The Heldrich Center for Workforce Development has announced the appointment of seven new members to its distinguished National Advisory Board. 

Carl Van Horn, Director of the Heldrich Center and Distinguished Professor of Public Policy at Rutgers University, shared, “I am thrilled to welcome these individuals to our board. They join us at a critical juncture in time, when world events are changing people’s lives and the way we work. I look forward to collaborating with each of them as the Heldrich Center works to address the ramifications caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.” 

Additionally, Laurence M. Downes, Chair of the Center’s National Advisory Board, said, “We are delighted to have these talented individuals join our board. Their diverse range of experience will expand our ability to achieve the Heldrich Center’s mission and provide valuable career information and strategies to a broader range of individuals and organizations. Carl and I are looking forward to their many contributions.”

The newly appointed board members are as follows:

Aisha Glover is President and CEO of the Newark Alliance. She has also served as the President and CEO of the Newark Community Economic Development Corporation, and as the Vice President of External Affairs at the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation. In 2019, she was appointed by Governor Phil Murphy to serve on the board of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority. She holds a B.A. from Hunter College of the City University of New York, a Master’s of Public Administration from Baruch College of the City University of New York, and an executive leadership certificate from the Columbia Business School, School of Social Enterprise. 

Todd Greene is Executive Director of the Atlanta University Center Consortium Inc., the world’s oldest and largest consortium of historically Black colleges and universities. For more than 10 years, he served with the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta as Vice President in the research division, leading the Economic and Community Development department. Previously, Todd was a member of the general faculty at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He earned his undergraduate degree from Harvard University and Master’s degrees from Washington University and Georgia State University. He has completed executive education programs at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business and Universidad ESAN in Lima, Peru.

Christopher T. King is a Labor Economist and a Senior Research Scientist at the University of Texas at Austin’s LBJ School of Public Affairs’ Ray Marshall Center, which he directed from 1991 to 2014. He has been conducting research on workforce, education and social policy issues for over four decades and has written widely on these topics, authoring or co-authoring numerous books, articles, and reports. He was Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Utah (1973-1976), an Economist with the U.S. Secretary of Labor (1976-1980), and Director of Research and Evaluation for Job Training in the Texas Governor’s Office (1983-1985). He has a B.A. in Economics from The University of Texas at Austin and both an M.A. and Ph.D. in Economics from Michigan State University.  

Melinda Mack is Executive Director of the New York Association of Training and Employment Professionals. Previously, she was the Founding Director for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation program, Graduate NYC! She also served as the Acting Executive Director for the New York City Workforce Board, where she launched the NYC Labor Market Information Service. Melinda also worked in upstate New York in local government in both municipal finance and economic development. She received a Bachelor’s in Urban and Public Policy from SUNY Buffalo, a Master’s in Public Administration, and a Master’s in Regional Planning with a specialization in Housing from SUNY Albany. She is also a graduate of the Columbia Business School’s Senior Leaders in Non-Profit Executive program, the New York City Workforce Leaders Academy, and Leadership Buffalo.

Mary Alice McCarthy is the Director of the Center on Education and Skills at New America. Previously, she worked at both the U.S. Departments of Education and Labor. She led a variety of technical assistance initiatives in the areas of career pathways, credentialing, and competency-based education. She co-founded the career pathways interagency working group with staff from the Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, and Labor that continues to meet and coordinate federal investments in relation to career pathways. She has a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of North Carolina.

Jane Oates is the President of WorkingNation. Previously, she served as Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training at the U.S. Department of Labor. Oates became a national leader in education and workforce programs during her 10 years with Senator Edward M. Kennedy on the U.S. Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. She also served as the Commissioner of the New Jersey Council of Higher Education. Oates began her career as a teacher in the Boston Public Schools and Philadelphia Public Schools. She served as the Director of Field Services at the Temple University Center for Research and Human Development, and spent four years with the Apollo Education Group.

Marlena Sessions joined Grant Associates in June 2017 and currently serves as the Senior Vice President. After beginning her career in direct service, Marlena held several positions at the Workforce Development Council of Seattle-King County, culminating with her role as its Chief Executive Officer for nine years. Marlena holds a Bachelor’s from Whitworth University and a Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership from Gonzaga University.