Commission Brings Local and Regional Expertise to Develop a 21st Century Workforce Action Plan for CCRI
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March 24, 2009 | Print this page | Share This |
Led by Armeather Gibbs, the 13-member commission will begin work March 26
The Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI) and the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation (RIEDC) announced the CCRI 21st Century Workforce Commission’s full roster of local and national leaders who will serve on the commission.
Armeather Gibbs, Chief Operating Officer of United Way of Rhode Island, will chair the commission. The commission is charged with recommending specific actions to strengthen CCRI’s position as a key institution in Rhode Island’s effort to create a 21st century workforce prepared for the high-wage jobs of today’s knowledge-based economy. The commission will hold its first meeting Thursday, March 26 at RIEDC’s Providence offices.
“Enabling a 21st century workforce with the skills to participate in today’s high-wage, knowledge-based economy is vital to Rhode Island’s economic growth,” said Gibbs. “With the U.S. Department of Labor projecting that two-thirds of all future jobs will require post-secondary education, it is imperative that CCRI help to create these skills in Rhode Island. I am thrilled to work with the CCRI Commission to help Rhode Island bring this vision to life.”
The move is an important step toward aligning Rhode Island’s workforce development programs with the state’s strategy for growing jobs in high-wage, innovation economy industries. With more than 16,000 students, four campuses throughout the state, and more than 80 percent of its graduates employed by Rhode Island companies, CCRI is key to the state’s economic growth. CCRI both prepares individuals for their first jobs and retrains them for new jobs as skill requirements evolve. But it needs to be focused on current as well as future labor market needs. A better trained workforce will earn higher wages, reduce unemployment and, in doing so, benefit the state by producing new income tax revenue.
“Postsecondary education is key to acquiring the right skills to succeed in today’s economy,” said Governor Donald L. Carcieri. “Producing a qualified and prepared workforce will require the full cooperation and alignment of public policies and programs across economic development, workforce development and education institutions. I am confident this commission will develop strategic recommendations for how CCRI can become an engine for Rhode Island’s economic growth.”
Appointees include Joseph S. Almeida, Deputy Majority Leader, Rhode Island House of Representatives; Daniel Connors, Majority Leader, Rhode Island Senate; Eileen Farley, Former President of Bristol Community College; Gordon Fox, Majority Leader, Rhode Island House of Representatives; Armeather Gibbs, Chief Operating Officer, United Way of Rhode Island; Paul Harrington, Associate Director, Center for Labor Market Studies, Northeastern University; William C. McGowan, Business Manager, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 2323; Sandra Powell, Director, Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training; J. Michael Saul, Interim Executive Director, Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation; Bob Shea, Vice President for Business Affairs, Community College of Rhode Island; Diane M. St. Laurent, Business and Technology Consultant; Leslie Taito, Chief Executive Officer, Rhode Island Manufacturing Extension Services; and Christopher Wissemann, Chief Operating Officer, Deepwater Wind Holdings.
“Despite the current economic conditions, there are some companies that are growing and hiring in this economy — and even tell us they can’t fill those job openings,” said J. Michael Saul, interim executive director, RIEDC. “As RIEDC has long forecasted, these growth companies are largely knowledge-based industries that need highly skilled workers — the very companies that will lead us out of this recession. Rhode Island needs to prepare our workers for these high-paying jobs. We must take action now.”
The commission is partnering with the Workforce Strategy Center (WSC), one of the nation’s most experienced nonprofits working to make education and workforce development more responsive to the economy, to staff and assist the CCRI Commission.
“Workforce Strategy Center is very excited to be working with the commission to build the capacity of CCRI to meet the needs of innovation economy employers as well as the Rhode Island workforce,” said Julian Alssid, executive director, Workforce Strategy Center. “This commission has such potential to improve the state’s economy that Workforce Strategy Center is committed to helping raise the funds necessary to staff and support this commission.”
WSC is currently conducting a gap analysis of the high-wage industries that have been identified by RIEDC as requiring postsecondary credentialing and will facilitate a series of discussions with commission members to address current and potential CCRI policies and programs and potential legislative issues. WSC will develop a final report that documents the gap analysis and commission deliberations, and will include recommendations for next steps. To date, WSC has raised funding from the Nellie Mae Education Foundation, the Rhode Island Foundation and the United Way of Rhode Island.
Recommended to the Rhode Island legislature in the RIEDC’s 2008 Economic Growth Plan, the CCRI 21st Century Workforce Commission was submitted to the General Assembly (H7889, S2450) in March 2008.
The commission will hold its first meeting March 26 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the RIEDC’s Providence office located at 315 Iron Horse Way, Suite 101, Providence, and will report its findings and recommendations to Governor Carcieri and the Rhode Island General Assembly by July 1, 2010.
Commission Biographies
Armeather Gibbs
After more than 34 years in the financial services industry, Armeather Gibbs left Bank of America in November 2004 to become Chief Operating Officer of United Way of Rhode Island (UWRI). Armeather spent most of her last 15 years in the financial services field working in community banking. She also served six years in the administration of Governor Lincoln Almond as Director of Community Relations and Constituent and Municipal Affairs. As United Way’s COO, Gibbs reports directly to the President and leads two key departments, Community Services and Resource Development. Community Services is comprised of three strategic Community Impact Groups whose staff and volunteers are responsible for effecting system change by deciding on long-term strategic investments in the areas of job skills, school success, and housing/homelessness. Resource Development includes annual giving, major gifts and planned giving, all responsible for raising revenue to support United Way’s community impact work. She also assists the President in developing and implementing an organization-wide cultural change initiative; organizational standards; processes and protocols; staff development and training and long-term operating plans. Ms. Gibbs is active in a number of community leadership initiatives. She is a Trustee of Lifespan, a member of the RI Commodores, Vice-Chair of The Providence Plan Board of Directors, and Chair of The Urban Revitalization Fund (TURF). She also represents United Way on the Governor’s Workforce Board. A graduate of Leadership RI – Class of 1994, Ms. Gibbs was educated in the Providence public school system, graduated from Hope High School and earned an Associates Degree in Accounting, with Honors, from the Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI). Over the years, she has received many awards including being honored in 2006 for her community service by being inducted into CCRI’s alumni organization, The Society of Knights. In 2007, she also received the Community Service Award from The Wheeler School. Ms Gibbs grew up in South Providence, lived for over 25 years in the Elmwood section of the City and currently resides in the Smith Hill/Elmhurst neighborhood.
Joseph Almeida
Representative Almeida, a Democrat who represents District 12 in Providence’s South Side and Washington Park neighborhoods, has served in the House since 1999. He is a Deputy Majority Leader in the House, and also serves on the House Finance Committee and the Veterans’ Affairs committee. Almeida previously served in the United States Marine Corps Reserve and as an officer in the Providence Police Department. Almeida graduated from La Salle Academy in 1975 and Roger Williams College in 1990.
Daniel Connors
Daniel Connors has served in the Rhode Island Senate since 1997, and was voted Senate Majority Leader in November 2008. He serves as Chair-elect of the New England Board of High Education and is a visiting lecturer in Business Management at Providence College. Connors received his undergraduate degree in History from Providence College in 1998 and graduated from Roger Williams University School of Law in 2002, earning a CALI Award for Excellence in the Study of American Legal History. Connors served as Alternate Member of the Cumberland Zoning Board of Review; Trustee for the Rhode Island State Investment Commission; Board Member of Rhode Island Refunding Bond Authority; Board Member and Chairman of the Board for the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority; Human Resources Director for the Town of Cumberland; and as an attorney as the Law Office of Joseph A. Montalbano. Connors was a delegate to Australia for the American Council of Young Political Leaders. He won the Fogarty Award from the Governor’s Commission on Disabilities and was named to the Boys and Girls Club of Cumberland and Lincoln, Rhode Island Hall of Fame.
Eileen Farley
Eileen Farley served as president of Bristol Community College in Fall River, Massachusetts, a public two-year college serving over 5,000 credit and 2,000 non-credit students, from November 1978 through June 2000. A leader and advocate for the state public higher education system in Massachusetts in general, and for Bristol Community College in particular, she presided over a period of tremendous growth despite the difficult fiscal challenges facing the state and the institution. She inaugurated or expanded a number of important College initiatives including new academic programs, the Center for Business and Industry, and the Bristol Community College Foundation that provides scholarships for students, grants for faculty, and support for special projects. During her tenure, three buildings were added to the Elsbree Street campus: a Student Center, the Arts Center, and a Business Technology building; a Mathematics and Science building, an art gallery, and a satellite campus in New Bedford were completed shortly after her retirement. Before coming to Bristol, President Farley served as Vice President for Student Affairs at SUNY, College at New Paltz, and she served as President of Elizabeth Seton College in New York. In 1989 President Farley was recognized for her effectiveness when she was named as one of 50 presidents nationally and the only Massachusetts recipient of the Thomas J. Peters National Leadership Award from the Community College Leadership Institute of the University of Texas at Austin. She was awarded an honorary doctorate in humane letters by the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in 1994, an honorary doctorate of laws from the New England School of Law in 1998, and was recognized by the New Bedford Standard Times as the “Southcoast Woman of the Year” in 1998. In 1999 the Greater New Bedford Area Chamber of Commerce recognized her as the “Regional Leader of the Year.” President Farley was awarded honorary doctor of education degrees from both Bridgewater State College and Salve Regina University in June 2000. Upon her retirement, Bristol Community College’s Board of Trustees named the college’s library in her honor and granted her the title of President Emerita. President Farley holds the Bachelor of Arts in mathematics from the College of Mount St. Vincent in New York and the Master of Arts in philosophy from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She served for six years on the Commission of Higher Education of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges which accredits colleges and universities in New England, and she was vice chair of the Commission in 1993-1994. Following her retirement from Bristol Community College, President Farley remained active within higher education for several years helping to develop CONNECT, a successful partnership of Bristol Community College, Cape Cod Community College, Massasoit Community College, Bridgewater State College, and the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth. In 2007, Governor Deval Patrick named President Farley to the Massachusetts Public Education Nominating Council which screens candidates for appointment as trustees of public colleges and universities. An active community leader and participant, President Farley is a member and past chair of the Board of Trustees of the Southcoast Hospitals Group and chair of the scholarship committee of the Community Foundation of Southeastern Massachusetts. She also volunteers in her hometown at the senior center and for Arts in the Village which presents a classical music series each year.
Gordon Fox
Gordon Fox is a Democratic member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives, representing the Fourth District in Providence since 1992. He is a former House Finance Committee Chairman and has served as House Majority Leader since late 2002. Leader Fox was the sponsor of several significant bills that passed the House of Representatives, including those which improve the state’s quality of life, enhance public safety, assist working families, create jobs and promote fiscal responsibility. He was the author of House legislation that banned smoking in nearly all workplaces in Rhode Island, including restaurants, bars and private businesses, and was the prime sponsor of the increase in the minimum wage to $7.40 an hour, which provides help to 10,000 Rhode Islanders. He is a self-employed attorney in Providence.
Paul Harrington
Paul Harrington is an economist who serves as the Associate Director for the Center for Labor Market Studies and teaches in the Law, Policy and Society Department at Northeastern University.
William C. McGowan
William McGowan is Business Manager/Financial Secretary of IBEW Local 2323, representing more than 1,200 telecommunication, high-speed Internet, and broadband workers employed by Verizon in the State of Rhode Island. He also serves as the Vice Chairman of the Governor's Workforce Board and Chair the Planning and Evaluation Committee.
Sandra Powell
Sandra Powell serves as director of the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training, where she oversees workforce development, workforce safety and regulation, labor market information, unemployment insurance, temporary disability insurance and worker’s compensation programs for the state. For the past 20 years, Powell has worked in progressively senior positions at the RIDLT, most recently as assistant director of the Workforce Development Division before being named department director. As director, she has addressed issues of the emerging youth workforce, collaborating with state and community partners to launch the Rhode Island Youth Workforce Development System and to open 13 youth centers around the state. She is also spearheading a reorganization of the newWORKri one-stop career system in order to streamline and modernize the delivery of services to more than 35,000 job seekers. Currently, she is focusing on strategies and collaborations to update the skills of workers to meet the needs of Rhode Island’s changing economy. Powell has also served on many boards related to workforce development, including the Governor’s Workforce Board Rhode Island, Workforce Solutions of Providence/Cranston, Workforce Partnership of Greater Rhode Island, the United Way Skill Up Rhode Island Steering Committee, the Northern Rhode Island Tri-Community Economic Development Initiative, the Cranston Economic Development Workgroup as well as the Beacon Mutual Insurance Company board of directors. Powell holds a Bachelor of Arts from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. A lifelong Rhode Island resident, Powell was born in Providence and graduated from Classical High School.
J. Michael Saul
Mike Saul is presently serving as Interim Executive Director of the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation (RIEDC). He reports directly to Governor Donald Carcieri and is a member of the Governor’s Cabinet. Prior to this position, Saul was Deputy Director for RIEDC. He currently serves as Chairman of the Quonset Development Corporation, the development authority for a former Navy base, and Chairman of the Slater Technology Fund, the state’s venture capital arm.
Saul is a Rhode Island business and banking executive with extensive experience in building organizations, particularly in their critical initial start-up phase or in re-organization. In business, Saul led successful turnaround and start up efforts with privately held Rhode Island based companies. In banking, Mr. Saul had a distinguished career with Bank of Boston servicing as a senior credit and lending executive. He also has made a career commitment to community service currently serving as Executive Director for The Urban Revitalization Fund of Rhode Island. He served as Chairman and Director of the Rhode Island Urban Project, Trustee and Chair of Development Committee of the Providence Performing Arts Center, Director of the Minority Investment Development Corporation, Junior Achievement and The Fellowship. He is a graduate of Providence College and has participated in executive management programs at the University of Virginia, Darden Business School. Mr. Saul lives in Barrington. Rhode Island.
Bob Shea
Bob Shea, is the Vice President for Business Affairs and Chief Financial Officer at the Community College of Rhode Island where he has responsibility for budget, finance, human resources, information technology, physical plant and security at the four campus, 17,000 student, 1,200 employee, $114 million dollar enterprise that serves Rhode Islanders from all walks of life. One of only two vice presidents at CCRI, he reports to Ray DiPasquale, the president of the Community College of Rhode Island. A Boston native, he served as a naval officer from 1982 until his retirement as a Captain in July 2007. He has extensive operational, line and executive leadership and management experience as an aviator, strategic planner and executive. He joined CCRI from his last Navy assignment at the Naval War College in Newport, where he led the leadership and management faculty. He holds a Masters of Business Administration from the College of William and Mary in Virginia and a Master of Arts in Strategic Studies from the Naval War College.
Diane M. St. Laurent
Diane St. Laurent is currently a business and technology consultant, real estate developer, independent film producer and professor. She owns three companies: DSL Business Solutions, where she specializes in strategic management, marketing communications, and technology solutions; DSL Properties, a real estate company specializing in development and management of commercial and residential properties; and Two Sisters’ Productions, an award-winning company specializing in narrative, documentary and educational films. A professor of business at the University of Rhode Island, Diane teaches organizational behavior, social enterprise, business practices and consulting services to MBA students and upperclassmen: seniors and juniors. Prior to launching her businesses, Diane worked for GTECH Corporation for 15 years. She held various executive level positions as VP Product Development, VP General Manager Internet Division and VP Worldwide Software Services. Diane attended the University of Rhode Island. She has an M.B.A and B.S. in Business Administration. She attended New York Film Academy where she received a professional certification in Film Production and she holds a certification in Entertainment Media Management from New York University. She is most proud of the work she has done with the Katie DeCubellis Memorial Foundation. Diane and her sister Tori-Ann wrote, directed and produced an award-winning film trilogy name “The Deadly Consequences of Drunk Driving,” a recipient of a Telly Award. These films were produced to educate teenagers about the dangers of drunk driving and substance abuse. These films are multi-national distributed, shown in the United States and Canada to teenagers attending driver’s education.
Leslie Taito
Leslie has more than 22 of experience in the service and manufacturing industries. Early on in her career, she served as the sales and marketing manager for several firms in the industrial and medical products industries. Over the past 14 years, Leslie has held leadership positions with three non-profit organizations. She was the Director of Operations for the Greater Rhode Island Regional Employment and Training Board (GRIRETB) where she was responsible for facilitating the development and administration of several training consortiums and hundreds of company training programs supported by state grants. In 1998, the GRIRETB promoted her to Acting Executive Director. At the GIRETB, she also supported the planning and implementation of the NetWork RI “one-stop” employment system and three regional school-to-career partnerships. Leslie has also served as the Executive Director of the Rhode Island Manufacturers Association. Leslie began her career at RIMES as a Special Projects Manager in 1999. In 2000, she was promoted to Chief Operating Officer and was responsible for day to day operations. In 2006, Leslie was promoted to Chief Executive Officer. She is also a certified Lean Office trainer and implementer. Leslie currently serves as a member of the board of directors for the Northern Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce, has served in all executive seats on the North Kingstown Chamber of Commerce and was a member of the Leadership RI Beta II class. She also served on the Rhode Island School to Career – Region II Board of Directors. Leslie is also a lead volunteer for the Family Readiness Program for the Logistics Readiness Squadron of the 143rd Airlift Wing at Quonset Point.
Christopher Wissemann
Wissemann is Chief Operating Officer of Deepwater Wind Holdings. Wissemann manages the company’s development activities, planning and strategy. He founded Winergy Power, one of Deepwater Wind’s predecessors, and was the primary architect of the deep water — beyond visual impact — strategy. Wisseman’s engineering background has been important in determining that technology could be utilized to find a more acceptable solution than shallow water foundations that force projects to be near shore. Wissemann has pursued a career in alternative and renewable energy that spanned 25 years including positions ranging from engineering to business development to chief operating officer. His career in energy has included positions at companies from entrepreneurial start-ups to Fortune 500 firms, including Turner Construction, Energy Investment, Enron and Northern Power Systems. Wissemann’s focus has been on non-traditional power development — from solar and wind to cogeneration and independent power production. He is conversant in technical aspects of power generation technologies as well as economics, permitting and finance. He has particularly focused on conforming implementation and contract structures of non-traditional power projects to fit within traditional project finance standard. He has negotiated and implemented dozens of long-term contacts with utilities and customers — both for power generation and efficiency-derived capacity. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Energy Studies from Brown University.
Workforce Strategy Center Biographies
Julian L. Alssid
Julian Alssid is the executive director of the Workforce Strategy Center and is a nationally recognized expert in workforce development strategy and policy. He has more than 15 years experience bringing together employers, workforce agencies, community colleges and clients to help move low-income people into high-wage jobs in key industries such as biotechnology, new manufacturing and information technology. Since founding Workforce Strategy Center in 1998, Alssid has advised 20 states on workforce policy and has been a national leader in promoting effective, practical solutions for implementing Career Pathways initiatives and sectoral employment strategies. Alssid has authored two major studies on workforce strategy: “Building a Career Pathways System: Promising Practices in Community College-Centered Workforce Development” and “Building Bridges to College and Careers: Contextualized Basic Skills Programs at Community Colleges.” His views on engaging employers and creating effective workforce development systems have received extensive attention in national and local media, and he speaks regularly on the need for policy and educational reform in the field. Prior to directing Workforce Strategy Center, Alssid held senior positions in workforce development at the New York City Partnership and Chamber of Commerce, LaGuardia Community College and the Office of the Mayor of New York City.
Maureen R. Bozell
Maureen R. Bozell is a senior associate at Workforce Strategy Center and has more than 15 years of experience implementing youth and adult education and workforce development policies and programs at the federal, state and local levels. For the past 13 years, she has advised and directed projects for the U.S. Departments of Education and Labor on a variety of economic development strategies connecting education to labor market demand. Among the most recent, the Strategic Partnerships for a Competitive Workforce project was delivered to more than 32 regional economic development partnerships across the United States. Bozell comes to WSC from DTI Associates, Inc., where she created the Center for Education and Careers and oversaw program implementation efforts related to the Carl D. Perkins Act, the Workforce Investment Act, America’s Career Resource Network, No Child Left Behind, Reading First and the National School-to-Work Opportunities Act. With expertise in communications and strategic planning, education, career development and employer engagement issues, she has worked with state and local public and private sector leaders to organize dozens of public/private business and education partnerships. From 1995 to 2001, Bozell directed the award-winning National School-to-Work Learning and Information Center, which provided and disseminated information, technical assistance, research, evaluation and product development services to the National School-to-Work Office and its grantees. Previously, Bozell managed communications and marketing for the National Alliance of Business to support business involvement in increasing student achievement and improving the competitiveness of America’s workforce.
