Executive Director, Central Six AlabamaWorks!

As Executive Director of Central Six AlabamaWorks! Kristen Holder has a mission to assist companies in growing and retaining their own skilled talent, while providing jobseekers with a higher quality of life potential. Serving as the Regional Workforce Council for the six central counties of Alabama, including Blount, Chilton, Jefferson, Shelby, St. Clair, and Walker counties, Kristen leads teams that bring industry and workforce partners together, with a focus on understanding industry workforce needs and developing solutions by connecting employers with resources, training, and people.

Within Central Six’s primary industry clusters of manufacturing, healthcare, information technology, construction, and logistics & transportation Kristen helps facilitate multiple initiatives that involve preparing students for careers in these fields, and she works closely with the National Fund for Workforce Solutions and the Annie E. Casey Foundation on Central Six’s Generation Work grant, helping to increase the attraction and retention of young and diverse talent in central Alabama’s tech industry.

Holder graduated summa cum laude from the Florida State University with a B.A. in Political Science. Holder is a graduate of the Auburn University Intensive Economic Development Training Course and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation Talent Pipeline Management Academy and Co/Lab. She was an honoree of Birmingham Business Journal’s 2020 Top 40 Under 40 and a mentor for Birmingham Business Journal’s 2021 Mentoring Monday.