Workforce Board Staff Bios

Leadership

Eleni Papadakis

Executive Director

Eleni Papadakis has served as the Executive Director of the Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board, more commonly known as the Workforce Board, since 2007. Business, labor and government stakeholders are equally represented on this tri-partite board, which oversees 16 different state and federal funding streams in the state’s comprehensive workforce development system.

Eleni came to Washington with more than 25 years of experience in the workforce development arena–from service delivery through state and federal policy work. She came to Washington from Commonwealth Corporation, a Massachusetts quasi-public corporation, where she established the Center for Workforce Innovation, a research and demonstration arm of the state’s workforce development system, and a national consulting organization on economic and workforce development strategies. Leading up to that role, Eleni oversaw the development and implementation of numerous state-wide and regional initiatives, for special population groups and for targeted industry sectors, including healthcare, biotechnology, fiber optics, manufacturing, financial services, telecommunications and software. She also helped facilitate Massachusetts’ development of a state plan to eradicate healthcare workforce shortages.

Eleni has also worked in business–including operating her own small business, a bistro-entertainment venue–and lead a multi-service community-based organization for 9 years. Eleni holds a Masters in Counseling Psychology from Assumption College and Bachelors in Psychology from Clark University, both in Worcester, Massachusetts.