Who We Are

Tom Bewick is the CEO of the Federation of Awarding Bodies, the collective voice of the UK’s world-class qualifications and assessment industry. He is currently visiting professor of skills and workforce policy at Staffordshire University, England.

Before his appointment in May 2018, Tom led various initiatives in the skills arena spanning a 25-year career. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, he advised ministers on a range of post-16 education reforms, including the creation of sector skills councils.

As CEO of the Creative and Cultural Industries Skills Council from 2003-2010, Tom campaigned for changes to the apprenticeship system which led to the first creative apprenticeships being introduced to the sector. From 2011, Tom worked as a skills policy expert in the international arena, working on major reconstruction projects in countries like Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, and Lebanon.

In 2013, Tom’s expertise was recognized by the Urban Institute, and he joined a team advising the U.S. Department of Labor on the expansion of American apprenticeships. As founder of the Transatlantic Apprenticeship Exchange Forum (TAEF) and co-founder of the U.S.-based firm, Franklin Apprenticeships, Tom continues to be recognized for his published works and policy influence on both sides of the Atlantic.

Maxine is the Chief Human Resources Officer at Reading Cooperative Bank, Reading, Massachusetts. She was instrumental in the effort to initiate and implement the Bank’s apprenticeship program under the auspices of the Massachusetts Secretary of Labor. The program has enabled the Bank to attract high school graduates with talent and desire who have chosen not to attend college or have not been able to attend college to begin a banking career at all levels.

Maxine earned a Bachelor of Social Work degree at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, and an MED in Adult Education fro Manchester University, U.K.

Maxine was interviewed on AABD’s Podcast ‘Calling All Bank Directors’ on why and how a bank may adopt an apprenticeship program.

(See Episodes 25 and 26, under ‘Calling All Bank Directors’ on www.aabd.org.)

Bob is the Institute Fellow in Labor and Social Policy at the Urban Institute, Washington, DC and Research Fellow at the Institute for the Study of Labor, Bonn Germany.

Among his other positions, Bob has been the Chair of the Department of Economics at American University; Director of Research of Research and Senior Research Associate, Center for Human Resources, Heller School of Social Welfare, Brandeis University; Staff Economist for the Subcommittee on Fiscal Policy, Joint Economic Committee, U.S. Congress; and Special Assistant for Youth and Welfare Policy, Office of Assistant Secretary for Policy, Evaluation and Research, U.S. Department of Labor.

Bob’s thesis at MIT (where he received a PHD. in Economics at MIT), was “An Analysis of Youth Labor Force Participation, School Activity, and Employment.”

Bob has written more than ninety publications on apprenticeships.

Doug was the President and CEO of Guaranty Bank. The Bank served over 250,000 low to moderate income consumers through 125 locations in Milwaukee, Chicago, Minneapolis, Detroit, and Atlanta.

The Bank hired and trained numerous individuals from the communities the Bank served in various capacities. In a program called the “Ladder to Success”, the Bank partnered with local schools and work/study opportunities to advance employees, similar to an apprenticeship program.

The Bank also operated the largest Wisconsin-based mortgage banking business with offices nationwide.

Doug earned a masters’ degree in public policy at the University of Chicago, an MBA from the Northwestern University Kellogg Graduate School of Management and a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Doug serves on the Board of Directors of Lion’s Pride and Public Allies and is an advisor to various nonprofit organizations.

Ralph is the senior strategy advisor to the CEO of Voiceitt, a start-up company based in Israel, that has developed a new A.I. technology that enables individuals who have speech disabilities, atypical speech, or non-standard speech to speak independently and be understood. He is also a member of the Voiceitt Board of Directors.

Ralph has served as Executive Director of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the “Lobbying Arm of the Civil Rights Movement”; President and CEO of People For the American Way; CEO of the National Coalition on Health Care; and President and CEO of the American Association for Accessible Medicines.

He also was Chief Counsel to Republican Senators Edward W. Brooke and David Durenberger and taught at the University of Chicago Law School; Harvard’s Institute of Politics; Georgetown University Law Center; and USC’s Center for the Political Future.

Ralph graduated from the University of Notre Dame and the University of Chicago Law School.

He is a co-founder of the American Association of People with Disabilities, co-founder of the Children’s Charities Foundation, and co-founder of the Guillain Barre Syndrome-CIDP Foundation International.

Derrick is a Senior Fellow at Urban Institute, working on strategies to bring apprenticeship programs for the inner cities. He serves on the Board of Trustees, University of Kentucky, and the National Football League Players Association.

Derrick has served as Secretary of the Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet and the Kentucky Labor Cabinet; Director of Development and Community Relations at the University of Kentucky, Director of Athletics at Coppin State University and Kentucky State University; Professional Football player for the National Football League; and service on numerous community and charitable groups.

He holds a B.A. Degree from the University of Kentucky and Masters at Eastern Kentucky University.

Keith has been a consultant on apprenticeship for the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia and a nonprofit since his retirement from the Bank as community development advisor in 2017. As an employee and consultant for the Philadelphia Fed, he developed an apprenticeship guide for employers, wrote an update report on expansion of apprenticeships to high-growth sectors, and organized two regional apprenticeship conferences.

While at the Philadelphia Fed from 1986 to 2017, he organized publications and regular events to assist banks to respond to community credit needs related to the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977. He was Managing Editor of the Bank’s community development publication for 16 years.

In earlier positions, he reported for American Banker on early developments related to the CRA and directed a clearinghouse on community development investments for a national church coalition.

Vernon is Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Audit Executive at First Horizon Corporation, where he is responsible for corporate internal audit and credit risk assurance.

He previously served as a commissioned national bank examiner; Assistant Deputy Comptroller in OCC’s Midsize Bank Supervision Department, Director for Large Bank Supervision; and other leadership roles at the OCC.

Vernon is Chairman of the Board of Leadership Memphis; President of the Board of Trustees of the Dixon Gallery and Gardens; Treasurer of the Hattiloo Theater Board of Directors; and Vice Chairman of the Board of Commissioners of the Tennessee Higher Education Commission.