Dana Egreczky , Vice President, Workforce Development and President, New Jersey Chamber of Commerce Foundation

Currently senior vice president, Workforce Development for the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce, Ms. Egreczky also serves as president and chief executive officer of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce Foundation. Ms. Egreczky is responsible for directing various program divisions of the Chamber Foundation, which works to build a highly qualified workforce through innovative collaborations with K-12 education and the workforce training and preparation system.

Workforce initiatives under her direction include the Business Coalition for Educational Excellence, a business-driven effort to advocate for policies and implement programs that support the business agenda in K-12 education reform; the Business Leadership Network, an employer-led endeavor that enhances competitive employment opportunities for skilled job candidates with disabilities; the Robert Wood Johnson New Jersey Nursing Initiative, an effort to increase the critical supply of nurses for the state; MATHNex2t, a partnership with Rutgers University and the Department of Education; and two national programs: LearnDoEarn, curriculum for middle and high schools students, and Disabilities At Work, a consumer advocacy campaign that supports people with disabilities.

Under her leadership, the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce Foundation has received several prestigious awards. The BCEE was selected as the State Business Coalition of the Year in 2001 by the National Alliance of Business and was awarded the Dispelling the Myth Award in 2004 by the Education Trust, a DC-based organization that advocates for low income and minority children. One of the Foundation programs, Learn More Now, Do More Now, Earn More Later, was selected by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for a Competitive Workforce as one of ten best practices in its first annual Business Education Network Yearbook. Ms. Egreczky reports to the 60-member Board of Directors of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce, which consists of the presidents and CEOs of the state’s most prestigious large and small companies.

Ms. Egreczky has served as Project Investigator for three National Science Foundation grants totaling $2.5 million, and has been awarded numerous grants from corporate foundations.

Ms. Egreczky secured a $1.2 million research grant from the prestigious W. K. Kellogg Foundation and a $4.5 million grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Ms. Egreczky has also secured and directed projects funded through grants from the New Jersey Department of Education, the U.S. Department of Education, and the New Jersey Department of Labor. Ms. Egreczky coordinates annual outreach to donors resulting in tens of thousands of corporate contributions.

Ms. Egreczky has a bachelor’s degree in biological science and a master’s degree in training and organizational development. Her experience includes 16 years as a public middle and high school science teacher, five years as a corporate trainer, and 16 years of working with local and regional chambers in establishing their school-based initiatives. She serves on number boards and committees, including the US Chamber of Commerce Education, Employment and Training Committee and the New Jersey High School Redesign Committee.