Greater Reading Chamber Commerce Quarterly Spring 2017 - 25
R
andy Peers has an accomplished record as a big thinker and a big
doer, with equally big passion thrown in for good measure.
Peers, who stepped in as President and CEO of the Greater
Reading Chamber and Economic Development Corp. (GRCEDC) in January,
spent the last decade guiding a Brooklyn nonprofit that focuses on job training
and placement, life skills, academic reinforcement and other services for disadvantaged youth and young adults.
Leading that organization, Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow Inc. (OBT),
from a small, grassroots entity to New York City's largest provider of job training
and education services for disconnected youth, was a crowning accomplishment
in Peers' life to date.
"Nothing to me is more rewarding than empowering people, especially our
youth, through job training, education and employment," he said. "When
somebody asks me what I've been especially proud of during my career, I just
say that my entire tenure as CEO of OBT was one big, proud accomplishment."
When Peers took over the organization in 2006, it was struggling due to
challenges related to the recent death of its founder, Sr. Mary Franciscus.
With a strong background in economic development and a heart for the
work in which he was engaged, Peers helped to grow the organization from a
$2.7 million operation with one location to an $8 million organization with
six locations.
Continued on page 26
OBT served about 250 youth when Peers came on board. At the end of his
tenure the organization had 5,000 clients.
Before moving to OBT, Peers served as Vice President of Economic
Development for the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, an organization of
about 1,600 members.
While starting in his new position with GRCEDC, Peers will continue to
employ his impressive organizational development skills and deep knowledge of
workforce development as he works to assist companies expand and grow their
operations and employment, while also attracting new businesses to Berks County.
Peers is looking forward to getting to know as many community members
as possible and in working together to achieve great things. He has met with
hundreds of people during his first two months on the job, engaging stakeholders from many venues. His job, he said, will be to continue meeting with
employers, workers and residents to learn as much about the community and
its businesses as possible.
"I just want to ask people to communicate with me," Peers said. "I'm a good
listener, and I believe that everybody's perspective matters. If we work together,
we'll all be surprised at what can happen."
President and CEO, Greater Reading Chamber and
Economic Development Corporation
Get to know
Randy Peers
GreaterReadingChamber.org
25
http://www.GreaterReadingChamber.org
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Greater Reading Chamber Commerce Quarterly Spring 2017
Greater Reading Chamber Commerce Quarterly Spring 2017 - 1
Greater Reading Chamber Commerce Quarterly Spring 2017 - 2
Greater Reading Chamber Commerce Quarterly Spring 2017 - 3
Greater Reading Chamber Commerce Quarterly Spring 2017 - 4
Greater Reading Chamber Commerce Quarterly Spring 2017 - 5
Greater Reading Chamber Commerce Quarterly Spring 2017 - 6
Greater Reading Chamber Commerce Quarterly Spring 2017 - 7
Greater Reading Chamber Commerce Quarterly Spring 2017 - 8
Greater Reading Chamber Commerce Quarterly Spring 2017 - 9
Greater Reading Chamber Commerce Quarterly Spring 2017 - 10
Greater Reading Chamber Commerce Quarterly Spring 2017 - 11
Greater Reading Chamber Commerce Quarterly Spring 2017 - 12
Greater Reading Chamber Commerce Quarterly Spring 2017 - 13
Greater Reading Chamber Commerce Quarterly Spring 2017 - 14
Greater Reading Chamber Commerce Quarterly Spring 2017 - 15
Greater Reading Chamber Commerce Quarterly Spring 2017 - 16
Greater Reading Chamber Commerce Quarterly Spring 2017 - 17
Greater Reading Chamber Commerce Quarterly Spring 2017 - 18
Greater Reading Chamber Commerce Quarterly Spring 2017 - 19
Greater Reading Chamber Commerce Quarterly Spring 2017 - 20
Greater Reading Chamber Commerce Quarterly Spring 2017 - 21
Greater Reading Chamber Commerce Quarterly Spring 2017 - 22
Greater Reading Chamber Commerce Quarterly Spring 2017 - 23
Greater Reading Chamber Commerce Quarterly Spring 2017 - 24
Greater Reading Chamber Commerce Quarterly Spring 2017 - 25
Greater Reading Chamber Commerce Quarterly Spring 2017 - 26
Greater Reading Chamber Commerce Quarterly Spring 2017 - 27
Greater Reading Chamber Commerce Quarterly Spring 2017 - 28
Greater Reading Chamber Commerce Quarterly Spring 2017 - 29
Greater Reading Chamber Commerce Quarterly Spring 2017 - 30
Greater Reading Chamber Commerce Quarterly Spring 2017 - 31
Greater Reading Chamber Commerce Quarterly Spring 2017 - 32
Greater Reading Chamber Commerce Quarterly Spring 2017 - 33
Greater Reading Chamber Commerce Quarterly Spring 2017 - 34
Greater Reading Chamber Commerce Quarterly Spring 2017 - 35
Greater Reading Chamber Commerce Quarterly Spring 2017 - 36
Greater Reading Chamber Commerce Quarterly Spring 2017 - 37
Greater Reading Chamber Commerce Quarterly Spring 2017 - 38
Greater Reading Chamber Commerce Quarterly Spring 2017 - 39
Greater Reading Chamber Commerce Quarterly Spring 2017 - 40
Greater Reading Chamber Commerce Quarterly Spring 2017 - 41
Greater Reading Chamber Commerce Quarterly Spring 2017 - 42
Greater Reading Chamber Commerce Quarterly Spring 2017 - 43
Greater Reading Chamber Commerce Quarterly Spring 2017 - 44
Greater Reading Chamber Commerce Quarterly Spring 2017 - 45
Greater Reading Chamber Commerce Quarterly Spring 2017 - 46
Greater Reading Chamber Commerce Quarterly Spring 2017 - 47
Greater Reading Chamber Commerce Quarterly Spring 2017 - 48
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https://www.nxtbook.com/hoffmann/GreaterReadingChamber_CommerceQuarterly/GRCA_CommerceQuarterly_Summer2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/hoffmann/GreaterReadingChamber_CommerceQuarterly/GRCA_CommerceQuarterly_Spring2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/hoffmann/GreaterReadingChamber_CommerceQuarterly/GRCA_CommerceQuarterly_Winter2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/hoffmann/GreaterReadingChamber_CommerceQuarterly/GRCA_CommerceQuarterly_Fall2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/hoffmann/GreaterReadingChamber_CommerceQuarterly/GRCA_CommerceQuarterly_Summer2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/hoffmann/GreaterReadingChamber_CommerceQuarterly/GRCA_CommerceQuarterly_Spring2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/hoffmann/GreaterReadingChamber_CommerceQuarterly/GRCA_CommerceQuarterly_Winter2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/hoffmann/GreaterReadingChamber_CommerceQuarterly/GRCA_CommerceQuarterly_Fall2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/hoffmann/GreaterReadingChamber_CommerceQuarterly/GRCA_CommerceQuarterly_Summer2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/hoffmann/GreaterReadingChamber_CommerceQuarterly/GRCA_CommerceQuarterly_Spring2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/hoffmann/GreaterReadingChamber_CommerceQuarterly/GRCA_CommerceQuarterly_Winter2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/hoffmann/GreaterReadingChamber_CommerceQuarterly/GRCA_CommerceQuarterly_Fall2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/hoffmann/GreaterReadingChamber_CommerceQuarterly/GRCA_CommerceQuarterly_Summer2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/hoffmann/GreaterReadingChamber_CommerceQuarterly/GRCA_CommerceQuarterly_Spring2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/hoffmann/GreaterReadingChamber_CommerceQuarterly/GRCA_CommerceQuarterly_Winter2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/hoffmann/GreaterReadingChamber_CommerceQuarterly/GreaterReadingChamber_CommerceQuarterly_Fall2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/hoffmann/GreaterReadingChamber_CommerceQuarterly/GreaterReadingChamber_CommerceQuarterly_Summer2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/hoffmann/GreaterReadingChamber_CommerceQuarterly/GreaterReadingChamber_CommerceQuarterly_Spring2017
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