Event Details

Ever wonder if the workforce of the future will be ready and skilled to fill your future vacancies? Want to know what to expect from future “talent?” Come hear what Jim Poythress from Virginia Western Community College and Wayne Strickland from Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission have to say on the subject of National and Regional trends, the likely impact of skills in the workplace and what we can do to close the impending gap.

Jim Poythress leads the Workforce Solutions unit at Virginia Western Community College.  Previously, Poythress served the college as the College’s Dean of the School of Business, Engineering and Technology for 10 years. He has been with Virginia Western since 1992, serving as Associate Professor and Program Head of Accounting prior to becoming Dean.  Poythress earned both his BA and MBA degrees from Virginia Tech and has completed additional study at the NARDA School of Management at Notre Dame and at James Madison University. Poythress participates in numerous civic activities, serving on the Board of Directors for Junior Achievement of Southwest Virginia and the Western Virginia Workforce Development Board. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Roanoke Higher Education Authority, the Steering and Technical Committees for the Partnership for a Livable Roanoke Valley, the Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) Committee and several New River Valley-Roanoke Valley Innovation Blueprint committees. He is also the College’s liaison to Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission.  Poythress is a member of the Virginia Community College System Workforce Development Services Advisory Council, the Roanoke City Public Schools CTE Advisory Council, the Roanoke County Public Schools CTE Advisory Council and the Burton Center for Arts & Technology Center for Engineering Advisory Committee. He is also a member of the Virginia Economic Developers Association and a consultant to numerous service area economic recruitment efforts.Poythress is responsible for the creation of the Regional Academy for Advanced Technology at Virginia Western as well as the Culinary Institute at Virginia Western. He has been recognized by his colleagues and the College for his efforts in the classroom and as an administrator earning the Outstanding Business Division Faculty Award and the Outstanding Administrator Award.

Poythress worked in the business world for many years as an entrepreneur, growing and managing a successful multi-unit, multi-state business prior to becoming an educator.

Wayne Strickland was appointed Executive Director of the Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission in February 1988.  Mr. Strickland previously held the position of Chief of Land Use and Environmental Planning with the Commission.  He has been with the Commission since 1979. His academic background includes: a Bachelors degree in Political Science from Georgia State University, a Masters degree in Geography from Georgia State University, and a Masters degree in City Planning from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Mr. Strickland has assumed leadership roles in various professional organizations.  He is currently the Chair of the Southeast Regional Directors Institute and also serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Development Organizations. His former leadership positions include: President of the Development District Association of Appalachia; President of the Southwest Virginia Chapter of the American Society for Public Administration; President of the Rural Planning Caucus of Virginia; Second Vice President of the Virginia Association of Planning District Commissions, and Vice-President of the Virginia Chapter of the American Planning Association. Mr. Strickland participates in numerous civic activities including serving as a member of the Board of Directors of the following organizations: Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce, Salem-Roanoke County Chamber of Commerce, and United Way of the Roanoke Valley, Roanoke-Blacksburg Technology Council and the Council of Community Services. He also is a member of the Eleanor D. Wilson Museum Advisory Board (at Hollins University), the Business and Industry Advisory Committee for the City of Roanoke’s Career and Technical Education program, and the Advisory Board for the regional Small Business Development Center.

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