The
Board sets the agenda and frames the strategies for the Institute,
provides expert guidance on workforce policies and research, advises
on management and operations, provides access to a vast network of
experts, and promotes excellence in the work of the Institute.
The
Directors of the Institute are:
Chair: Michael Andrews, Alaska
Treasurer: John Lewis, Illinois Carlos Baradello, California Anne Kaplan, Illinois
Robert Knight, District of Columbia
Stephen Mitchell, New York
James Van Erden, District of Columbia
The
President/Executive Director
Peter A. Creticos is President and Executive Director of the Institute for Work and the Economy
and Senior Research Associate at Northern Illinois University Outreach. Prior to establishing the Institute in August 2000,
Mr. Creticos served as the Vice President for the Midwest Regional
Office of the National Alliance of Business (NAB) in Chicago, Illinois.
His work at NAB focused on the development of a workforce system
that is employer-demand driven while affording individuals opportunities
to achieve their personal aspirations. The NAB was the nation’s leading
business-led organization working exclusively on workforce development
and education reform.
Mr. Creticos joined the National Alliance of Business in September 1997 after working for nearly four years at the Illinois State Chamber of Commerce where he was responsible for development of a skills-based job matching system for the Internet. He also was President of the for-profit subsidiary, Center for Business Management. Prior to joining the Chamber, Mr. Creticos was self-employed, consulting on economic and community development matters and conducting research on workforce issues. He began his career in state government, first at the Council of State Governments and later as the lead staff on economic and workforce development for the Illinois State Senate President.
Mr. Creticos has a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering and Management Science from the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Northwestern University. He also has a Master of Management at Northwestern’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management, a Master of Arts in Political Science from the University of Missouri at St. Louis and a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Washington University in St. Louis. Mr. Creticos was a Coro Foundation Fellow in St. Louis. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Chicago Workforce Board.
Peter Creticos may be reached by e-mail at: creticos [at] workandeconomy [dot] org.
Research Fellows and Interns
Stephen M. Mitchell, PhD., is Senior Visiting Fellow and a Board Director of the Institute for Work and the Economy. He is the incoming Dean of Workforce Development, Continuing Education and Lifelong Learning at Sullivan County Community College (SCCC) in New York. He is an expert on adjusting talent management practices to take advantage of local labor markets, and has over 25 years experience in research and consulting to improve an organization’s capacity to find the right people, with the right skills, at the right time, in the right place and at the right price. Prior to becoming dean, Dr. Mitchell was Director of Workforce Quality at the Center for Governmental Research, where he directed research projects designed to improve the quality of regional workforces. He has also served as Senior Vice President of Workforce Quality for the Allegheny Conference for Community Development and Senior Director for Education and Workforce Development at the National Alliance of Business. Dr. Mitchell received his BA degree from Harvard College and his MS and PhD degrees from Cornell University. He may be reached by e-mail at mitchell [at] workandeconomy [dot] org.
James M. Schultz graduated from the University of Denver, receiving his B.S.B.A. in 1969 and his M.B.A. in 1971. Joining Walgreens Store Operations in 1971, he moved to the Human Resource Division in 1973. Retiring in 2004, his responsibilities covered a wide range of H.R. areas: training, management and executive development, productivity improvement, knowledge management, human factors engineering, systems documentation, human resource planning and information systems, and media production. He currently operates a private consulting firm, Pretty Good Consulting, in Wilmette, Illinois.
He served as a member of the Illinois Occupational Skills Standards and Credentialing Committee, a group working towards standardized and readily recognizable and transferable job competency designations. He recently finished serving on the Illinois Workforce Investment Board, a group advising the Governor about optimizing workforce development programs.
Mr. Schultz is Past-President and Honorary Director of the Board of the Jewish Vocational Services of Chicago, a non-sectarian agency providing vocational and rehabilitation services for the Chicagoland area. He belongs to the International Society for Performance Improvement, the American Society for Training & Development, the Human Resource Planning Society, the Society for Human Resource Management, and the National Center for Nonprofit Boards.
Mr. Schultz is a Senior Policy Fellow and a principal researcher on the Institute's project on the integration of new immigrants in the workplace. His e-mail is schultz [at] workandeconomy [dot] org.
Amy M. Beeler Amy M. Beeler is a recently returned Peace Corps Volunteer. She served for sixteen months as a Small Business Volunteer in a rural village in southeastern Morocco, on the edge of the Sahara Desert. Ms. Beeler worked to build the capacity of a local women’s organization that specialized in producing traditional handicrafts. Prior to joining the Peace Corps, Ms. Beeler served as IWE’s Director of Research for Special Projects and is a principal researcher on the Institute's projects on the integration of new immigrants in the workplace.
Prior to joining IWE, Ms. Beeler was the Skills for Life Manager at the London Central Learning and Skills Council in the United Kingdom. She was responsible for designing and implementing London's strategy to help adults achieve necessary literacy, numeracy and ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) skills. She managed bidding and funding processes for local education bodies and non-profit organizations in order to support this strategy. Ms. Beeler also served as a Program Manager at the National Alliance of Business in Washington, D.C. where she specialized in national projects promoting demand-driven workforce polices. She also explored the role of community colleges in workforce development. Ms. Beeler has also worked as an Economic Policy Analyst at the International Economic Development Council (IEDC - formerly the Council for Urban Economic Development) from 1998 to 1999 and again providing technical assistance in 2001. There she researched and wrote guidance on a variety of topics in economic development.
Ms. Beeler received a Master of Science degree in 2002 in International Development from the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London. She specialized in economic development in Africa and international finance. Ms. Beeler holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Boston University in Anthropology and a certificate in African Studies.
Ms. Beeler is currently a public policy consultant and is based in Connecticut. Her e-mail is: amybeeler [at] workandeconomy [dot] org.
