Biography
Wendy Simmerman is a nationally recognized workforce and education leader with more than two decades of experience building systems, programs, and partnerships that connect students to opportunity. As Senior Director of Workforce Alignment at Utah Valley University, she leads one of Utah’s most comprehensive workforce readiness efforts, encompassing both internal coordination of workforce initiatives across campus and alignment with external stakeholders in K12 education, industry, government, and community partnerships . Her direct supervisory portfolio includes Career & Technical Education, Credit-for-Prior Learning, industry credentialing, regional pathways, program advisory boards, articulations, extended campus programming, and workforce development.
She founded the UVU Workforce Alignment Council — a cross-institutional body of 40 academic and executive leaders — and has launched several nationally recognized programs, including Foster Success, Fast Track 123, and The UVU Accord, each of which has earned attention as a model for equity-centered, industry-aligned higher education.
Prior to UVU, Wendy directed Colorado’s behavioral health workforce strategy — overseeing $50 million in workforce funding and developing a learning platform serving nearly 10,000 clinicians. Her policy work was recognized by the National Governors Association as a model for state-level workforce innovation and featured in national behavioral health publications.
Wendy holds an M.Ed. in Instructional Design and is a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR). In 2023, she was named a Hero of Workforce by the National Association of Workforce Development Professionals — recognition that reflects both the scale and the human impact of her work.
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