Live Electrical Construction Panel with Q&A

Eric M. Seleznow has been an apprenticeship, workforce development and reentry expert for more than 30 years. He was the former executive director and founder of JFF's Center for Apprenticeship & Work-Based Learning. Prior to joining JFF, Eric served as the principal deputy assistant secretary for the US Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration, where he focused on implementing the Obama administration’s vision for workforce development, skills training, and registered apprenticeship. Before joining DOL, Eric served as state policy director for the National Skills Coalition, executive director of the Maryland Governor’s Workforce Investment Board and local workforce board director for the Montgomery County (MD) Department of Economic Development. His experience also includes nearly 20 years in the corrections system operating jail-based training, employment, and pre-release programs—re-entry efforts for which he is still regarded as a national expert.

Eric was born and raised in the DC metro area and currently resides in Washington, D.C., and the Delaware shore.

Having grown up around the electrical business, Beau decided to take a different route after graduating from college. Before joining TRIO, Beau was a principal with The Mercanti Group (TMG), a merchant bank in their Los Angeles office which was purchased by Imperial Capital. Prior to TMG, Beau was with Merrill Lynch & Co. in the Mergers & Acquisitions group in Chicago. After spending almost 8 years in the investment banking business, Beau decided to pursue the inevitable by joining his father in the electrical field at TRIO Electric which was established in 2003.

Since arriving at TRIO Electric in 2005, Beau has assumed various management roles including warehouse operations, pre-fab, project management, estimating, service and HR. As a project manager/estimator, Beau completed more than 500 projects (ground up and tenant build out). He now serves as the firm’s President & CEO. Under Beau’s leadership, TRIO has continued to grow and diversify geographically and operationally. TRIO Electric has become one of the largest electrical contracting firms in Houston and Austin and is now performing electrical design, construction and service projects for commercial, light industrial and multi-family clients across Texas and occasionally in other states.

In an effort to support TRIO Electric’s growth, Beau developed an in-house Department of Labor (DOL) approved 4-year electrical apprenticeship training program called the TRIO Apprenticeship Program (TAP). In 2017, TRIO refined the program by forming a unique partnership with independent school distri… Read More

Myron Laurent has provided employee development and training expertise to various industrial clients and is currently serving as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) for Transfr Inc. Myron first became involved with craft training and workforce development over 30 years ago while working in the petro-chem industry. He eventually earned a B.S. in Industrial Engineering Technology and a M.S. in Human Resource Education and Workforce Development.

During his career Myron worked at local, state, and national levels to establish, maintain, and expand workforce initiatives. Notable work includes establishing highly successful industry-based training programs and putting in place Industry-recognized credentialing to drive improvements in public education. In addition, Myron served as the Alabama SkillsUSA State Director for over 10 years driving excellence and garnering national recognition for exemplary technical programs at high schools and colleges.

Myron continues his passion-driven work as an independent consultant, readily sharing his expertise developed over the many years of working in challenging roles and in highly diverse environments.

Bharani Rajakumar is an education technology entrepreneur who focuses on developing learning experiences that simulate the effectiveness of learning from an expert. He is the founder and CEO of Transfr, which is on a mission to create alternative pathways to career success and upward mobility through intuitive learning methods. The company provides training simulations in virtual reality to help people acquire the skills needed to get a job.

Prior to Transfr, Bharani completed his MBA at Carnegie Mellon where he launched his first start-up, LearnBop, an automated tutoring software for teaching mathematics. The company won several awards and was eventually acquired by Stride (LRN). Prior to working in education, Bharani worked in the financial services industry where he saw first hand how technology could dramatically improve performance. Bharani is a proud graduate of the University of Florida where he received a Bachelor of Science in Finance