2024 Administration & Finance Training Headshots & Bios
Michelle Beebe, Deputy Administrator, Office of the Administrator, US Department of Labor
Michelle Beebe serves as the deputy administrator of the Office of Unemployment Insurance in the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration. She joined the federal government in December 2019 as director of the Division of Legislation and assumed her current role in July 2022. Prior to her federal service, Michelle oversaw the Unemployment Insurance programs in Utah and then in Michigan –two states of very different sizes and methods of administration. In that role, she chaired the NASWA UI Committee 2017-2018.Michelle also served with the national UI Integrity Center, first as a member of the steering committee and then as a senior subject matter expert in coordinating state intensive services. Michelle earned a Bachelor of Science in philosophy and a Master of Public Policy from the University of Utah.
Michelle Britten, Chief Financial Officer, Oklahoma Employment Security Commission
Kevin D. Carlson, Chief of Staff and Chief Financial Officer, North Carolina Department of Commerce, Division of Employment Security
Kevin D. Carlson currently serves as the Chief of Staff and Chief Financial Officer for the North Carolina Department of Commerce, Division of Employment Security. He has worked for DES for over 34 years, but who is counting?
Prior to joining the Division of Employment Security, he worked in various accounting positions in the private sector. He worked for a manufacturer of water meters and a commercial construction company.
Carlson has served NASWA as a member, Vice-Chair and Chair of the Administration and Finance Committee, and as the Region IV Director on the Board of Directors.
Carlson is a graduate of Florida State University.
Chanel N Casteneda, Supervisor, US Department of Labor - Employment and Training Administration
Originally hired under the ARRA Act of 2009, Chanel Castaneda has worked for USDOL-ETA for the past 15 years in the Regional Office and as a Grants Management Specialist and Supervisor in Office in Grants Management in ETA’s National Office. During her time in the Division of Compliance Assistance and Policy, Chanel has been part of Uniform Guidance/ SMART training since its inception in 2015; WIOA Convenings; developed an updated Core Monitoring Guide, MOU and Infrastructure Sample Toolkit, and is currently assisting in developing various program supplements to the Core Monitoring Guide; the writing and editing of various guidance, handbooks, and desk-aids; developing and delivery training to new internal USDOL- ETA staff; and providing technical assistance on the financial and administrative aspects of grant management. Her work on the SMART training and the Core Monitoring Guide has been recognized with numerous Secretary’s Awards.
She was previously an accountant in USDOL-ETA Regional Office, Region 5, as the fiscal contact for the states of Missouri, Kansas, and Indiana. Previous to USDOL-ETA, Chanel was a public auditor for PricewaterhouseCoopers as a senior associate in the Consumer/Industry/Products/Service industry.
Chanel is a licensed CPA in the state of Illinois. She is a proud graduate from the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign) with a Master and Bachelor’s degrees in accounting with a minor in Spanish. Chanel currently lives in Chicago with her husband and her little puppy, Nala.
Jennifer Friedman, Region 2 Regional Administrator, U.S. Department of Labor - Employment & Training Administration
Jennifer Friedman serves as the Regional Administrator for Region 2 for the Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration. Jennifer has spent her career, in either government service or in non-profit jobs working on issues and with agencies that advance the work of ETA’s employment and training programs. Jennifer has worked for the Department of Labor for eleven years. During her tenure at the Department, Jennifer has worked in the ETA’s Regional Offices in the Division of Financial Management and Administrative Services as well as the Office of State Systems. Prior to joining the Department, Jennifer served in high level policy and administrative positions for the State of Pennsylvania and the City of Philadelphia. Additionally, Jennifer served as a Vice- President for the Philadelphia Workforce Development Corporation, which was the workforce development agency for the City of Philadelphia. In addition, Jennifer received both her B.A and law degree at Rutgers University and completed an executive education finance and accounting program at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Jennifer currently resides in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with her son.
Michael Fairchild, Financial Manager II, Utah Department of Workforce Services
Michael Fairchild is a financial manager with the Utah Department of Workforce services. For the past five he has managed the various Unemployment Insurance administrative grants. Prior to that he was a controller for a local Utah non-profit and 12 years of accounting, fiscal management consulting and tax experience with Deloitte and The Hackett Group.
Darcy Kennedy, Deputy Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer, Colorado Department of Labor and Employment
Chris LaVigne, Chief Fiscal Officer, Connecticut Department of Labor
Chris LaVigne is the CFO a the Connecticut Department of Labor. With more than 27 years in state government, Chris has experience in budgeting, accounting, cost allocation and rate setting. Prior to working for the state, Chris spent several years in academic computing supporting faculty with the implementation of statistical software solutions. Chris resides in north central Connecticut and enjoys sports, woodworking and music.
Marisol Lopez, UI Program Specialist, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration
Marisol Lopez is an Unemployment Insurance (UI) Program Specialist with the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, Boston Regional Office, with 24 years of UI grant management experience. As lead for all UI funding and budget activities in the region, she works closely with State program and fiscal staff to ensure compliance and technical assistance is always relevant, timely and effective.
Ramona D. Melo, Accountant, United States Department of Labor - Employment & Training Administration, Boston, MA
Ms. Ramona Melo is a USDOL – ETA Boston regional Accountant. She has been a member of ETA’s Department of Financial Management and Administrative Services team for 10 plus years. She has previously presented for SMART financial trainings held both nationally, as well as within the Boston region. Before her employment with USDOL, Ms. Melo worked as a Controller for a non-profit agency for 22 years, responsible for Federal, State, Local and private funding. She earned her master’s degree in accounting, at Johnson & Wales University in Rhode Island.
Ms. Melo lives in Massachusetts with her husband, one of her three children and her dog, Charlie, who since the pandemic has become her trusted colleague and confidant. She loves to travel to warm locations and enjoys spending time with her mom, making puzzles.
Tina F. Moore, Assistant Finance Director, Alabama Department of Labor
I began my career at the State of Alabama Department of Labor about 14 years ago as the department’s payroll accountant, then transferred to Accounting and Reporting as a cost accountant. I’ve since held various supervisory positions throughout the various sections of ADOL’s Finance division: the Accounts Payable supervisor; the Budget and Allocation Control supervisor; then I managed the Accounting, Reporting and Payroll section, as well as the Budget and Allocation Control section; and I’ve been the Assistant Finance Director since March 2023.
I’ve been married for over 25 years, and I have 2 boys. My oldest son is married and will be 24 in May and my youngest will be 21 at the end of this month.
Chris Nelson, Chief Financial Officer, Texas Workforce Commission
Chris has been with the Texas Workforce Commission for over 26 years. He has served in various capacities, starting with his first position as an accounting clerk while still in college. Chris has served as an accountant, budget analyst, systems analyst, manager within the Subrecipient Monitoring Department, Director of Financial Operations and Budget Director before assuming the role as Chief Financial Officer. Chris has a Bachelor of Business Administration with a major in Finance from Texas State University. Before attending college, Chris served in the United States Navy onboard the USS Dubuque LPD-8 forward deployed in Sasebo Japan for 4 years.
Jenny Noren, Supervisor, Financial Initiatives, Texas Workforce Commission
Jenny has been with the Texas Workforce Commission for over 20 years. She has served in various capacities of financial grant compliance, including monitoring, written policy guidance, technical assistance, and training. Jenny has a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in Accounting from Southwestern University.
Jondra Oswalt, Finance Director, Alabama Department of Labor
Married for 30 years, 3 children, 2 grandsons and granddaughter on the way.
Began State career 23 years ago as an auditor for the Alabama Medicaid Agency in April 2001. Transferred to Alabama Department of Labor as a staff accountant in April 2002 working in their Cost Accounting section. Held various supervisory positions through various aspects of accounting functions such as Accounts Payable, Cost Accounting, Assistant Finance Director. Been Finance Director since March 2021.
Alex Sackey-Ansah, Ph.D., Fiscal Administrator, MD Department of Labor, DWDAL
Alex entered MD State service in March 2016 with the Howard County DSS as a Family Investment Specialist. Within two years, Alex was promoted to a supervisory position at the Department of Human Service (DHS) headquarters in Baltimore as a Human Service Specialist at the Bureau of Disability Services Operations. He was responsible for federal regulations compliance and departmental policies as pertains to disability decisions. He conducted reviews for TDAP and PAA cases. He was promoted within the same year to the role of Special Grants Coordinator overseeing and managing statewide grants within the Bureau of Special Grants.
In November 2020, Alex moved from DHS to MD Labor’s DWDAL as a Budget & Fiscal Administrator. He has been in this role for close to three years, moving from Administrator I to III. Alex serves as a primary backup for the DWDAL Fiscal Manager and provides guidance to grantees, MOU partners, and DWDAL program staff for assigned grants and programs. He prepares and reviews budgets, tracks grant expenditures, and validates grant closeouts, among other things.
Alex holds an MA from Wheaton College, IL, and an MBA from Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, Baltimore, MD. He occasionally serves as an Adjunct Professor at Lancaster Bible College, PA, (Greenbelt, MD campus) where he attained a Ph.D. in Leadership Development.
Scott B. Sanders, President and CEO, National Association of State Workforce Agencies (NASWA)
Scott B. Sanders has been the President and CEO of the National Association of State Workforce Agencies (NASWA) since October 2014. He manages the association of state administrators who handle workforce training, unemployment insurance, employment services, employment statistics, labor market information programs and veteran reemployment in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and US Territories. The association provides advocacy at the national level for a more effective workforce system, and engages with the US Department of Labor, employers and the public. He previously served as Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Workforce Development (DWD) and was a member of the cabinet of Governor Michael Pence and Governor Mitchell Daniels. DWD managed and implemented training and employment programs for Hoosiers, collaborated on regional economic growth initiatives for Indiana, coordinated the adult education system, and oversaw the unemployment insurance system. He was also involved in the launching of JAG in Indiana in 2007.
Scott served on American Workforce Policy Advisory Board from February 2019-January 2021, and also serves on the boards of the LMI Institute (Chair 2020-2021) and the UWC Foundation.
Scott also has over 20 years of private sector experience prior to his role at DWD.
Scott earned his master’s degree in business administration from Northwestern University’s J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management and his bachelor’s degree from Miami University.
Dorothee Schlotterbeck, Fiscal Director, Maryland Department of Labor, Division of Workforce Development and Adult Learning
Dorothee Schlotterbeck has worked for the Maryland Department of Labor, Division of Workforce Development and Adult Learning since 2002. Her current position is the Fiscal Director. Prior professional work includes Office Manager and Business Integrity Coordinator assignments with the State of Oregon, and a Graduate Teaching Assistant Fellowship.
Mike Smith, Chief Financial Officer, Indiana Department of Workforce Development
Mike Smith currently serves as the Chief Financial Officer for the Indiana Department of Workforce Development and was previously the Chief Financial Officer for the Oregon Employment Department. Mike’s career spans nearly 30 years, having spent the last 12 years in executive leadership in state government and the prior 18 years in various financial leadership and administration positions in private and non-profit industries. Mike is a native Indiana Hoosier and has moved more than 22 times across 6 states throughout his lifetime. He holds a Master of Business Administration from Liberty University and served as the vice chair of the NASWA Administration and Finance Committee during the 2019-20 association year and as the chair for the 2020-21 and 2021-22 association years.
Debbie Strama, Chief - Division of Compliance & Assistance - Office Grants Mgmt, USDOL - ETA
Debbie currently works in Office of Grants Management at the USDOL-ETA as the Division Chief of the Office of Compliance, Assistance and Policy. Debbie is a co-founder of the SMART training that started in 2015 and focuses on Strategies for effective grants management are built on the four cornerstones of Monitoring, Accountability, Risk mitigation and Transparency – SMART.
- Strategies for effective grant management for award/grant recipients and ETA staff
- Monitoring - Promote Oversight and Compliance.
- Accountability - Ensure Performance Success and Achievement of Program Goals.
- Risk Mitigation - through Onboarding, Collaboration and Technical Assistance to reduce or mitigate risk in all aspects of operations.
- Transparency – Support mission critical Initiatives/plans and share results with external stakeholders.
SMART training has been conducted in person and virtually and attended by over 21,000 internal and external stakeholders. She is also the coordinator of the FPO Academy which provides training to all ETA Federal staff, including Federal Project Officer (FPOs), on a wide range of topics in order to help them perform their positions’ duties and responsibilities in managing, overseeing, and providing guidance on grants, programs, and special initiatives.
Debbie has participated in a national workgroup that was responsible for the consolidation of eight (8) OMB Circulars into one single set of guidance called the OMB Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards also known as the Uniform Guidance (2 CFR Part 200 and 2 CFR Part 2900). She assisted in the drafting of regulations for the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act including the administrative provisions (section 683) and One-Stop Operations provisions on Infrastructure Costs contained in the Joint Final Rule. She also spearheaded the refinement of the revised ETA-9130 forms (2014), revamped Core Monitoring Guide (CMG) and seven CMG (7) program supplements which are the official compliance monitoring tools of ETA. She authored and developed the Sample MOU and Infrastructure Costs Toolkit (see link below) that has received over 15,000 views on WorkforceGPS.
Previously, Debbie worked as an accountant in the Chicago Regional Office and performed numerous financial compliance reviews of ETA programs including the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA), Unemployment Insurance (UI), American Recovery Reinvestment Act (ARRA), and many other special initiatives. Ms. Strama has over 32 years experience in federal policy development, compliance oversight and a trainer for internal and external stakeholders.
Debbie holds a Bachelor of Science in Accountancy from the University of Illinois at Champaign- Urbana. She enjoys and appreciates another ETA – Elvis Tribute Artists.
Jackie Turner, Consultant, NASWA
Jackie Turner is a NASWA Consultant with the Administration and Finance Committee.
Jackie retired in September 2021 from the Mississippi Department of Employment Security with more than three decades of experience in workforce training and development, financial and administrative oversight, and program management. Jackie served in various roles throughout her tenure at Mississippi’s workforce agency including budget officer, business manager, comptroller, CFO and spent the last three years as Executive Director of the agency.
As executive director of Mississippi Department of Employment Security, Jackie served on several boards and was a member of professional organizations ranging from the Mississippi State Workforce Investment Board; the Mississippi GoCoast Board; the Mississippi Longitudinal Data System Board, the National Association of State Workforce Agencies and the Unemployment Insurance Integrity Center steering committee.
Jackie holds a Bachelor of Professional Accountancy degree from Mississippi State University.
Tim Urbanovsky, Director of Accounting and Financial Reporting Services, Texas Workforce Commission
Tim Urbanovsky is the Director of Accounting & Financial Reporting Services for the Texas Workforce Commission, overseeing the preparation of internal and external financial reports for the agency, and has been with the agency for 26 years. He is a Certified Public Accountant and has an Engineering Route to Business Bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas.
Jim Van Erden, NASWA Senior Advisor & Director of ARPA Projects
Dr. Van Erden joined NASWA in 2011. He provides policy and programmatic analysis and advice on the Unemployment Insurance (UI) program and on a variety of Workforce System programs. He also directs research and development projects on Unemployment Insurance and workforce programs. He was primarily responsible for the establishment and operation of NASWA’s Integrity Center. He also had a long career with USDOL where he served as the Administrator of the Office of Work-Based Learning, Director of the Bureau of Apprenticeship & Training, and as Chief Actuary for the Office of Unemployment Insurance.
Emily Ward, Director of Administrative Services/CFO, South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation
As the finance officer for DLR, Emily Ward oversees the budgeting, grant and cash management, and expenses for the entire Department. Originating from Valentine, Nebraska, Emily earned both her Bachlor’s degree and Master’s degree from the University of South Dakota. She has been serving the citizens of South Dakota since 2007, and in her current role since 2015. Emily and her husband Michael have three young fun-loving sons. They enjoy traveling, playing with their pets, and never experiencing a dull moment.
Glarion (GW) Webb, CGMS, CWDP, Grants/Financial Management Specialist, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (DFMAS)
Glarion Webb (GW) is a native of Dallas, TX. He began his career with the U.S. Navy in 1990 as an Administrator where he had many administrative responsibilities which included administrative management, personnel/manpower management, fiscal oversight and auditing. He has since retired from the U. S. Navy Reserves with over 20 years of Honorable Service and is a Highly Decorated Sailor. He went on to join the Federal Government by way of Immigration Naturalization Service (INS), which we now know as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). In addition, he was awarded a certificate as a founding member of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in March of 2003. Mr. Webb worked in the Administrative Division at (DHS) as a Labor Relation Specialist. He then joined U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training (ETA) in Oct of 2005 and is recognized as a great resource in the field of administration, financial, and grant’s management. He is a Certified Grants Management Specialist (CGMS) and a Certified Workforce Development Professional (CWDP) within the Division of Financial Management and Administrative Services (DFMAS) in DOL’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA). In this position, he provides technical assistance, financial assistance, leadership, oversight and policy guidance and conduct compliance reviews for both formula and discretionary grantees. Mr. Webb has the responsibility for financial and grants management for grant amendments for both formula and discretionary grants for Region IV. His knowledge and expertise is sought out by many within the workforce system. Mr. Webb also is currently the President of AFGE Local 2139 for U.S. DOL where he serves bargaining unit employees across 5 States.
