Two Montgomery County business executives and a representative of the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation (DLLR) have been appointed to the Montgomery County Workforce Investment Board (WIB) by County Executive Isiah Leggett. Each will serve a three-year term on the Board.

The WIB is a public-private partnership that advises the County Executive and the Department of Economic Development on connecting businesses with job seekers. Its mission is to help businesses succeed through workforce services. The WIB sets policy and provides oversight while MontgomeryWorks, the County’s system of employment services, provides direct services to businesses and job seekers. The majority of the members are business members. Other members are specified in law and executive order and include representatives of community–based organizations, educational institutions, and other workforce-related entities and programs.

The three new members are:

Ayana T. Lambert - Deputy General Counsel, Percontee. Percontee is a family-owned real estate firm based in White Oak. Lambert has served in her current position since January 2008. Prior to that, she served since December 2004 as Percontee's Corporate Counsel. Her primary focus is real estate development, with particular emphasis on commercial property acquisition and disposition (including tax-deferred exchanges), financing and commercial leasing. Prior to joining Percontee, Lambert served for four years as an associate in the real estate transaction department of Linowes and Blocher, LLP. She is a graduate of Georgetown University and Georgetown University Law Center.

Andrew S. Platou, CPA - Senior Manager, Snyder Cohn, PC. Snyder Cohn, PC is a CPA and business advisory firm, specializing in serving business owners and executives of businesses and not-for-profit organizations located in North Bethesda. Platou has been with Snyder Cohn since 2008, focusing mainly on serving the audit, accounting, tax and business advisory needs of entrepreneurial companies, nonprofit organizations, and ERISA retirement and welfare plans. Prior to joining Snyder Cohn, Platou worked at Grant Thornton LLP. He is a graduate of Tulane University.

Barbara Ebel - Labor Exchange Administrator, Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation’s Montgomery County One-Stop Career Centers, Wheaton and Germantown. Ebel has served in this position for the past seven years and has more than 15 years of State service. Previously, she was the Assistant Director for the Migrant Program in Michigan. In that position, she helped create educational programs to improve the well being and advancement opportunities of migrant families. Ebel will complete her studies for a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Science from the University of Maryland University College in October, 2012.

About Montgomery County’s Division of Workforce Services

The Division of Workforce Services (DWS) ensures that Montgomery County has a well-prepared, educated, trained and adaptable workforce to meet the current and future needs of business. It also works to ensure that the County's workforce has the tools and resources to compete successfully in a global economy. DWS is funded by the federal government, State of Maryland and Montgomery County.

The majority of DWS funds are received under the federal Workforce Investment Act to implement the One-Stop career system - operated locally as MontgomeryWorks in Wheaton and Germantown. Services are provided to business and the One-Stop centers provide an array of vocational assessment, job readiness and job training and job placement services to dislocated workers, low-income adults, older workers, disadvantaged workers and youth. MontgomeryWorks served more than 12,000 adult and youth residents in FY12 with core services, intensive counseling services and occupational skills training.