The City of Philadelphia Department of Aviation, operator of Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) and Northeast Philadelphia Airport (PNE) has announced Chevelle E. Harrison as Director of Workforce Development. In this role, Harrison is responsible for leading the airports’ Bridge Program, a workforce development initiative that creates internal/external pipelines and career mapping pathways for employees and job seekers. Harrison’s position also includes directing programs for reskilling and upskilling employees to staff-critical and hard-to-fill positions, employee retention, and succession planning by addressing knowledge transfers and skill gaps.
Harrison has 29 years of experience with the City of Philadelphia, having worked for the Free Library of Philadelphia, Philadelphia Water Department (PWD), Department of Human Services, Office of Economic Opportunity, and Philadelphia Parks and Recreation. During her career, she reestablished and strengthened PWD’s apprenticeship program through the formation and cultivation of strategic partnerships with the School District of Philadelphia’s Office of Career and Technical Education, other area vo-tech schools, and the Community College of Philadelphia. Harrison was also PWD’s liaison/coordinator for their co-op program with Drexel University and PowerCorpsPHL, an AmeriCorps program designed to support the City of Philadelphia’s environmental stewardship initiatives and youth violence prevention and workforce development priorities.
“Chevelle has been successful in establishing programs that create opportunities for individuals with a variety of skills and life experiences. She has also been instrumental in growing partnerships between her City departments and the community to provide local students with training for trades positions,” said Department of Aviation Chief Administrative Officer Delicsha Wilds. “Chevelle’s experience is crucial to the airports as we work to strengthen our pipeline of candidates for mission critical jobs.”
Harrison earned a Bachelor of Science in Management from Peirce College, where she graduated magna cum laude, and an MBA from the University of Phoenix. She is also a Certified Compliance Administrator (CCA) by the American Contract Compliance Association. In addition to her professional accomplishments, Harrison has been actively involved in numerous organizations dedicated to developing minority youth, including the My Brother’s Keeper initiative, the Project U-Turn collaboration, Philadelphia Works, Inc., Philadelphia Youth Network, and The School District of Philadelphia’s Career and Technical Education Industry Advisory Committee.
