Joshua Johnson is the director of Jobs for the Future’s National Innovation Hub for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in Registered Apprenticeship, which is operated by the organization’s Center for Apprenticeship & Work Based Learning. In that role, he leads efforts to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in apprenticeship, with a specific focus on helping employers make commitments to building inclusive Registered Apprenticeship programs.

His skills and areas of expertise include:

• Apprenticeship programming
• Workforce development
• Business engagement
• Reentry education
• Leadership

Before joining JFF, Joshua was the state director of apprenticeship in Wisconsin. In that role, he oversaw growth in all initiatives related to the creation of intentional career pathways for Wisconsin citizens. His passion for apprenticeship is rooted in its ability to eradicate poverty.

Earlier in his career, Joshua worked for the Wisconsin Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, where he helped employers connect to the untapped talent pool of individuals with disabilities.

While he was the Wisconsin state director of apprenticeship, Joshua was elected by his fellow state directors to serve as vice president of the National Association of State and Territorial Apprenticeship Directors.

Joshua spent nearly 10 years in prison and has shared his personal story of reentry to encourage incarcerated individuals to refocus and get connected prior to release. He also speaks at events about the importance of employers creating diverse and inclusive apprenticeships to ensure that they can compete locally, nationally, and globally.

In 2007, Joshua completed a Construction Craft Laborers apprenticeship and then spent three years as a construction craft laborer journeyworker building highways in Illinois and Wisconsin.

“I am the father of three boys and two girls,” Joshua says. “I enjoy spending time with them and my lovely wife out on the water on the family boat. If I’m not out on the water, I am relaxing and enjoying the four seasons in Wisconsin while cheering on our local sports teams.”

Marybeth Gasman is the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Endowed Chair in Education, a Distinguished Professor, and the Associate Dean for Research in the Graduate School of Education at Rutgers University. She also serves as the Executive Director of the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Institute for Leadership, Equity & Justice and the Executive Director of the Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions. Marybeth is the Chair of the Rutgers University, New Brunswick Faculty Council. Prior to joining the faculty at Rutgers, Marybeth was the Judy & Howard Berkowitz Endowed Professor in the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania. Her areas of expertise include the history of American higher education, Minority Serving Institutions (with an emphasis on Historically Black Colleges and Universities), racism and diversity, fundraising and philanthropy, and higher education leadership. She is the author or editor of 30 books, including Educating a Diverse Nation (Harvard University Press, 2015 with Clif Conrad), Envisioning Black Colleges (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2007), Making Black Scientists (Harvard University Press, 2019 with Thai-Huy Nguyen), and her latest book Doing the Right Thing: How to End Systemic Racism in Faculty Hiring (Princeton University, 2022). Marybeth has written over 250 peer-reviewed articles, scholarly essays, and book chapters. She has penned over 450 opinion articles for the nation’s newspapers and magazines and is ranked by Education Week as one of the most influential education scholars in the nation. Marybeth has raised over $23 million in grant funding to support her research and that of her students, mentees, and MSI partners. She has served on the board of trustees of The College Board as well as historically Black colleges – Paul Quinn College, Morris Brown College, and St. Augustine College. She considers her proudest accomplishment to be receiving the University of Pennsylvania’s Provost Award for Distinguished Ph.D. Teaching and Mentoring, serving as the dissertation chair for over 80 doctoral students since 2000.

Dr. Choi is an associate professor at Alabama A&M University, Department of Social Work. Dr. Choi received her MSW from Ohio State University and Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Prior to AAMU, Dr. Choi worked as an assistant professor at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. Dr. Choi has more than 12 years of teaching at universities. Dr. Choi is currently a Co-PI of the Opioids Impacted Family Support Traineeship (OIFST) grant project funded by the U.S. Department of Human Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) ($ 1,116,866). She was a co-investigator of the 10-year Illinois Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Waiver (AODA) evaluation project funded by the Children's Bureau of the Administration of Children and Families and other child welfare projects. Dr. Choi also collaborated with several mental health research projects, including the gender differences in substance abuse treatment utilization and outcomes, and the evaluation of private residential treatments for individuals with co-occurring disorders.

Dr. Choi published 21 peer-reviewed journal articles and had 34 presentations at national social work conferences like CSWE and SSWR. Dr. Choi is a Society for Social Work Research (SSWR) Fellow of 2018. Dr. Choi’s research focuses on service delivery outcomes for individuals with multiple problems (drug abuse, mental health, neglect, family violence, housing, etc.). This research revolves around three main areas: the relations of service delivery to treatment outcomes for individuals with co-occurring substance abuse and mental health problems; the relations of service delivery to child welfare and treatment outcomes for parents with co-occurring problems; and the relations of service delivery for minority families including immigrants and refugees. Although those areas deal with different sub-populations and thus have different practice and policy implications, they emphasize limited-service access and utilization and require an integrated service response to deal with multiple problems simultaneously.

Alice Ginsberg has over thirty years of experience in educational programming, teaching, and research, specializing in issues of teacher education, higher education, urban education, minority serving institutions, social justice pedagogies, and educational philanthropy. In addition to teaching at The University of Pennsylvania and Rutgers University, Alice is the author or editor of eight books including, Gender in Urban Education (Heinemann, 2004), Gender and Educational Philanthropy (Palgrave, 2007, with Marybeth Gasman) The Evolution of American Women's Studies (Palgrave, 2008), Embracing Risk in Urban Education (Rowman and Littlefield, 2012), Transgressing Teacher Education (Rowman and Littlefield, 2022), and For the Love of Teaching: How Minority Serving Institutions are Diversifying and Transforming the Profession (forthcoming Teachers College Press, with Marybeth Gasman and Andres Castro Samayoa).

Cindy Paz (Project Manager) has over 5 years of experience in program management. She has experience in developing health education programs that are responsive to the social drivers of health. Through her career she has focused on the training and development of community health workers, specifically those with little to no professional background. She has spent the last two years of her career developing pathways for individuals to thrive in the workplace. This led to her developing the University of Houston Registered Community Health Worker Apprenticeship. The apprenticeship was registered in July 2020 and currently has 20 apprentices and is on trend to grow in the upcoming months due to employer interest and positive outcomes so far. She has focused on growing the apprenticeship in a sustainable manner and marketing the apprenticeship to employers in the Houston area.

Kirsten Pratt is Associate Vice President of Apprenticeship Carolina, a division of the SC Technical College System. She is a resource for all things registered apprenticeship for the Midlands and SC. Her focus is to support the team of Apprenticeship Consultants in growing apprenticeship opportunities for our youth and community in all regions of SC while also meeting the workforce needs of SC employers. She has been with Apprenticeship Carolina for 5+ years coming from a background of human resources, recruitment, higher education, career development, and program management. Kirsten is a proud graduate of South Carolina State University, receiving her bachelor’s in business, and Clemson University, receiving her Masters in Marketing Research.

Dr. Awan has over 30 years of experience in nonprofit organizations including early childhood, mental and behavioral health, domestic violence prevention and programs supporting student academic success. She received a BA in education, M.S. degree in Leadership and Policy, and a PhD in Management and Decision Sciences and 2022 Greenville Business Magazine: 50 Most Influential People.

Dr. Amanda “Mandy” Elmore has extensive experience in the manufacturing industry and in both secondary and post-secondary education. A chemical engineer by trade, her areas of expertise include manufacturing, automation, Industry 4.0, Internet of Things, Lean Six Sigma, Robotic Process Automation, data analytics and experiential learning.

In her current role, Dr. Elmore supervises and directs the activities of 77 faculty and staff members comprising nine academic programs that center on engineering technology, industrial technology, CNC and welding. She also works collaboratively with local economic developers to recruit new businesses to the region. Prior to her role at Tri-County, she served as Project Lead the Way (PLTW) department head and instructor at Anderson Districts 1 & 2 Career and Technology Center, as PLTW and science instructor at Pendleton High School and as an engineering team leader at Carolina Circuits.

Dr. Elmore has a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering, a Master of Science degree in chemical engineering, and a graduate certificate in higher education leadership from the University of South Carolina. She also holds a doctorate degree in professional leadership from Converse College.

Eugene Grant is currently an operational lead for the Vocational Talent Programs and Training. Grant also serves as a supervisor in the BMW Scholars Program. Prior to working at BMW, Grant was Dean of Engineering and Industrial Division at Tri-County Technical College.

For almost 4 years, Lori Hoyer has served Greenville County Schools as a Work-Based Learning Coordinator. This past academic year, she has assumed the Team Lead role in order to provide support, coordination and coaching for the WBL team. Building industry partnerships and developing strategies to increase student opportunities have been a priority during her time at Greenville County Schools. Her passion for work-based learning is evident and she has served in roles connecting students with real-world experiences for over 10 years. Prior to coming to Greenville County Schools, Lori was the Program Coordinator for Experiential Learning at Greenville Technical College and then worked as the Director of Community Relations for Godshall Recruiting. Lori earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from the University of Central Florida.

David Hoff, M.S.W., is a Program Director for the Institute for Community Inclusion at the University of Massachusetts Boston where he has been for 25 years. Mr. Hoff has an extensive background in working with public systems and community agencies to enhance employment outcomes for people with disabilities. Much of his current work focuses on strengthening the inclusion and success of individuals with disabilities in registered apprenticeship programs. Mr. Hoff has done work across the United States, and internationally, providing technical assistance and training on effective practices in human services and workforce development. His past experience includes working as an administrator for a local workforce board, in a direct service role with people with disabilities, and also 10 years in private business.

Kim Gee, MS, CRC, LPC is Director of the Pre-Employment Transition Services Program at the University of Missouri. She earned a Bachelor of Arts with a double major in Psychology and English from Freed Hardeman University. She later received a Master of Science in Guidance and Counseling from Missouri State University. Her experience includes working in community mental health centers as well as both public and private vocational rehabilitation. Prior to her current role with the University of Missouri, she worked for the Missouri Vocational Rehabilitation agency until her retirement in 2021. While employed for VR Kim served as a Counselor, as the Assistant Director of Independent Living Services, as the Director of Transition and Section 511, as Assistant Field Operations Manager, and finally as the Manager of Youth and Program Services. Kim has a mission to help students and youth achieve their potential through the provision of excellent Pre-ETS. One of the most rewarding aspects of her job is supporting the staff who work to provide opportunities for youth to identify their personal strengths, and aspirations, and prepare for their future.

J Gibbs is the Apprenticeship Development & Alignment Coordinator for the Institute for Community Inclusion. In this role, he oversees the Missouri Talent Pathways Program, a new apprenticeship for Direct Support Professionals, sponsored by the Missouri Department Mental Health. Prior to joining ICI, J was with Easter Seals Midwest where he was the Director of Community Living. His previous experience also includes four years as Director of Employment Services at Abilities First, where he developed a number of innovative initiatives including an apprenticeship program for individuals with disabilities. Prior to entering the provider space, he spent over two decades in finance and consulting.

Dr. Wendy Kostenbauder, works under the Maine Department of Labor with the Maine Apprenticeship Program. Dr. Kostenbauder serves in the role of Program Manager under the SAEEI grant. After 20 years of working in and researching Career and Technical Education, Dr. Kostenbauder brings a wealth of knowledge to registered apprenticeships.

Amanda Muller is the Apprenticeship Navigator for Maine Bureau of Rehabilitation Services. She works closely with Maine Apprenticeship Program staff in her efforts to promote the inclusion of individuals with disabilities in registered apprenticeship programs through collaboration, education and outreach. Amanda has a bachelor’s degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders. Prior to becoming an apprenticeship navigator she worked as a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor for Florida Vocational Rehabilitation for 5 years as well as with the UCF Center for Autism and Related Disabilities and Providing Autism Links and Supports. Amanda lives in Phillips, Maine with her husband and their teacup Pomeranian, Kimiko.

Timothy Small (He, Him, His) is a Vocational Consultant and Windmills Presenter. He has worked the last 10 years for Bureau of Rehabilitation Services as a VR Transition Counselor and Vocational Counselor for the Division of the Blind and Visually Impaired. He is a co-chair on the Department of Labor’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility Committee.