Board of Directors

In 1998, the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) was enacted. A major change brought about by this legislation was the creation of local workforce development boards. The Southwest Wisconsin Workforce Development Board (SWWDB) is one of 11 workforce boards in Wisconsin. In 2014, President Barack Obama signed the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act WIOA, an impressive piece of legislation that was supported by both the U.s Congress and Senate and both the Democratic and Republican Parties.

SWWDB is responsbile for guiding and overseeing a local system of service delivery that is responsive to local needs and economic conditions. The services within this system are driven by the needs of employers and workers and are accessible to everyone through the "one-stop" job centers, including the Virtual Job Center - www.jobcenter.org and www.jobcenterofwisconsin.com.

Job center services are staffed by a variety of different agencies and programs working in collaboration to maximize public awareness, simplify access, and improve outcomes.

SWWDB is highly committed to managing a workforce development system that will ensure a strong, vibrant economy in southwest Wisconsin. Membership represents the diverse businesses, organizations, and trades of our region from both the public and private sectors. A majority of the Board members are from private sector businesses and include business owners, chief executives, or operating officers with optimum policy-making or hiring authority.

The remainder of the board is from public sector organizations and agencies. These public sector members also have policy-making authority and include representatives of educational entities, economic development agencies, community-based organizations, labor groups, elected officials, etc.

The composition of the SWWDB provides the right mix of representatives, ensuring a balanced and effective policy-making body capable of providing the strategic planning, oversight, and accountability needed to ensure the delivery of quality training and workforce services.

SWWDB is responsible for the workforce delivery services and programs in a six-county region in southwest Wisconsin consisting of Grant, Green, Iowa, Lafayette, Richland, and Rock counties.