Who We Are

The Ohio Workforce Association represents all 20 local workforce development boards across Ohio. The Workforce Development Board (WBD) system with its eighty-eight OhioMeansJobs Centers is the state’s premiere asset for developing a skilled, modern workforce that meets Ohio’s immediate business needs. The WDB system is governed locally, specifically designed that way to make sure that there is an independent broker that will deliver workforce services wanted and needed by local employers and employees.

What We Do

Ohio’s public workforce system is helping Ohio move forward by bringing our local connections to 245 Ohio businesses. These 245 local businesses are represented across our 20 local Workforce Development Boards, with 28 Business Organizations and more than 40 labor representatives also serving on local workforce boards.

The following are the largest business sectors that are represented on our Boards:

  • Manufacturing (62)
  • Business Services (31)
  • Financial Services (30)
  • Healthcare (29)
  • Construction and Skilled Trade Companies (25)

Lisa Patt-McDaniel

Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Workforce Development Board of Central Ohio
President, Ohio Workforce Association

John Trott - Executive Director

John Trott

Executive Director
Greater Ohio Workforce Board, Inc.
Ex-Officio, OWA

Laurie McKnight

Director
Area 14 Workforce Development Board
Athens, Meigs, Perry Counties
Vice President, OWA

Christine Marshall - Executive Director

Christine Marshall

Executive Director
SAMWACOG & Workforce Area 2 Board
Treasurer, OWA

Crystal Keaton - Director

Crystal Keaton

Director
Area 1 Workforce Development Board
Secretary, OWA

Craig Sernik

Executive Director
Northeast Ohio Consortium Council of Governments - Area 19 Workforce Development Board
Trustee-At-Large, OWA