Amy Martinez, who leads the South Central Workforce office based in Yakima, exits chair position after a successful year-long term marked with funding and poverty reduction milestones.
OLYMPIA, Wash., – The Washington Workforce Association (WWA), comprised of local workforce development boards and their partners across Washington state, announced William Westmoreland as the new board chair for the year-long position, starting January 2025. He takes over for Amy Martinez, CEO of South Central Workforce, to lead the effort to advocate for robust workforce development and poverty reduction across Washington state.
Westmoreland serves as the CEO of Pacific Mountain Workforce Development Council, which works across Thurston, Mason, Lewis, Mason, and Grays Harbor counties.
“We have been moving in a great direction over the past several years, increasing our profile at the state and local level to advocate for investments that support job creators and job seekers across Washington state,” Westmoreland said. “Amy has been integral to our overall success as workforce development leaders that have led to incredibly results in moving individuals out of poverty and helping our local employers fill their workforce gaps.”
“We are lucky to have had Amy as our Board Chair over the past year. She has been a critical leader helping our system navigate a number of challenging and exciting opportunities with our partners across the state. Amy’s leadership kept us all rowing in the same direction, and helped insure new investments in the Economic Security for All program are making a real difference in the lives of thousands of Washingtonians,” John Traugott, WWA executive director, said. “Our incoming Board Chair, William, has been working right alongside Amy and the rest of our executive team and is well positioned to lead our efforts going into the 2025 Legislative Session as we continue to see increased workforce and training needs across all regions of the state.”
In the 2024 Legislative Session, WWA led the charge to garner bipartisan to codify the Economic Security for All program into law to ensure the continuation and funding of the program and secure additional funds for the program as well as the new Community Reinvestment Fund grant program that helps Local Boards lay strong supports for employers and workers for long-term financial success.
“Like everyone taking over for a great leader, I have big shoes to fill,” Westmoreland said. “I look forward to working with our state agency and other partners to shore up our poverty reduction work and create strong economic ecosystems for our employers and communities in this time of uncertainty.”
Visit the website for more information on WWA and its work in communities across the state.
###
About the Washington Workforce Association
The Washington Workforce Association (WWA) is a nonprofit nonpartisan membership organization of the Local Workforce Development Boards (LWDB) of Washington State. The LWDBs are business-led boards that coordinate and leverage workforce investments and strategies with stakeholders from education, economic development, labor and community-based organizations to advance the economic health of their respective communities through a skilled and competitive workforce.
Media Contact: Bobbi Cussins, 360.280.1679, [email protected]
