Emily DeRocco is president of The Manufacturing Institute and its new National Center for the American Workforce and Senior Vice President of the National Association of Manufacturers. Elected by The Manufacturing Institute’s Board of Trustees on March 5, 2008, she will oversee the education and research arm of the NAM and the design and operations of the new national center dedicated to fostering a new generation of manufacturing workers for the 21st century.

Nominated by President Bush and confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the Assistant Secretary of Labor in 2001, DeRocco was responsible for managing a $10 billion investment in the nation’s workforce in her previous position. She created and implemented regional economic development initiatives in 39 regions across the nation during her tenure, using talent development strategies to drive competitive advantage for America’s businesses. Her responsibilities included implementation of Trade Adjustment Assistance for displaced workers, alternative educational pathways for the nation’s youth, the permanent and temporary foreign labor certification programs for employment-based immigration, the national apprenticeship program, and workforce development programs nationwide. She created and led Presidential initiatives to align education, economic development, and workforce development investments and to increase the capacity of the nation’s community college system.

During her tenure with the Labor Department, DeRocco chaired or vice-chaired numerous boards and commissions, including the Education and Workforce Committee of the Secretary of Education’s Commission on the Future of Higher Education, the Education and Workforce Committee of the Department of Commerce’s Interagency Working Group on Manufacturing, and the President’s Comm