Philadelphia's Department of Aviation has announced the appointment of Chevelle E. Harrison as the new Director of Workforce Development.

This appointment is one of several new appointments made by the Department of Aviation as they expand their workforce, filling in numerous positions.

In her new role, Harrison will lead both the Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) and the Northeast Philadelphia Airport (PNE) in following their Bridge Program, a workforce development initiative to create career pipelines and maps for employees in the airports and external job seekers looking to join the airport.

Additionally, she will direct programs to further the education of employees or retrain them in order to promote them to staff-critical and hard to fill positions, along with overseeing employee retention and succession planning by addressing skill gaps and transferring knowledge to new staff.

“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, in a statement. 

“Chevelle’s experience is crucial to the airports as we work to strengthen our pipeline of candidates for mission critical jobs,” she continued.

With 29 years of experience with the City of Philadelphia, Harrison has worked in numerous public institutions. These include the Free Library of Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Water Department (PWD), Department of Human Services, Philadelphia Parks and Recreation, and the Office of Economic Opportunity.

During her career, she has formed partnerships between the School District of Philadelphia's Office of Career and Technical Education, the PWD, area vocational and technical schools, and the Community College of Philadelphia in order to reestablish and strengthen the PWD's apprenticeship program

She also was PWD's liaison and coordinator for their co-op program with Drexel University –- a six month internship program for students — and PowerCorpsPHL, an AmeriCorps program made to support the City's environmental stewardship initiatives, youth violence prevention, and its workforce development priorities.

Harrison earned her bachelor's degree in Management from Peirce College - graduating magna cum laude - and an MBA from the University of Phoenix.

She is a Certified Compliance Administrator (CCA) and was certified by the American Contract Compliance Association. Beyond her career, Harrison has been involved in multiple minority youth development organizations, including the My Brother's Keeper initiative, the Project U-Turn collaboration, Philadelphia Works, Inc., and Philadelphia Youth Network.