Workforce Southwest Washington (WSW) Chief Executive Officer, Kevin Perkey, will step down as CEO after three years to support his wife, Dr. B. Joy Perkey, in her new leadership role as Medical Director for Physiatry in Bend, OR. Kevin will stay on as CEO until a successor is named and transitions into WSW.
“Kevin has truly been a transformational leader for WSW. He has expanded WSW’s impact across the region by working closely with our Southwest Washington business community, educational institutions, and community-based organizations,” said Paige Spratt, Workforce Southwest Washington’s Chair. “Our region’s businesses, workers and communities will emerge stronger through our economic recovery efforts thanks to the tremendous work Kevin has done. We wish Kevin and his family immense success and all our best as they transition onto their next adventure.”
Since taking the leadership role at WSW in July 2018, Kevin has led the development of several high-impact initiatives for Southwest Washington, including:
- Co-led WA State’s COVID-19 workforce development response with his colleagues as Chair of the Washington Workforce Association, securing $24M in National Dislocated Worker grants; the only state to do so, supporting Southwest Washington’s equitable economic recovery.
- Appointed by Governor Inslee’s Commissioner of the Employment Security Department as the lone workforce development lead on a nine-member Unemployment Insurance Advisory Committee (consisting of four labor, four business and one workforce representative) to improve the state’s unemployment system, helping thousands of Southwest Washingtonians gain access to critically needed unemployment benefits.
- Centered diversity, equity, and inclusion within and across WSW by standing up an internal DEI leadership team, implementing a new board member DEI assessment, professional development and governance structure, and evaluating all programs and investments with a new DEI lens, ensuring historically underserved communities have equitable access to obtain and advance in high-quality employment.
- Awarded $1.6M from Governor Inslee as one of only four “Economic Security for All” marquee pilot projects focused on moving 330 Washington families above 200 percent of poverty. Locally known as THRIVE, WSW’s model is led by a consortium of local community-based organizations and businesses that aim to integrate childcare and workforce development in a public/private partnership.
- Elevating WSW’s profile through leadership roles with the Washington Workforce Association, the U.S. Conference of Mayors and strategic partnerships with the National Association of Workforce Boards, LinkedIn Learning, CareerKarma, and other national entities.
Before his role at Workforce Southwest Washington, Kevin was the Chief Executive Officer of South Central Pennsylvania Works (SCPa Works), a regional workforce development board investing more than $12 million of public workforce development funds annually across an eight-county region of South Central Pennsylvania.
WSW’s Executive Committee expects to immediately begin the search for Kevin’s replacement.
