News

Center Board Secretary Joe Calabrese & Deputy Director Xinge Wang on Workforce Development Panel

Posted February 2016

Carolyn Flowers , Senior Advisor of the Federal Transit Administration led a panel of five in the Priorities for Workforce Development special session at the TRB Annual on January 12, 2016. The panel focused on tackling the pressing workforce needs in the transportation and transit industry. Ben Siegel , Senior Policy Advisor of the Office of the Secretary (DOL) introduced DOL’s effort to leverage partnerships across federal departments to enhance reach and impact of workforce programs. Joe Calabrese, Center Board Secretary and CEO of the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority addressed strategies for cultivating future leadership in transit agencies. Nat Ford, CEO of Jacksonville Transportation Authority, discussed the development of a multimodal, community-based approach (JTA’s Back-2-Work Model). Marion Colston, Director of Strategic and Organizational Planning with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority provided an overview of the many partnerships LA MTA has established with local and regional workforce, education and research institutions to create a successful workforce development model. Xinge Wang, the Center’s Deputy Director shared the Center’s experience and success in leveraging industry resources and expertise to build Ladders of Opportunity through its National Training Consortia and transit apprenticeship programs.

Xinge’s PowerPoint presentation can be found on the Center’s Website.