Marlene B. Seltzer

President & CEO

Contact Marlene B. Seltzer

Marlene Seltzer is president and CEO of Jobs for the Future. With the goal of helping more Americans obtain the skills they need to succeed in today’s economy, JFF has grown since its founding in 1984 to become one of the nation’s leading research and policy development organizations focused on education and workforce strategies.

Ms. Seltzer’s mission to improve American public education and the skills of our workforce is reflected in the ambitious goal she has set for Jobs for the Future: By 2020, collaborating with its partners, JFF is committed to doubling the number of low-income youth and adults who earn postsecondary credentials or get training that helps them advance to family-sustaining careers.

Strengthening JFF’s capacity to achieve that goal, Ms. Seltzer launched JFF’s Washington, DC, office, significantly augmenting the organization’s capacity to affect federal policy. She also has enhanced JFF’s research activities to give new ideas and practices room to grow, at the same time focusing the organization and its partners on results that lead to measurable outcomes.

A nationally recognized thought leader, Ms. Seltzer is a frequent consultant and speaker on systemic reforms in secondary and postsecondary education and the ability of the labor market to serve low-income workers, employers, and local and state economies. Her commentaries and other writing help the nation think in new ways about policy and program delivery at all levels of government.

Ms. Seltzer’s expertise is sought after not only in the United States but abroad as well. In directing JFF’s U.K./U.S. Welfare-to-Work project, she drew on the U.S. experience in welfare reform to help the British government’s New Deal Task Force consider ways to improve the performance of its workforce development and welfare systems. She also led JFF’s work on Employer-Led Efforts that Produce Results for Ethnic Minorities, commissioned by the National Employment Panel. This employer-led body, which advises ministers on the design, delivery, and performance of U.K. welfare-to-work policies and programs, asked for input on strategies for increasing job opportunities for ethnic minorities through employer action. For the U.S./E.U. Roundtable, Gender Issues from an Employment Perspective, Ms. Seltzer spoke on "Challenges of Career Advancement for Entry-level Workers."

Before joining JFF in 1996, Ms. Seltzer held a number of prominent positions in nonprofit management, government, and the field of workforce development. From 1987 to 1989, she was commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Employment and Training, after serving as deputy commissioner for four years. She administered the Commonwealth’s $1 billion federal- and state-funded employment and training programs, including ET Choices—a $40 million comprehensive state welfare-to-work effort.

As president of Seltzer Associates, a for-profit consulting firm, Ms. Seltzer provided policy development assistance to the U.S. Department of Labor on its workforce development initiatives. She also served as co-founder and president of Employment Resources, Inc., a nonprofit, community-based workforce development organization.

Ms. Seltzer serves on the boards of the Boston Children’s Museum; WomenWork!, a national policy and advocacy organization working for the economic equity and advancement of women; and the Rural Policy Research Institute, which provides unbiased analysis and information on the challenges, needs, and opportunities facing rural America.

Ms. Seltzer holds a B.A. in urban economics and American history from American University, an M.A. in labor economics from Northeastern University, and a certificate from the Harvard University Employment and Training Institute.