MARK CAFFERTY, PRESIDENT & CEO, SAN DIEGO WORKFORCE PARTNERSHIP, INC.

Mark Cafferty has spent more than twelve years connecting youth and adults with careers in the mainstream economy.  He is currently President and Chief Executive Officer for San Diego Workforce Partnership.  Mark gained national attention from the U.S. Department of Labor and the National Association of Workforce Boards for creating innovative strategies in labor market research and marketing the workforce system to the business community.  Previously serving as Director of Strategic Alliances, he raised more than $6.5 million in grant funding and sponsorships and directed the Annual Workforce Summit (bringing together more than 600 business, education, policy and labor leaders to address the most challenging workforce and economic issues of San Diego). 

Prior to the Workforce Partnership, Mark was the director of workforce development for BIOCOM San Diego, managing the workforce and education programs for the nation’s premier regional industry association for the life sciences community.  In this role, Mark worked closely with local industry and education leaders to manage the $2.5 million Presidents High Growth Job Training Grant awarded to San Diego’s biotechnology industry, creating internship opportunities within the biotechnology industry for local students and teachers and providing greater access to occupational data and educational resources.     

Prior to moving to San Diego, Mark spent more than eight years working with the Boston Private Industry Council (PIC).  During his tenure at the PIC, Mark served in several positions, including: Deputy Director, Director of Employer Organizing, ProTech Director and Career Services Manager.  Of note, the ProTech program was recognized by President Clinton as the national model for the 1994 School-to-Work Opportunities Act. Equally noteworthy, Mark led the nation’s largest employer-paid summer jobs program for youth in 2000. 

An expert in his field, Mark has been sought after to help tackle unique issues.  He has served as a consultant on education reform and workforce development to the cities of Austin, Texas; Charleston, South Carolina; Louisville, Kentucky; and the State of Washington.  He helped to recruit executives for the Boston high-tech industry and to direct community organizing projects and public health campaigns. Collaborating with Boston’s law enforcement community to develop job training and placement programs for ex-offenders and court-involved youth was one of Mark’s proudest achievements.

Mark received his B.A. in Marketing from Assumption College in Worcestor, Massachusetts and completed the Executive Leadership Program for Performance Measurement and Non-Profit Management at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in Cambridge.  He resides in San Diego and is married to Charlene Kakimoto, a United States Navy physician.