Wisconsin official to helm Partner4Work, aims to help Pittsburgh workforce rebound from covid woes

Jul. 2—One of Wisconsin's top workforce development officials is leaving his state post to helm a Downtown Pittsburgh-based nonprofit that aims to increase job opportunities throughout the region.

Robert L. Cherry, deputy secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, has been chosen as CEO of Partner4Work, formerly known as the Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board.

Cherry, 44, told the Tribune-Review that he's eager to join the organization's efforts in ushering in revitalization and innovation, helping youths find promising career paths and supporting employers rebounding from the many unanticipated impacts of covid-19.

"Across the country, we are all shifting out of the pandemic right now and moving into a recovery period, and that looks different for a whole lot of people," Cherry said Thursday evening by phone from Wisconsin. "More people are getting vaccinated and we are seeing covid cases go down. But the pandemic isn't over, and some sectors are still struggling and people are looking for work.

"It's unchartered territory. We've seen some businesses close, and we'll see new ones pop up. We've had economic downturns ... but we haven't had one in a really long time where a public health issue affected the economy the way that covid did. So that's going to present challenges for us."

He noted that the pandemic has been especially hard on the likes of the hospitality, tourism, entertainment, dining and other industries hindered by the public health crisis.

"I do think there needs to be extra focus to help those businesses thrive," said Cherry, adding that he will aim to help make "Pittsburgh a more inclusive, diverse and equitable place to live and work."

Partner4Work's search for a new leader began when its former CEO, Earl Buford, stepped down a few months ago to become president of the Indianapolis-based Council for Adult and Experiential Learning.

Board member Debra L. Caplan, who has been serving as Partner4Work's interim CEO, said that Cherry has "proven to be an influential figure in the world of workforce development and a true leader when it comes to evoking positive change in the lives of employers, workers, job-seekers and youth."

Gateway Financial Group CEO David J. Malone, who chairs Partner4Work's board, credited Cherry with demonstrating a deep knowledge of workforce development issues over the past decade. Malone said Cherry is taking the helm of the nonprofit at a "critical time."

"We believe his impressive leadership experience will elevate P4W's long-term organizational strategies and reaffirm P4W as the go-to organization for workforce development in the region and beyond," Malone said in a statement.

Cherry's first day in the new role is set for July 26. He'll be moving to Pittsburgh with his wife and two children, ages 10 and 8.

'I come from a real manufacturing town'

Cherry grew up in the Milwaukee suburb of Brown Deer. He said that Wisconsinites can relate to the economic struggles and growing pains experienced by Pittsburghers during the shuttering of droves of factories and steel mills in the 1980s.

"I come from a real manufacturing town," he said.

Whereas Pittsburgh was a giant of steel production and coal-mining, Wisconsin's manufacturing sector once boomed with products such as tractors, motors and leather saddles. Both regions have since worked to revive manufacturing sectors while building a more diversified economy anchored by growing sectors, such as health care, education and technology. (Health care giants UPMC and Highmark are now two of Western Pennsylvania's top employers, while in Wisconsin, Aurora, Wheaton Franciscan and Froedtert health systems are major players.)

Connecting with schools to expose children and teens to a wide range of career options and "making pipelines visible to people" is a top priority for Cherry.

"Because you can't be what you can't see," said Cherry, who earned a bachelor's degree in criminal justice at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Previously, Cherry worked in community organizing and public policy. He served as chief development and partnership officer for Employ Milwaukee, where he created a new office focused on improving the workforce skills of 18- to 24-year-olds.

He managed six bureaus for Wisconsin, including the divisions of vocational rehabilitation, unemployment insurance, equal rights, workers compensation and employment and training. He's also oversaw a major "Vets Ready" initiative.

"I would love to bring that work to Pittsburgh," he said of the veterans jobs program.

Cherry said his background in public and private partnerships has helped him to understand "not only what businesses or industries need but what people who are jumping into the job market need also."

He described his leadership style as centered on consensus-building.

"I want to learn as much as possible from the people I work with," he said. "I want everyone to have a say-so, to have a voice, about how we build the workforce in this community."

In a typical year, Partner4Work reached out to and supported 6,000 employers, 2,000 youths and 20,000 job-seekers, along with doing market research, encouraging innovative solutions and fostering collaboration among business, labor, government agencies and policymakers. Its mission is "to develop a thriving workforce in the Pittsburgh area."

Partner4Work has nearly 50 employees and a $26 million annual budget that includes mostly federal funding in the form of U.S. Labor and Health and Human Services grants. The nonprofit ended June 2019 with $7.2 million in net assets, the latest available Internal Revenue Service forms show.

Locally based foundations also provide resources and funding, including The Pittsburgh Foundation, R.K. Mellon Foundation, Hillman Family Foundations and The Heinz Endowments.

Western Pennsylvania's highly invested and engaged philanthropic community "just really lays some real fertile ground for innovation and strategic solutions," Cherry said.

For more information about Partner4Work or how to get involved in its programs, go to Partner4Work.org.

Natasha Lindstrom is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Natasha at 412-380-8514, nlindstrom@triblive.com or via Twitter .