NextGen Workforce: Harnessing the Robotics and Automation Talent Pipeline to Propel Your Company's Growth

Glade Montgomery, Ph.D., Senior Vice President of Strategic Partnerships, Project Lead the Way, Inc.

Glade Montgomery is a lifelong educator who prior to joining Project Lead The Way served for 29 years in public education in Indiana. During that time, he held roles as teacher and administrator, most recently leading as the superintendent of schools in LaPorte, Indiana.

Glade is part of PLTW’s Impact Team and serves as senior vice president of strategic partnerships. His team works to develop partnerships with business and industry to connect the PLTW network to career learning experiences. He has also held roles on the Engagement Team leading the East Region, as well as the Strategic Accounts team. Glade also served as chief of staff, supporting the President and CEO. Glade earned doctoral, masters, and bachelor’s degrees from Purdue University. He received the 2010 Norbert Nelson Outstanding Educational Leadership Dissertation Award from Purdue University and was selected Administrator of the Year by the Indiana Association of Office Professionals in 2009.

Ritch Ramey, Director of Education, Association for Advancing Automation

With over 35 years of experience in advanced manufacturing, Ritch Ramey is dedicated to promoting education and workforce development in automation and robotics. As the Director of Education at the Association for Advancing Automation (A3), he leads efforts to support and develop educational programs and workforce initiatives for A3’s 1,300+ member organizations. Ritch is passionate about career exploration and training in smart manufacturing, Industry 4.0, safety, AI, robotics, and automation. His expertise spans curriculum development, advocacy, marketing, public speaking, grant writing, training, and workforce development. A PLTW-certified instructor, Ritch has taught Digital Electronics (DE), Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM), and Engineering Design and Development (EDD). He also holds certifications in and has instructed courses on Yaskawa Motoman Industrial and Collaborative Robotics, FANUC Robotics, Universal Robots, Parker Hydraulics, Rockwell Allen-Bradley PLCs, and SolidWorks.

In addition to his role at A3, Ritch serves on the ARM Institute’s Educational Workforce Advisory Committee and the US congressional Robotics Caucus and is dedicated to helping to shape the future of automation education, training and production globally.

Jen White, Director of Student Engagement, Manufacturing Institute

Jen White is the director of student engagement at the Manufacturing Institute, the workforce development and education affiliate of the National Association of Manufacturers. She leads national efforts to expand K-12 manufacturing career awareness, equipping manufacturers with resources to effectively engage students, parents, and educators. Jen oversees national MFG Day and other STEM initiatives, helping industry build partnerships with schools and communities. Her extensive experience includes roles in public education, military transition programs, and community engagement. A proud active-duty military spouse, she currently lives in Maumee, OH.

John Zappa, Director of Product Management, Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing (ARM) Institute

John is the director of product management at the Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing (ARM) Institute. With 30+ years of experience developing software-based services to enable lifelong learning, he is responsible for developing and promoting services that connect people with robotics opportunities in manufacturing.

During his career, he helped to found and serve as CEO of EdLink, LLC a leading provider of tuition assistance management services. Under John’s leadership, EdLink grew to manage over $220 million in education funding and was acquired by the Fortune 500 firm Bright Horizons Family Solutions.

John began his career at IBM implementing robotics as a manufacturing engineer. He received a B.S. Mechanical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University and an MBA from Dartmouth College.