Our Next Speakers
Elizabeth Creamer, Vice President of Workforce Development, Community College Workforce Alliance (CCWA)
Elizabeth Creamer is Vice President of Workforce Development, Community College Workforce Alliance (CCWA), a partnership of Reynolds and John Tyler Community Colleges. CCWA is dedicated to closing the skills gap in the region’s labor market through industry sector strategies, occupational training and workforce credentialing, apprenticeship related instruction, career coaching, and customized business solutions.
Previously, Elizabeth served as Advisor for Workforce Development in Governor Terence R. McAuliffe’s administration and as Director of Education and Workforce Development in Governor Bob McDonnell’s administration. She also served as Assistant Vice Chancellor of Career Pathways and Workforce Development Programs for the Virginia Community College System and in academic administration positions at Thomas Nelson and Paul D. Camp Community Colleges.
Creamer is a current member of the Board of Directors for ChamberRVA, the Workforce Development Boards for the Capital and Crater Regions, the Activation Council of Virginia’s Bio+Tech Park, and the Go Virginia Region IV Coalition to Strengthen a Regional Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Cluster. She has previously served on and staffed the Virginia Board of Workforce Development. Elizabeth holds a B.A. from Christopher Newport University and a M.A. from Old Dominion University.
John Dougherty, Principal Consultant, Human Services
John is the founder and principal consultant at Human Service Innovations, a dynamic and collaborative consulting practice providing strategic assessment, planning and operational support to deliver transformative impact on the lives of individuals, organizations and communities. He brings over 20 years in direct care, management and executive leadership, providing a unique breadth and depth of knowledge to clients. John values and respects the complex challenges human service organizations face from the ground level to the top. His broad range of roles and responsibilities throughout his career provides essential insights to help them succeed in all areas from direct practice and program development to organizational operations, strategic leadership and management, financing, marketing and advocacy.
Before launching Human Service Innovations John served as executive director of a statewide nonprofit and later as chief administrative officer of a Virginia based foster care, juvenile justice, alternative education and community-based mental health service organization.
Most recently John served four years as vice president of community workforce for Goodwill of Central and Coastal Virginia where he lead the organizational realignment to advance community impact through partnership, collaboration and community coalition building. In this role he worked across multiple networks including community colleges, the regional workforce board, local workforce programs and industry partners, as well as public sector education, justice, social service and behavioral health providers at both the state and local level.
John’s consulting experience has included partnering with national firms such as Evidence-Based Associates and WellCare for statewide initiatives to local projects involving such organizations as WorkforceCoalitionRVA, Homeward, Medical Society of Virginia and Colorado based Western Mountain Regional Health Alliance and Lift-Up. Each of these opportunities has provided a unique look at the intersection of policy, practice, leadership and management operations to improve effectiveness and efficiency for achieving greater impact.
John’s extensive industry knowledge and experience has afforded him opportunities to serve as adjunct faculty for both University of Richmond and Virginia Commonwealth University. Additionally, he has received two gubernatorial appointments to Virginia’s State Workforce Board and the Advisory Council on Juvenile Justice and Prevention, as well as leading multiple state and regional collaborative initiatives to improve outcomes in the human services sector.
Brian Davis, Executive Director of the Capital Region Workforce Partnership
Brian Davis serves as the Executive Director of the Capital Region Workforce Partnership, a position he has held since 2014. In this role, he has oversight of a $5 million annual budget that supports workforce development solutions for job seekers and employers in the greater Richmond area. He has over 25 years of local and state planning and policy experience, with more than 15 years focused on workforce development systems and programs.
Other professional highlights include serving as a workforce development specialist in the office of Virginia Governor Tim Kaine, Special Assistant to the Vice Chancellor for Workforce Development at the Virginia Community College System and Workforce Development Director for Virginia’s Central Region in the Lynchburg area.
He serves as Co-Chair of Workforce Coalition RVA, Vice Chairman of the Virginia Association of Workforce Directors and is the immediate past chairman of the Governance Committee of the Greater Richmond Continuum of Care.
Brian holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Urban Studies and Planning from Virginia Commonwealth University and a leadership development certificate from the Clarion University of Pennsylvania.