Martha M. Herron, regional community relations director for PPL Corp., has been appointed chairman of the Luzerne/Schuylkill Workforce Investment Board.
The Luzerne/Schuylkill Workforce Investment Board engages business, industry, education, and economic development and community organizations to identify workforce challenges and develop strategies and solutions to address those challenges. Members of the WIB include representatives from private sector businesses and industry, chambers of commerce, financial institutions, community groups, economic development agencies, state and county agencies, and educational institutions from across Luzerne and Schuylkill counties.
“These are very difficult times, both for workers and employers. The Luzerne/Schuylkill Workforce Investment Board has to find the sustainable growth industries in our area, target those areas, and make sure we are educating and training workers to meet the needs of those industries,” Herron said. “It is a monumental task in a challenging time, but it is my goal – and the goal of the entire board – to make the Luzerne/Schuylkill Workforce Investment Board the regional leader in matching labor supply with employer demand.
“We have many talented and experienced people on the WIB, and I know we have the skills, drive, and determination to make this possible,” Herron added.
While Pennsylvania’s statewide unemployment rate was below the national rate in June, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Luzerne County was 9.3 percent and in Schuylkill County it was 10.4 percent. Both of those were well above Pennsylvania’s average of 8.3 percent. Those figures were also substantially higher than the unemployment rate in June 2008, when it was 6.1 percent in Luzerne County and 6.1 percent in Schuylkill County. (Source: Center for Workforce Information and Analysis)
Herron has been a member of the L/S WIB since its inception and was appointed vice chairman in March 2007. She is a member of the Schuylkill Economic Development Corporation (SEDCO), CAN DO, Greater Hazleton Chamber of Commerce, Schuylkill Chamber of Commerce, and the League of Women Voters, and is a past member of the Pennsylvania Economic Development Association (PEDA) Workforce Development Committee.
She served as chairman of the Manufacturers & Employers Association of Northeastern Pennsylvania and is one of the founders of Leadership Hazleton, Greater Hazleton Area Civic Partnership, the Readiness Employment Ability Development for You (READY) Program, Circle 200, the Success Suits Me Program, and the Hazleton Business Education Partnership. She also serves on the boards of a number of other economic and community-based organizations and volunteer programs.
Herron’s community activities have earned her significant honors over the years. She was named one of Pennsylvania’s “50 Best Women in Business” by the state Department of Commerce and the Governor’s Commission for Women. She received of the Athena Award, the Greater Hazleton Chamber of Commerce’s highest award for professional accomplishment. Herron received the Ethos Award for outstanding volunteer service, community leadership, and extraordinary work advancing the spirit of volunteerism. She has also received numerous awards from other groups, including the Girl Scouts Women of Distinction Award.
A graduate of King’s College with a bachelor’s degree in marketing, Herron has also completed the corporate community relations program at Boston College and is a graduate of the economic development institute at the University of Oklahoma.
She is married to Terrence J. Herron, a principal in the law firm of Hourigan, Kluger and Quinn. They have a son, a daughter-in-law, and two grandchildren.
