Massachusetts Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development Suzanne M. Bump has announced that Governor Deval Patrick has appointed Southborough resident Elizabeth R. Thornton to the Massachusetts Workforce Investment Board (MWIB).
Thornton is the founder and CEO of the training and consulting firm, Entrepreneurship Advantage, Inc., which helps dislocated or downsized workers regain economic self-sufficiency by creating small businesses. Thornton also teaches entrepreneurship at Babson College in Wellesley.
“I share Governor Patrick’s view that Elizabeth Thornton is a great addition to the team on the Massachusetts Workforce Investment Board,” said Secretary Bump. “We all know that workforce development isn’t only about helping people to find new opportunities. As an entrepreneur, Elizabeth will be a leader in our efforts to help people create their own opportunities, and build their own futures.”
“I am honored that Governor Patrick has appointed me to the Massachusetts Workforce Investment Board,” Thornton said, who noted that small business is the primary driver of economic and employment activity in the Commonwealth’s economy. “This is a great opportunity to stand up for small business as part of a comprehensive statewide workforce development strategy.”
The MWIB advises the Governor on improving the Massachusetts workforce development system, and prepares the annual strategic workforce development plan for the Commonwealth.
The Board, which is overseen by the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, is comprised of representatives from the private sector, community-based organizations, unions, state and local government, and workforce development professionals.
By law, a majority of the MWIB’s 65 members must be from the private sector, reflecting its role in driving state efforts to prepare workers to respond to the Commonwealth’s labor demands.
Thornton has a B.S.B.A from Georgetown University and studied under the Oxford Center for Management Studies in Oxford England. She holds an MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business.
Thornton has assisted over 100 businesses in Massachusetts and hundreds nationwide and has consulted on a wide array of small business initiatives with organizations including: the City of Boston; the Urban League; the Pioneer Institute and Inner City Entrepreneurs.
