Andy Van Kleunen is the CEO of National Skills Coalition, which he founded in 2000 in collaboration with leaders from the workforce development and philanthropic communities. Van Kleunen has led the Coalition to become a nationally recognized voice on behalf of a variety of stakeholders who have come together to advocate for an America that grows its economy by investing in its people. Van Kleunen is a recognized expert on workforce and education policy issues, and is regularly invited to advise Congress, the federal government and state agencies.
Prior to founding the coalition, Van Kleunen was director of workforce policy for the national Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute, where he worked with employers, unions, and client advocates to improve job quality and training for low-wage workers within the nation’s long-term care sector. Van Kleunen also spent more than 14 years in community organizing and development efforts within several of New York City’s low-income and working-class neighborhoods.
He holds a master’s degree in urban sociology from the Graduate Faculty at the New School for Social Research and a bachelor’s degree in political science and honors studies from Villanova University. He is based in Philadelphia and Washington, DC.