Sessions
"Refocus: Navigating the Path to Employment for Individuals with a Disability" - Morning Session
9:00 AM - 11:00 AM Tue
Kirkland J. Murray is the President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Anne Arundel Workforce Development Corporation (AAWDC), a 501(c)(3) Corporation that is the administrator and operator of the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act funded services for Anne Arundel County, Maryland. Murray is a visionary and change agent, having successfully brought in over $40.47 million in the last eight years to strategically address workforce needs in the region. Most notably in 2014, AAWDC and a consortium of 59 partners across Central Maryland received a $9.9 million Ready to Work Partnership Grant from the Department of Labor to assist long-term unemployed enter the biosciences and IT industries.
As a resident of Anne Arundel County, Murray is proud to lead a staff of over 65 professionals who are committed to ensuring that Anne Arundel County has a highly skilled workforce that meets the current and future needs of county businesses, and that residents have the tools and resources to maximize their career potential. He has a proven track record of success in the business community having served as the Business Development Director of Anne Arundel Economic Development Corporation (AAEDC). While at AAEDC, Murray developed and led an intensive workforce assistance program to help county companies expand and remain successful by securing community redevelopment projects, and the retention, growth and attraction of manufacturing and distribution companies. As Director, Capital Region for the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED), Murray developed business retention and outreach programming, led site selection redevelopment projects, and worked on state and local Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC)-related economic development.
Named The Daily Record’s 2012 Most Influential Marylander in Civic Leadership, Murray currently serves as the Maryland Director on NAWDP’s Board of Director, is a member of the Workforce Transformation Policy Committee, and sits on the Maryland Workforce Association board.