News Release

Tom Kavanagh

WARSAW — Northern Indiana Workforce Board announces the appointment of Tom Kavanagh as its new president/chief executive officer. Kavanagh will replace Krystal Levi Herman who announced in May 2024 her intention to resign from NIWB.

NIWB is a non-profit business and industry-led corporation representing Elkhart, Fulton, Kosciusko, Marshall and St. Joseph counties. Instituted under Indiana law as a regional leadership organization, the board is dedicated to building an educated, skilled regional workforce to compete successfully in our evolving regional economy, through coordination, collaboration and partnerships among economic development, education, workforce development and local government agencies.

Kavanagh comes to NIWB from his current role as chief operating officer for Job Works, Inc., a Fort Wayne, based organization that specializes in the operation of workforce services programs, training programs, and consulting services focused on workforce system design strategic planning, and fiscal services.

Kavanagh has over 25 years of experience in the workforce industry. He is performance, process and results driven with commitment to quality, continuous improvement and integrity. His extensive experience in leadership and collaboration with workforce development systems focuses on board governance and developing strategies to meet business and employer needs. He has worked with numerous Workforce Development Boards through strategic planning, local and
regional WIOA plan development, system design and redesign efforts. He has facilitated and presented at several local, state, and national conferences. He also directed his team to successfully perform operations involving nine different government funded programs including the Workforce Investment Act, WIA Adult and Dislocated Worker, Ex-Offender Re-entry, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.

Kavanagh holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in accounting from Hillsdale College and is a long-time member of the U.S. Conference of Mayors Workforce Development Council. In partnership with the National Association of Workforce Boards, he co-authorized a policy brief on WIOA — Publication: The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act — “Driving Innovation, Collaboration and Performance,” in 2015.

He resides with his wife, Melissa and their three children Ethan, Andrew, and Elizabeth in Elkhart. He has been a volunteer coach for soccer, baseball, and basketball for his children.

In his spare time, if he is not with family and friends, you can find him volunteering his time with the Concord Dollars for Scholars Board and for the last six years he has served as the president of the Concord Development Basketball League.