May 2022 – To assist in the coordination, collection, and distribution of contracts and workforce data, the Westmoreland-Fayette Workforce Investment Board (WFWIB) has selected Kerry Fagan to serve as its new Contract/Data Coordinator. Fagan will be responsible for managing all contracts under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Title I Adult, Youth, Dislocated funding as well as other WFWIB required contracts in accordance with established State and Federal Government and Board requirements. Fagan will additionally provide WFWIB staff and clients with relevant workforce data and comprehensive data reports to assist with workforce development initiatives.

As a newly designed position for the WFWIB, the Contract/Data Coordinator will work closely with the WFWIB’s Controller/Equal Opportunity Officer. The Contract/Data Coordinator will be the initial contact for vendors, sub-recipients, contractors, and others seeking training funding. (To read the WFWIB’s press release on its new Controller/Equal Opportunity Officer position, follow the link here.)

Fagan was introduced to the WFWIB in 2019 as a summer intern under the WFWIB’s Experience Works! PLUS Internship Program while receiving a degree in Business Marketing from Slippery Rock University. Designed to provide post-secondary education students with a paid experience relevant to their career interests, Fagan developed her professional skills and gained industry experience. She acted as the Youth Programs Assistant assisting then Youth Services Manager Janet Ward with youth program monitoring, reporting, and promotion. Proving her abilities in the workforce development sector, Fagan would continue interning with the WFWIB for two more summers.

“I am excited to work with Kerry yet again,” share WFWIB Compliance Officer II/Equal Opportunity Officer Melissa Keys. “She started with as us an intern helping with the monitoring of our youth programs. I look forward to seeing Kerry utilize the skills she has learned through her internship and grow as a workforce development professional!”

During her final summer as a WFWIB intern in 2021, Fagan received a full-time opportunity with the Literacy Council of Southwestern Pennsylvania. In this role, Fagan assisted students with enrollment, performed data entry, developed reports, and assisted with marketing and outreach. Previous to her internship experience and full-time opportunities, Fagan gained valuable and practical skills through part-time employment at Chick-Fil-A as a front counter team member and cashier and Idlewild & Soak Zone as a trolley operator.

In her new role as the Contract/Data Coordinator, Kerry Fagan will perform initial contract negotiations with vendors, sub-recipients, and contractors and will prepare contracts that comply with WIOA and state regulations. Among many other responsibilities, Fagan will additionally serve as a liaison to training providers and Westmoreland-Fayette PA CareerLink® staff regarding state training regulations and policies.

“I am excited to start this journey and what it has entailed for me, both professionally and personally,” shared Fagan. “Working as an intern for the WFWIB was a great learning experience, so now that I am officially on the team, it makes me very happy.”

As the Contract/Data Coordinator, Kerry Fagan will assist the entire WFWIB staff by optimizing contract operations and coordinating workforce data that enhances workforce development initiatives and planning.