SkillWorks: Partners for a Productive Workforce welcomes Marybeth Campbell as Executive Director

October 6, 2014

Massachusetts Director of Education and Workforce Development to join SkillWorks on October 20

Boston – SkillWorks: Partners for a Productive Workforce today announced that Massachusetts’ Director of Education and Workforce Development Marybeth Campbell will join the initiative on October 20 as Executive Director.

“We couldn’t be more excited to welcome Marybeth Campbell to SkillWorks,” said Geeta Pradhan, co-chair of the SkillWorks Initiative. “She brings an unparalleled level of understanding of the issues across education, workforce and economic development and has the public sector experience to effectively advocate for investments that can broaden and strengthen the Massachusetts workforce in the years to come.”

Housed at the Boston Foundation, SkillWorks is a nationally recognized workforce development intermediary and funder collaborative, that has invested nearly $25 million over ten years in innovative workforce development strategies. Launched by a group of public and private funders in 2003, SkillWorks employs a three-pronged investment strategy: industry sector workforce partnerships, capacity building for workforce development providers, and policy advocacy to increase funding and effectiveness of the workforce development system. 

Over the last ten years, SkillWorks has helped more than 5,000 individuals obtain skills training with thousands entering the workforce or receiving raises and promotions. 

Campbell has fifteen years experience in public policy, public education and project management in the areas of clean energy, education, economic and workforce development. As Director of Education and Workforce Development, she advised the Patrick Administration’s cabinet secretaries in the Executive Offices of Education, Labor and Workforce and Housing and Economic Development on workforce and education policy development, program strategy and implementation.

She previously served as the state’s first Workforce Development Director at the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center establishing national-leading green jobs programs by working with higher education, vocational schools, labor organizations and community based nonprofits to develop training and workforce capacity that supports the Commonwealth’s growing clean energy industry. Her previous work also includes serving as the Public Education Manager for the former Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust, where she oversaw two education initiatives that funded projects to increase awareness among teachers, students and the public about the benefits of clean energy.

“Marybeth has been at the forefront of the state’s job creation efforts in her time with the Patrick administration, and has a long record of establishing and growing new opportunities for people in Massachusetts to get the skills and experience they need for sustaining employment,” said Trinh Nguyen, co-chair of the SkillWorks Initiative. “We are very fortunate to bring her on to the next phase of SkillWorks’ growth and development.”

SkillWorks’ priorities for the next five years include building a more efficient and effective pipeline that connects skilled workers to employers, increasing access to training for hard-to-serve groups, expanding the reach of SkillWorks’ offerings, and increasing the level and flexibility of funding for workforce services.

Its current funders include: Bank of America Foundation, BNY Mellon, the Boston Foundation, City of Boston – Neighborhood Jobs TrustClowes Fund, Inc., Frank W. and Carl S. Adams Charitable Trust, Herb and Maxine Jacobs Foundation, JP Morgan Chase, Ludcke Foundation, Mabel Louise Riley Foundation, National Fund for Workforce Solutions, State Street Foundation, and U.S. Department of Labor Green Jobs Innovation Fund, through Jobs for the Future.

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