Regional Not-for-Profit Continues Focus on Tackling Talent Shortage
The Fox Valley Workforce Development Board (FVWDB), a regional not-for-profit providing career services and training grants to fill our most needed open roles, has announced the election of four from the public and private sectors to lead the organization for a one-year term during the 2023-2024 fiscal year, which began July 1, 2023. All were elected to these leadership roles by their fellow Board members at the June 15, 2023, FVWDB Annual Meeting.
Laura Biehn was elected Chair of the Board. Biehn has been a member of the FVWDB Board of Directors since 2015 and has been employed at Sargento Foods, Inc., since 2017. Biehn currently serves as a Senior Organizational Development Partner at the Sargento Corporate Headquarters in Plymouth. She is past chapter president of the Oshkosh Area Society of Human Resource Managers and previously served at the State District Director of Northeast Wisconsin Chapters of SHRM. Biehn is a resident is of Oshkosh and earned her undergraduate degree in business administration from University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh and a Master’s degree in Leadership and Organizational Development from Lakeland University. She previously served as Secretary and Vice-Chair of the FVWDB before being elected Chair of the Board.
Dale Walker was elected Vice-Chair. Walker has been a member of the Board since 2014 and is employed by Fox Valley Technical College in Appleton as the Director of Business and Industry Services, leading the division since 2007. A resident of Fox Crossing, he has served on the Strategic Planning Committee for Hortonville Area School District, the Village of Hortonville and is the former chair of the parish council at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Hortonville. He received his bachelor of business administration in finance from University of Wisconsin–Madison and an MBA from Concordia University–Wisconsin.
JoAnn Hall was elected Treasurer of the Fox Valley Workforce Development Board and will also chair the organization’s Finance & Personnel Committee. Hall has been a member of the Board since 2014 and has been employed as the Dean of Economic and Workforce Development at Moraine Park Technical College in Fond du Lac since 2002. She is a resident of Fond du Lac and many locals may know her from her more than 20 years as an award-winning color guard coach and instructor for Fond du Lac High School. She received her bachelor of business administration from the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater and an MBA from the University of Phoenix.
Sarah Pantol was elected FVWDB Secretary. She has been a member of the Board since 2019 and is employed as Director of Human Resources at FLASH, Inc., in Green Lake since 2017. Sarah was an employer representative to the Collaborate to Succeed event from 2014-2019, a 2013-2017 member of the St. Elizabeth Hospital Women’s Golf Outing Committee, a past member of Women in Management Fox Valley (serving as Technical Chair 2015-2016) and previously a member of the Rotary Club of Southwest Oshkosh. She is also a member of Fox Valley SHRM and resides in Winnebago County. Pantol received her bachelor of business administration in finance from the University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh.
Brian Kaminske, who served as the Chair of the FVWDB Board since 2021 and completed two terms, has advanced to the role of Immediate Past Chair of the Board. Kaminske has been employed by Waupaca Foundry in Waupaca since 1994, currently serving as HR manager. Kaminske attended Fox Valley Technical College and received his Master of Business Administration from Lakeland University.
The Fox Valley Workforce Development Board, based in Neenah, brings together the power of public and private resources to train the regional workforce, address hiring needs, and leads local employer efforts on incumbent worker training. FVWDB operates an American Job Center at 1802 Appleton Road, Menasha. FVWDB covers the counties of Calumet, Green Lake, Fond du Lac, Waupaca, Waushara and Winnebago. Last year alone, the FVWDB invested more than $2.2 million in employment and training across nearly 500 clients at local technical schools, 2-and 4-year UW schools and other online and local training academies. A top priority in the 2023-2024 year is to continue a focus on addressing our region’s talent shortage, with additional support for the formerly incarcerated, those in recovery from drug and alcohol misuse as well as finding more individuals for roles in healthcare and childcare. Reach the Board and its job center staff at www.foxvalleyjobcenters.com.
