David Gruber, Executive Director

David Gruber, co-founder of Gruber & Pereira, has advised states, cities, foundations and employers throughout the country about workforce development. As a partner at Gruber and Pereira, Mr. Gruber helped create a national award winning bio-tech training initiative to prepare dislocated workers in the Bay Area for positions with Genentech, Bayer and 15 other local bio-technology employers. This project, developed in collaboration with three Bay Area counties, has placed more than 90% of participants and raised $3+ million in federal, state and local funding.

The bio-tech project has led to a similar collaboration with a consortium of California refineries and chemical firms including BP, ConocoPhillips, Exxon-Mobil, Shell and Valero to replace an aging workforce with newly trained dislocated workers and disadvantaged community residents. Mr. Gruber is also leading an effort, funded by the Walter S. Johnson Foundation, to create new programs to assist disadvantaged youth and adults in succeeding in college.

Before forming Gruber and Pereira, Mr. Gruber co-founded the Workforce Strategy Center, a national non-profit that focused on building more effectives pathways to college and career. Mr. Gruber served as an advisor to the James Irvine Foundation, Manpower, Public Private Ventures, the Annie E Casey Foundation, the Mott Foundation, Jobs for the Future, and the states of Delaware, New York, and Missouri in creating more effective workforce and education strategies. He has extensive experience in Pennsylvania advising the Secretary of Labor and cabinet level job committee on workforce and educational reform.

Mr. Gruber has degrees from John Hopkins and Kennedy School of Harvard University. He is and author of Generation for Challenge, published by the Sar Levitan Center at Johns Hopkins University.

Caz Pereira, Executive Director

In 2004, Caz Pereira co-founded Gruber and Pereira Associates, LLC (GPA) to assist cities and states in planning and managing workforce and economic development initiatives. With GPA, Mr. Pereira assisted in the development and implementation of national award winning projects in the biotechnology, energy and utility sectors.

Prior to GPA, Mr. Pereira founded Pereira Associates, a workforce firm consulting to governments and non-profits. He also worked with Workforce Strategy Center as Senior Consultant where he coordinated and developed customized training programs in information technology and biotechnology in cooperation with public workforce agencies, private firms, and National and California foundations. In 1998, Mr. Pereira was Vice President for San Francisco Works, a partnership with the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce and funded by the Goldman Fund, HAAS Foundation, Gap Foundation and San Francisco Foundation. As Vice President, Mr. Pereira developed public and private workforce ventures focused on developing collaborations with governments, private employers, community colleges and community based organizations.

In 1994, Mr. Pereira was Assistant Director for Business and Contract Development for City College of San Francisco's Contract Development Division. As Assistant Director, Mr. Pereira developed and managed workforce development projects for government agencies, and for domestic and international companies. Mr. Pereira developed and coordinated Contract Education's Pacific Gas and Electric signature public and private welfare-to-work partnership. Mr. Pereira's experience includes working as a Legislative Correspondent for Congressman Matsui in Washington D.C. and as a Legislative Assistant to Maryland State Senator Idamae Garrett. During his career as a consultant, Mr. Pereira has worked with Genentech, Pacific Gas and Electric, the James Irvine Foundation, Contra Costa County, Bay Area Colleges, Glide Church, and numerous other public agencies and private firms.

Mr. Pereira is a graduate from the University of Maryland where he studied Government and Politics, Business and Economics.