State GREEN-UP Council

The WorkForceWV GREEN-UP Council is West Virginia’s State Energy Sector Partnership.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the partnership is to develop an energy sector education and training plan for West Virginia that aligns with the state’s Energy Plan and supports job expansion in the energy efficiency, renewable energy, alternative energy and advanced traditional energy fields.  The U.S. Department of Labor has identified two primary activities for the Council:

1. Strategic planning and development of a State Energy Sector Plan, including selecting regional project teams; and
2. Oversight of the implementation and successful operation of the State Energy Sector Plan.

Goals

The WV GREEN-UP Council has identified five goals for itself in its Charter:

1. Information Arbitrage. To collect, review and analyze green energy workforce information, including labor market intelligence, needed skills and competencies, and career information, consistent with the regional sector strategies approach to workforce development.
2. Education and Training Alignment. To support effective education and training models and programs that align with state workforce investment needs in the areas of energy efficiency, renewable energy, alternative energy and advanced traditional energy.
3. Policy/Program/Resource Alignment.  To align green energy education and training policies, programs and resources to maximize the State’s return on its green jobs education and training investment.
4. Strategic Partnerships. To foster strategic partnerships, including knowledge sharing, networking and communications, among business, industry, labor, education providers at all levels, non-profit organizations and government to promote effective green energy education and training.
5. Research/Evaluation/Accountability. To promote research, formative and summative evaluation of project activities, and accountability.

Membership

The WV GREEN-UP Council is fortunate to have a distinguished membership including representatives from green business, industry and labor,  non-profit organizations, education and training providers, and economic and workforce development.  Below is a list of members and the organizations they represent:

CHAIRMAN:

Russell Fry, Acting Executive Director
WorkForce West Virginia

MEMBERS:
[column width="49%" padding="2%"]Jerry Berry, Chairman
West Virginia Workforce Investment Council

Kelly Bragg, Program Coordinator
West Virginia Division of Energy

Dean Cordle, Executive Vice President
AC&S, Inc.

Pam Curry, Executive Director
Center for Economic Options Inc.

Al Ebron, Executive Director
National Alternative Fuels Training Consortium
West Virginia University

Bernard (Skip) Gebhart, Administrator
Veterans’ Education Programs
West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission

Kelley Goes, Cabinet Secretary
West Virginia Department of Commerce

John (Jeff) Herholdt, Director
West Virginia Division of Energy

Dr. Paul Hill, Vice Chancellor for Science and Research
West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission

[/column] [column width="49%" padding="0%"]Claude (Jake) Hunt, Executive Director
Region 2 Workforce Investment Board

Kenneth Milnes, State Director
U.S. Department of Labor Office of Apprenticeship

Carolyn Nielsen, President
FRIEnergy, Inc.

Keith Pauley, Chief Executive Officer
Mid-Atlantic Technology Research and Innovation Center

Walton Christopher Shepherd, Smart-Schools Coordinator and Policy Director
The JOBS Project, Inc.

James Skidmore, Chancellor
West Virginia Community and Technical College System

Rick Smith, Director
Eastern West Virginia Community Action Agency

Roy Smith
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, AFL-CIO

Thomas (Thom) Worlledge, Architect
McKinley & Associates

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