Matthew Bruce became the first Executive Director of the Chicagoland Workforce Funder Alliance in 2012. CWFA is a workforce development funder collaborative engaging employers and other workforce stakeholders to increase employment, earnings and racial equity for underprepared workers in the Chicago region. Previous to joining the Alliance, Matt was Manager of Regional Sector Initiatives for the Boston Office of Jobs and Community Services, where he started sector workforce initiatives such as Green Jobs Boston and the Skilled Careers In Life Sciences initiative. Matt has a Masters in Public Policy from the University of Chicago, and lives with his wife and 2 children in Oak Park, Illinois.

Ellen Buchman brings to The Opportunity Agenda a breadth of knowledge, expertise, experience, and relationships having worked among leaders at local, state, national, and international levels for more than 25 years. Prior to joining The Opportunity Agenda in 2018, she served as Executive Vice President for Field and Communications at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, where she piloted the organization's field and organizing program, and developed and oversaw the vision for the integrated field, communications, and policy work at the center of the organization; led and put into place dozens of successful campaigns; spearheaded mobilization, training and support to national, state, and local coalitions; and created innovative organizing and communications training models for advocacy around the country and at the international level. Ellen is an internationally-known trainer, leader, and practitioner of organization and coalition building, campaign initiating and implementing, and training in the intersection of organizing, advocating, and communicating for social justice. Her career has focused on building effective and inclusive teams and partnerships for progress toward racial and gender equity. Ellen's work has centered mainly on issue areas including but not limited to criminal justice reform, immigration and immigrant human rights, and voting rights and access to democracy; and she has developed training curricula for advocates on the state, national and international levels on not only issues such as these but also on the skills needed for effective organizing, communicating and advocating for social change. Her expertise and vision is in building campaign and organizational structures to build power, and she is trained in outreach, leadership development, organizing and social work for change.  

Dr. Chavis is internationally recognized for his work in the implementation, support, and evaluation of community and systems change initiatives. The focus of his work is equitable community development as a central strategy to promote community resilience, economic and educational opportunities, improved health and well-being, and a more powerful citizenry. He also specializes in the design and implementation of community capacity building systems to bring about sustainable and scaled systems changes.  

Linda serves as the Director of the Baltimore Workforce Funders Collaborative, a group of public and private funders committed to advancing equity, job quality and systems change efforts that lead to family-sustaining wages, strengthened communities and a vibrant local economy. The Collaborative is hosted by the Maryland Philanthropy Network and is a partner of the National Fund for Workforce Solutions. Linda began her career working with out-of-school youth in Tijuana, Mexico and has remained devoted to the work of enhancing economic opportunities for individuals and communities through direct supports and systems changes. She formerly served as the Executive Director of the Garment Industry Development Corporation in New York City – a labor + management + government partnership which was one of the first nationally recognized sector-based workforce partnerships; as Senior Consultant to the Aspen Institute's Workforce Strategies Initiative where she helped build the field of industry sector partnerships; and as a workforce/corporate social responsibility consultant to a number of national and international organizations. Linda currently sits on the Board of two industry sector partnerships and participates in a wide range of committees and workgroups in Baltimore. Linda holds a master’s degree from the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs and a post-graduate certificate in Non-Profit Management from the Columbia University School of Business.  She is most proud of being mom to her tenacious teen daughter.

Annelies Goger is an economic geographer focused on developing innovative policy solutions to address rising inequality and increase access to economic opportunity. Dr. Goger’s recent work investigates how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the hospitality industry in the U.S., how to fix the unemployment insurance safety net, and how to increase access to quality jobs and investments in talent to foster ongoing learning and innovation. She is an expert in U.S. workforce development policy, global supply chains, and inclusive economic development. Dr. Goger’s work has been prominently featured in CNN, NPR, Washington Monthly, the Hill, and a number of local outlets and podcasts. Dr. Goger’s work has challenged the dominant “skills gap” narrative, arguing that building stronger education and labor market institutions and making long-term investments in talent development are the key to unleashing regional innovation and addressing racial and gender inequities in the labor market. Her vision is to build an education and training ecosystem with multiple paths to a quality job that is designed around the needs of a diverse set of learners, workers, and employers. Dr. Goger has outlined state policy frameworks to scale earn-and-learn opportunities such as apprenticeship and other forms of employer-based training. Dr. Goger’s current research focuses on digital transformation in labor and education data systems, the employer role in talent development, state credentialing policies that recognize diverse forms of learning, and closing the opportunity gap for displaced hospitality workers and returning citizens. She is a member of the Better Employment and Training Strategies task force, a coalition of more than 40 workforce experts and practitioners that focuses on modernizing America’s outdated and inequitable workforce policies. Before coming to Brookings, Dr. Goger spent more than 10 years conducting field research to evaluate American workforce development and food security programs at Social Policy Research Associates and IMPAQ International. Her doctoral research focused on the links between global supply chains, ethical trade initiatives, production processes, and inclusive growth. Dr. Goger was a Fulbright scholar in Sri Lanka and Social Science Research Council Fellow. She has published in peer-reviewed journals and edited a book of case studies on values-based food procurement called Institutions as conscious food consumers: leveraging purchasing power for systems change with Dr. Sapna Thottathil (Elsevier, 2019).

Enrique Juncadella is an economist and educator dedicated to helping people and organizations reach success.   Enrique’s career includes strategic management consulting with an international firm.  He focused on the healthcare sector during the previous decade with a holistic approach to addressing social determinants of health, including housing and employment, and the pervasive racial and ethnic disparities that define the industry.  He teaches the Business Seminar at Yale University Summer Session, a part time faculty appointment held for the past twenty years. In addition, Enrique has volunteered with town government commissions and as an advocate of refugee resettlement programs with IRIS in New Haven.  He was a member of the board of directors of the Community Foundation of Greater New Britain.  He is currently a board member of Fair Haven Community Health Center. Enrique received graduate degrees in economics, with concentration in economic development from Yale University. Enrique and his wife live in Guilford, CT, where they had the joy of raising their three children.