2009 Workforce Development Forum

Preconference Speakers

Debra Rowe is the President of the U.S. Partnership for Education for Sustainable Development (www.uspartnership.org ). The U.S. Partnership convenes members of the business, education, community, government, and faith sectors of the United States and catalyzes sustainability initiatives. Dr. Rowe is also National Co-coordinator of the Higher Education Associations Sustainability Consortium (www.heasc.net), founder of the Disciplinary Associations’ Network for Sustainability (www.aashe.org/dans) and Senior Advisor to the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (www.aashe.org ). Debra helps higher education associations and institutions integrate sustainability into mission, curricula, professional development, research, student life, purchasing and investments, facilities and operations, and community partnerships.

Dr. Rowe has been a professor of energy management, renewable energy technology and psychology for over 28 years. She created online sustainability related courses and degrees with funds from the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation. Debra is often a keynote speaker at national and international education conferences and is the author or editor of numerous publications on the integration of sustainability into education. She holds a Ph.D. in Business, M.A. in Psychology, and M.B.A. in Business, all from the University of Michigan, as well as a B.A. from Yale University.

Anthony Joseph is Director of the Office of Workforce Policy, Innovation and Improvement for the New York State Department of Labor, where he directs policy, program development, performance management, business services and economic development incentives for workforce development initiatives administered by the Department, such as the Workforce Investment Act. This also includes working with the public, private, non-profit and academic sectors to develop the occupational skills needed in the workforce to support economic development activity in the state. Anthony also brings considerable experience in the analysis of economic, financial and environmental impacts of energy policy/regulations and public investment in energy generation and efficiency; and the development of electric generation emission abatement strategies such as emissions trading and pollution taxes. As such, he has been designated the Department’s lead person on “green” workforce related matters, and serves as the Department’s representative on numerous clean energy industry initiatives including Governor Paterson’s Renewable Energy Task Force

Anthony holds a Ph.D. degree and an M.S. degree in applied economics from the University of Georgia, College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences with concentrations in public policy, public finance, natural resources and quantitative methods. His work experience spans the private sector (Potomac Electric Power Company), the federal government (USDA, National Economics Division) and academia (Economics Department, SUNY Albany).

David Schejbal is Dean of the Division of Continuing Education, Outreach and E-Learning in the University of Wisconsin-Extension. The division, one the four divisions of the University of Wisconsin-Extension, works with all 26 UW campuses and UW System Administration to increase access to UW programs, classes, and degrees. Dr. Schejbal’s main focus at UW Extension has been to build a truly student-centered division whose mission is to provide advocacy and support for non-traditional learners and to create innovative ways for all learners to access and connect with the University of Wisconsin.

Prior to coming to Wisconsin, David spent eight years at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. There he was Associate Vice Chancellor and Director of Continuing Education. His responsibilities included credit and noncredit programs for adult students, independent study, conferences and institutes, and the Robert Allerton Park and Conference Center. David was also heavily involved with initiatives to make the Urbana Campus more sustainable or “green.” To that end, he raised funds to build three wind turbines to produce green energy; was a member of the Solar Decathlon team; co-chaired the Campus Sustainability Committee; and was a member of the Environmental Council. David’s academic background is in philosophy, and he received his doctorate from the University of Connecticut.

Sharon Hanna-West is the Exide Distinguished Lecturer at the University of South Florida College of Business Administration. She is also a faculty associate for the USF Center for Entrepreneurship. Hanna-West holds a JD from the University of Florida where she focused on environmental law. She teaches several courses in the MBA programs including business ethics, environmental law and sustainability. Her approach to meeting the challenges posed by climate change is to actively engage business in the process, emphasizing sustainable business practices that are affordable and profitable.

Dr. Hanna-West developed the Building Sustainable Enterprise track for the MBA program at USF which has produced numerous applied action research projects involving various business and disciplines. She coordinated the first Building Sustainable Enterprise symposium at USF in April 2006 which brought many bay area businesses into a dialogue about sustainability. That expanded into a multi-discipline business sustainability symposium in 2007. As a member of the USF Sustainability Steering Committee, she worked with the Hillsborough City/County Planning Commission to host the first Getting Green by Going Green business sustainability expo at the USF Sun Dome in April 2008, attracting over 3,000 attendees. The event showcased green businesses, green business practices, faculty research related to sustainability, and student projects; and created significant opportunities for community engagement.

Wendy Evers is Senior Director of New Program Development for San Diego State University, College of Extended Studies. She is responsible for forecasting emerging industries in San Diego and creating new programs for careers based on regional industry needs. Wendy has developed programs in Tribal Indian Gaming, Construction Online, Hospitality, The Business of Wine, Human Resources, Healthcare, and currently the new Green Industry Initiative.

Wendy earned a B.S. degree and a Professional Certificate in HR Management from Chapman University. She holds an MBA from the University of California, San Diego. She is Past- President of North County Personnel Association (NCPA), a member of SHRM, and serves on the board for Workforce Partnership and LERN Association International. Wendy received her Certified Program Planner (CPP) license from LERN Institute.

For more information on forum logistics: contact Natalia Kats, UCEA Director of Conferences, at nkats@upcea.edu or 202.659.3130.

Professional Development

2009 UCEA WorkforceDevelopment Forum

Speaker Bios

2009 Workforce Development Forum

Preconference Speakers

2009 UCEA Workforce
Development Forum