Robert E. Wordlaw
Robert E. Wordlaw was appointed Executive Director to the Chicago Jobs Council (CJC) in December 1995, bringing over 25 years experience in planning and managing economic development programs designed to move disadvantaged individuals into employment and toward self-sufficiency. As the leader of CJC, a nationally recognized workforce policy organization, Bob brokers relationships between national, state, and local advocacy groups; governmental agencies; and private foundations to advance CJC’s mission of expanding employment and career advancement opportunities for people in poverty.
Bob has extensive experience in convening and working with collaborative efforts aimed at designing and implementing effective workforce development strategies and program. He served on Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle‘s Economic and Workforce Development Transition Committee that developed recommendations regarding the integration of economic and workforce development. Bob played a leadership role in helping to establish The National Skills Coalition, formerly The Workforce Alliance, a national coalition for which he served on the Board of Directors and State Agenda for Community and Economic Development, an Illinois coalition that he chaired. He also was a founding member of the Council of Advisors to Reduce Recidivism Through Employment (CARRE); and currently serves on the governing boards of several community-based organizations.
His leadership has enhanced CJC financial stability and made it a respected and in demand workforce advocate, organizer, and partner in the development of programs and policies at the City, State, and national levels.
Before joining CJC, Bob served 17 years as Executive Vice President of The Neighborhood Institute (TNI) where he successfully planned and administered employment preparation, skills training, and economic development programs aimed at moving people out of poverty. Prior to TNI, he was director of a west side office for the City of Chicago’s Department of Human Services and staff consultant for a Washington D.C.-based community development consulting firm. He received his bachelor’s degree from Goddard College (Plainfield, VT) and in 1995 completed a one-year fellowship program at Roosevelt University.
