Kristen Holder

Kristen Holder serves as Executive Director of Central Six AlabamaWorks!, the Regional Workforce Council for the six central counties of Alabama: Blount, Chilton, Jefferson, Shelby, St. Clair, and Walker counties. Central Six is a convener of industry and workforce partners, with a focus on understanding industry workforce needs and developing solutions by connecting employers with resources, trainings, and people. Holder’s mission is to assist companies in growing and retaining their own skilled talent, while providing jobseekers with a higher quality of life potential. Central Six’s primary industry clusters are manufacturing, healthcare, information technology, construction, and logistics & transportation. Within these clusters, Holder oversees multiple Central Six initiatives. For manufacturing, Central Six coordinates the Modern Manufacturing Program (MMP) that prepare students for careers in the automotive industry in three local high schools. In partnership with the City of Birmingham, Central Six manages the $11 million Economic Development Administration Good Jobs Challenge Grant, with the mission to train 1,200 and place 1,000 individuals in good jobs in the healthcare industry by September 2025.

Holder also works closely with the National Fund for Workforce Solutions and the Annie E. Casey Foundation on Central Six’s Generation Work grant, helping to increase the attraction and retention of young and diverse talent in central Alabama’s tech industry. Holder graduated summa cum laude from the Florida State University with a B.A. in Political Science. Holder is a graduate of the Auburn University Intensive Economic Development Training Course and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation Talent Pipeline Management® Academy and Co/Lab™. She was an honoree of Birmingham Business Journal’s 2020 Top 40 Under 40 and a mentor for Birmingham Business Journal’s 2021 Mentoring Monday. Holder was also awarded “Mentor of the Year” Award from Red Barn, for developing the first therapeutic horseback riding instructor register apprenticeship program in Alabama, which was recently nationally recognized by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Other Specialty Areas: Automotive, Construction/Facilities, Healthcare, Insurance, Manufacturing/Operations, Information Technology/General, Transportation/Logistics, TPM Web Tool, Analyzing Employer Collaborative Surveys, Local/State Data Availability and Usage, Partnerships with Local/State Government, Partnerships with Workforce Agencies