Ivey Names Randall to Workforce Leadership

A Tuscaloosa resident who is a longtime supporter of Governor Kay Ivey has been appointed to the Executive Committee of the new Alabama Workforce Board. Dr. Catherine Randall has been selected by the governor to be the vice chair.

Alabama Power President and CEO Jeff Peoples has been named as the AWB chair.

According to a release from Ivey’s office, “The Ivey Administration, empowered by the Alabama Workforce Transformation Act, is merging Alabama’s two existing state workforce boards, the Alabama Workforce Council and the State Workforce Development Board, to form the Alabama Workforce Board, and is creating the Executive Committee of the Alabama Workforce Board. The Board and its Executive Committee will place members of business and industry at the forefront of decisions related to Alabama’s public workforce.”

The release states the Executive Committee of the Alabama Workforce Board will, "provide a strategic vision and plans for all of Alabama’s workforce development programs, including those funded with state and federal sources."

Ivey's office released a comment from the governor about the development of the Alabama Workforce Development Board, “Throughout my tenure as governor, no matter what it is we are trying to accomplish, I ask what we can do today to prepare our state for success in the future. No doubt, ensuring we have an equipped workforce is critical as we look to fill jobs today – and in the future,” said Governor Ivey. “I am proud to assemble a group of some of our state’s business and industry leaders to work with us as we streamline our workforce development efforts. While we have made progress in increasing our state’s low labor force participation rate, there is still much to accomplish, and we are well on our way to doing that.”

Dr. Randall earned a bachelors, two masters, and two Ph.D. degrees from The University of Alabama, and has been named one of the University's “31 Most Outstanding Women Graduates of the Century.”

Randall has received numerous honors and served on a number of a number of organizational boards. She was selected as “West Alabama Business Advocate of the Year.” and was the recipient of west Alabama's first “Women Committed to Excellence”.

Peggy Sease-Fain, VP-HR at DCH Healthcare System also serves on the Alabama Workforce Board.

The appointments are effective October 1, 2024.