansas City from 1994 to 2002. In Washington,
D.C., he served as assistant director at the
American Academy of Pediatrics, professional
staff member of the House Education and Labor
Committee, and congressional aide to then-U.S.
Rep. Bill Richardson. He also served a brief stint
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as a reporter for the National Catholic Reporter
in Los Angeles.
He has a law degree from the University of
Missouri-Kansas City and a master’s in business
administration from Rockhurst University.
Jenny Tsang-Quinn
Executive Director, New York Alliance for
Careers in Healthcare
Jenny Tsang-Quinn is the Executive Director of
the New York Alliance for Careers in Healthcare
(NYACH), which is a workforce meta-partnership
that includes key trade associations that
represent employers in acute, primary, and
long-term care, and a major union training fund.
NYACH and its partners are collaborating in
strategic labor force planning and brokering
connections to a range of service providers that
will prepare New York City jobseekers and
incumbent workers for in-demand healthcare
careers. NYACH is also co-leading a New York
workforce development project for the White
House Jobs Council.
Jenny joined NYACH after nearly 7 years in
direct patient services at the UNITE HERE Health
Center (UHC). During her tenure at the UNITE
HERE Health Center, Jenny served as the
Assistant Director of Clinical Services where she
created and taught a health education
curriculum for medical assistants, helped build a
patient-centered medical home and participated
in a range of innovative programs, including a
collaborative with the New York City
Department of Health and Mental Hygiene that
spread best practices to improve outcomes for
patients with diabetes, and piloting an
ambulatory intensive caring unit. Jenny also led
UHC programs in tobacco cessation, health
education, and cancer screening.
Before her tenure at UHC, Jenny was the
Director of Healthcare Programs at the
September 11th Fund, where she managed
efforts to provide healthcare resources to those
directly affected by the events of September
11th.
Jenny earned a MD from the Autonomous
University of Guadalajara School of Medicine
and a BA from Columbia University.
Speaker Biographies
Janice Urbanik
Director of Industry Partnerships, Partners for a
Competitive Workforce
Janice Urbanik is the Director of Industry
Partnerships for Partners for a Competitive
Workforce, an initiative of the United Way of
Greater Cincinnati. Her focus is developing the
talent supply chains for the regional
manufacturing and construction industries by
aligning education with industry needs through
career pathways. She is active in multiple
professional and community organizations and
is heavily involved in efforts to increase the
number of women in non-traditional careers.
Janice and her work teams have been
recognized nationally for their work in assisting
under-represented populations attain careers in
construction or manufacturing.
Stacey Jarret Wagner
Manager, Workforce Systems Development,
U.S. Department of Commerce, NIST
Manufacturing Extension Partnership
Prior to joining NIST, Stacey was principal at The
JarretWagner Group where she specialized in
workforce issues such as workforce capacity,
research and benchmarking for talent
management. Stacey was also the Managing
Director of the National Association of
Manufacturers’ Center for Workforce Success.
She has a degree in International Relations from
American University in Washington, DC and a
certificate in Corporate SocialResponsibility
from Harvard Business School in Boston, MA.
Randall Wilson
Senior Project Manager, Jobs for the Future
Randall Wilson works on several JFF projects
designed to help low-skilled adults advance to
family-sustaining careers, while enabling
employers to build and sustain a productive
workforce. He has more than 20 years’
experience in research and program evaluation
in the areas of workforce development and
urban community development.
Dr. Wilson also manages technical assistance to
the Long-Term Care component of the U.S.
Department of Labor’s High Growth Job Training
Initiative, which responds to critical needs for a
more highly skilled labor force caring for
America’s aging population.
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Dr. Wilson has authored numerous studies on
labor market issues and career-advancement
strategies for lower-skilled adult workers. He
was a research associate in the Center for Social
Policy at the University of Massachusetts,
Boston, as well as a consultant to a variety of
public and nonprofit organizations. He has
taught at UMass Boston’s College of Public and
Community Services and served as planning
data manager for the Cambridge Community
Development Department.
Jenn Whinnem
Communications Officer,
Connecticut Health Foundation
Jenn Whinnem is a communications officer for
the Connecticut Health Foundation. In this role,
she tells the story of the foundation and its
grantees through the web and social media.
Emily Wood
Communications Manager, National Fund for
Workforce Solutions
Emily Wood is JFF’s communication manager for
the National Fund for Workforce Solutions. Prior
to joining JFF and NFWS, Ms. Wood was
outreach manager and then director of public
affairs at the Massachusetts Institute for a New
Commonwealth (MassINC), a nonpartisan,
public policy think tank that focuses on issues
affecting the middle class of Massachusetts.
There she focused on strategic outreach, media
relations, and communications projects. Ms.
Wood also served as campaign manager for
Massachusetts State Representative Charles
Murphy. She began her career as a research
analyst for Thomson & Thomson, an intellectual
property research firm.
Josh Wyner
Executive Director, College Excellence Program,
The Aspen Institute
Joshua Wyner is the Executive Director of the
Aspen Institute College Excellence Program,
which aims to strengthen practice and develop
leadership that substantially improves college
student success.
Josh has spent 16 years as a nonprofit leader,
initiating organizations aimed at improving
educational outcomes and urban policy. From
2001-2009, Josh led the design and
implementation of programs as Executive Vice
President of the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation.
There, he established national scholarship and
grant-making programs for - and conducted
original research about - high-achieving lowincome students from elementary through
graduate school. From 1995 to 2001, Josh was
founding Executive Director of the DC
Appleseed Center, which analyzes and actively
seeks to resolve problems affecting the daily
lives of those who live and work in the
Washington, DC area. During his tenure, DC
Appleseed led successful efforts to resolve
Washington DC's $5 billion unfunded pension
liability and alter the structure of the DC Board
of Education.
Josh spent his early career as an organizer and
policy analyst with Citizen Action, a program
evaluator at the US Government Accountability
Office, and an attorney with Beveridge &
Diamond. He is a graduate of Vassar College,
holds a Master's in Public Administration from
the Maxwell School at Syracuse University, and
is a cum laude graduate of New York University
School of Law.
Ms. Wood holds a Master’s degree in political
science from Suffolk University and a Bachelor’s
in political science from Saint Bonaventure
University.
Speaker Biographies
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