Ivy Tech's Sue Smith Appointed to National Workforce Panel to Advise Biden Administration

Smith will assist in advising the Biden administration on its “Build Back Better” initiative and other major infrastructure proposals.

(Indianapolis, Ind.) - Ivy Tech Community College is pleased to announce that Sue Smith has been appointed by National Skills Coalition(NSC) and Business Leaders United for Workforce Partnerships (BLU) to serve on a national Infrastructure Panel that will advise the Biden administration on its “Build Back Better” initiative and other major infrastructure proposals.

Smith, along with other leaders in the panel, will meet in the coming months with White House advisers, officials at the Departments of Energy and Transportation, and Congressional leadership to help shape federal recovery policies for the infrastructure sector.

“We want to ensure that federal recovery efforts support the businesses and workers most impacted by the pandemic, particularly workers of color, women, and workers with a high school degree or less,” said Andy Van Kleunen, CEO of National Skills Coalition. “We know that skills training alone will not ensure an inclusive recovery, but we also know that it must be part of our nation’s federal policy response. If we want those policies to succeed, industry leaders must help shape them.”

NSC and BLU convened a total of four recovery panels for the following industries: Healthcare, Manufacturing, Infrastructure, and Retail/Hospitality.

Different industries have experienced the COVID-19 pandemic in different ways. The goal of the industry recovery panels is to ensure that federal recovery initiatives include investments in job training and support services that workers and businesses need to adapt to the structural shifts within their industries. 

"The lack of digital skills, broadband access, and an increased need for STEM labor could be the perfect storm for employers, particularly manufacturers," said Smith, Vice President for the Technology & Applied Sciences Division and Corporate Executive for Advanced Manufacturing at Ivy Tech Community College. "Federal and state recovery initiatives to support adopting new technology and upskilling the current and future workforce with a focus on economic inclusion is critical to a better infrastructure."

The Industry Recovery Panel initiative is supported in part by Walmart, JPMorgan Chase, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, and Microsoft.