After 16 years as a senior member of the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development staff — as Director of Program Development and a Senior Researcher and previously as the founding Director of the New Start Career Network — Maria Heidkamp has left the Center and is now the Chief of Innovation and Partnerships at the New Jersey Council of County Colleges. (The Council is led by Aaron Fichtner, who served for several years as the Heldrich Center’s Director of Research and Evaluation.)

Maria made many important and enduring contributions to the Center’s work and reputation. She made presentations at multiple national conferences, frequently was quoted in the media, and authored or co-authored numerous publications that reached a broad audience of experts and policymakers. Maria was also central to the Heldrich Center’s research on employing people with disabilities and the plight of older, long-term unemployed workers. She helped lead the development and implementation of the New Start Career Network, which served over 6,000 New Jersey residents with innovative services. Maria also helped build important collaborations with several national organizations, including the National Governors Association, National Association of State Workforce Agencies, AARP, and WorkingNation.

We wish Maria all the best in her new role at the Council.