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Our Steering Committee

Whitney Lester

Whitney Lester posing for a professional headshot, wearing a suit and tie.

Whitney Lester, is Senior Director of Talent Development, at Hampton Roads Workforce Council. Whitney earned his B.A. in Sociology from the College of William & Mary, as well as his M.B.A. He is a resident of Norfolk. As the Senior Director of Talent, he works to help solve the challenge of finding, training, and connecting talent to the region's critical, hard-to-fill jobs. He believes emphatically that in order to be successful in recruiting good talent, we have to help creatively address early childhood care and education staff shortages while tying this problem directly to business and economic development. 

Whitney's favorite children's book is Green Eggs and Ham, by Dr. Seuss. His favorite memory from kindergarten is his teacher Mrs. Dey, "with as pure a love and affection as I can remember in any station of my educational life."

 

“I see the employer community clearly understanding that Early Childhood Education (ECE) is a vital issue tied directly to workforce development, economic development, and business success. I see the conversations evolve from strictly human rights and societal strength issues into a blended discussion that makes a strong business case for the measures we must collectively adopt. Economic development strategy -- to include anything involving workforce and talent development -- incorporates ECE challenges as threats to future prosperity and works collaboratively to address them appropriately. And this moves the needle with a measurable impact.”