Amber Rangel

Amber Rangel

VP and Director, Workforce Development

Empire State Development

Biography

Amber Rangel joined Empire State Development (ESD) in August 2022 as Vice President and Director of Workforce Development to lead the newly created Office of Strategic Workforce Development, part of Governor Kathy Hochul’s $350 million investment in workforce development. With this new office, Amber is leading the launch of a $150 million workforce development grant program focused on industry-driven workforce development programs serving historically marginalized communities.

Amber’s diverse background includes economic development, workforce development, and education. Prior to joining ESD, Amber most recently served as the Director of Workforce Development at The Business Council of New York State where she led the organization’s advocacy and programs supporting a broad range of education and workforce development issues. Her advocacy began with the youngest learners in the childcare space working with the Governor’s Childcare Availability Task Force, the Raising NY coalition, and the Early Childhood Education Business Collaboratory. In the p-12 education space, she was an active member of the NY Equity Coalition which focuses on education equity and implementation of the federal Every Students Succeeds Act (ESSA). In her previous position as the industry engagement manager at FuzeHub, the statewide Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Center, she launched the Jeff Lawrence Manufacturing Innovation Fund, designed to spur technology development and commercialization throughout the state. Prior to that, she cultivated business and education partnerships both in the public and private sectors, in education for a NYS P-TECH program, and at the Center for Economic Growth, a regional economic development organization in New York’s Capital Region.

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