Co-Author
Dr. Bryan Albrecht, Chairman of the Board
Coalition for Career Development Center
Co-Author
Eva Mitchell, CEO
Coalition for Career Development Center
Earlier this year, the Coalition for Career Development (CCD) Center awarded its founder Leo Reddy with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Appropriate for the occasion, CCD Center CEO Eva Mitchell and Board Chair Dr. Bryan Albrecht honored Mr. Reddy at a NOCTI and Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) reception at ACTE’s annual conference. As Mr. Reddy expressed, his success is a direct result of relationships with trusted organizations and colleagues—including partnerships with NOCTI and ACTE dating back over twenty years. “None of this would have been possible without the assistance of a long list of knowledgeable colleagues,” he said at the ceremony.
A career public servant and public policy strategist, the CCD Center recognizes Mr. Reddy’s inspiring service to our nation in foreign and domestic policy, education, workforce development, and his work to establish career readiness for ALL as the first priority in American education.
“It is an honor to bestow the CCD Centers inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award to Leo Reddy,” Dr. Bryan Albrecht shared. “Leo is a true American patriot serving his country with a deep commitment to strengthen the American democracy through education and workforce development reforms.” Eva Mitchell echoes his sentiment. “It has been said that if there was a Mount Rushmore for career readiness, Leo Reddy would be carved into it,” she declared.
Achievements in Policy
After graduating from Georgetown University with both bachelor’s and master’s degrees, followed by his service as an officer in the U.S. Navy, Mr. Reddy began his highly successful, 28-year career in foreign service with the U.S. State Department. Of his many accomplishments, Mr. Reddy is most proud of his work on two major international agreements: the Helsinki Accords of 1975 and the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty of 1987. Mr. Reddy co-authored his book Helsinki Process: Historic American Achievement in “Relentless Diplomacy” with his co-architect of the Helsinki Accords, Former U.S. Ambassador James Goodby.
In October 1988, President Reagan personally conferred the “Meritorious Service Award” on Mr. Reddy for “sustained superior accomplishment in U.S. foreign policy.” In December of that same year, then-Secretary of State George Shultz gave Mr. Reddy the “Presidential Award” for “outstanding service.”
Achievements in Industry
Stemming from his work with leading defense contractors and automation companies to plan for defense production and global competitiveness needs in the post-Cold War era, industry invited Mr. Reddy to lead the National Council for Advanced Manufacturing (NACFAM) in 1990. During his 16-year tenure, NACFAM championed several national public-private partnership programs to enhance U.S. industrial innovation and competitiveness.
Achievements in Education
Mr. Reddy’s experience with industry inspired his involvement with education. Since 2006, he has served as chairman, immediate past CEO, president, and founder of the Manufacturing Skill Standards Council (MSSC), the nation’s leading training and certification organization focused on the core technical competencies needed by the nation’s front-line production and material handling workers. Under his leadership, MSSC developed four nationally portable certifications and related training programs. Leo continues to serve as President and Co-Founder of MSSC.
Aligned with his mission to enhance workers’ competencies, Mr. Reddy’s 2015 report Transforming Career Counseling: Bridging School to Career in the Workforce of the Future, written in collaboration with the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, speaks to the importance of investing in workers themselves. It was this report that led to his convening the Coalition for Career Development (CCD) and ultimately launching the CCD Center: an industry-led, nonpartisan nonprofit committed to making career readiness the first priority of American education.
Award-winning leader, published author, and workforce and industry representative, Leo Reddy exemplifies achievement. The CCD Center and all our partners nationwide are honored to call him our founder.