Chris talks with the new president of Public Policy Associates (PPA), Dr. Paul Elam. The new owners are Colleen Graber and Virginia Orabone. PPA was started by Jeff Padden, who recently has retired, but is still on the Board of Directors. In 2015, Paul worked closely with Jeff, which ended up being a great succession plan exercise. The transition has gone very well. There will be challenges, but Dr. Elam is very excited and up for the challenge. PPA is a great voice for domestic policy.
One of the issues that they are currently focused on, is education and work-force development. PPA has worked with a wide range of local, state, and federal clients to help achieve goals of improving educational outcomes, producing a well-trained workforce, and meeting employer needs. Apprenticeship programs are back. In addition, PPA is working with community colleges to help develop strategies to get students trained in high skill, high tech jobs. They also are working on health, access to food, and public safety.
