PBN 2021 Business Women Awards
Government/Quasi-Government Woman to Watch: Amy Grzybowski, R.I. Office of the Postsecondary Commissioner
The last year has been especially busy for Amy Grzybowski. She has worked tirelessly to help various individuals and organizations in Rhode Island navigate the safety guidelines and workforce effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In her primary role as the R.I. Office of the Postsecondary Commissioner’s executive director of Rhode Island Higher Education & Industry Centers, Grzybowski has managed the Westerly Education Center as it has continued to offer college courses and workforce training programs within the guidelines necessitated by the pandemic.
Since the Westerly Education Center opened in 2017 as a public-private partnership, Grzybowski has overseen its programming and developed relationships with employers. In four years, she has raised $1.7 million for new workforce training programs, including a program with General Dynamics Electric Boat in North Kingstown – more than 1,000 of the company’s employees received the training necessary to get hired through the program at the education center.
This year, the center became a Pearson VUE authorized testing site. “We’re providing an opportunity so people can do what they need to advance their careers, whether [getting] a GED [diploma] or a professional certification,” she said.
Over the last year, in addition to overseeing the Westerly Education Center and the addition of a smaller workforce development center in Woonsocket, Grzybowski also served as interim executive director of the Governor’s Workforce Board and director of emergency management for the town of Westerly.
In Westerly, Grzybowski set up testing sites and vaccination clinics helped organizations understand the latest guidelines and delivered meals to those who were unable to access them.
She also put her emergency management skills to use as the COVID-19 response liaison between state government and Rhode Island colleges and universities.
Grzybowski, who has three children and is studying for her doctorate in education, emphasizes that she couldn’t do it all without help.
“I have been fortunate to have incredible and dedicated employees that are committed to our mission of assisting Rhode Islanders on their path for higher education and employment,” she said. “There is so much work to be done, and higher education and employers together can create opportunities to put Rhode Islanders back to work in a post-pandemic recovery.”
