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In the News

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Governor Shapiro is directing all state agencies, boards, and commissions to compile a catalog of the licenses, certificates, and permits they issue – including the statutory authority governing the length of time they must process applications and the application fee charged by each agency. Commonwealth agencies will have 90 days to send this information to the Governor’s Office, which will then review, analyze, and establish efficient application processing times for all occupational permits or licenses based on agency recommendations. Once those recommendations are put in place, if an agency does not respond to an applicant before the date-certain, the agency will be required to refund the application fee.

Under this Executive Order, the Governor’s Office will also conduct a review of the existing digital services that Pennsylvanians use to apply for licenses, certificates, and permits and work to modernize those application platforms and services to better serve Pennsylvanians.

Unpredictability and long wait times for Commonwealth-issued licenses, certificates, and permits can create unnecessary barriers for Pennsylvania workers and businesses. For example, an NPR analysis from 2021 found that Pennsylvania had some of the longest wait times in the country for issuing nursing licenses. More than half of the nursing applicants who applied in Pennsylvania that year waited at least three months to hear back.

In addition to nursing licenses, the Commonwealth issues hundreds of licenses, certificates, and permits, from barber and salon licenses to teacher certifications to business permits. Under the direction of the Governor, the Administration will work expeditiously to ensure Pennsylvanians get responses in a timely manner — and the Shapiro Administration will have real skin in the game. Governor Shapiro is making clear his Administration will be customer-service oriented and that state government will work harder to get them a response, so that they can pursue their dreams.

Read Executive Order 2023-07, Building Efficiency in the Commonwealth’s Permitting and Licensing Processes, here.

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Photo by Markus Winkler from Pexels

The Board of Directors of Goodwill of Southwestern Pennsylvania is pleased to announce the hiring of a new President and Chief Executive Officer, Monique McIntosh. Monique becomes the eighth Goodwill SWPA Chief Executive since its founding in 1919.

Monique joins Goodwill SWPA from her most recent position as the Chief Program Officer of YWCA Greater Pittsburgh, where she has served in various leadership capacities, including Co-Interim Chief Executive Officer and Chief Administrative Officer. She currently manages organization programs and evaluation in her role as Chief Program Officer. Previous to her leadership of the YWCA, she served as Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh’s Vice President of Programs and Services. In each of these roles, she expanded the reach and effectiveness of the organization.

Monique is a member of The Forbes Fund Advisory Council and United Way of Southwestern PA Women’s Leadership Council Diversity Work Group. Monique serves on the Wilkinsburg Community Development Corporation Board, where she chairs the Development Committee and the Sixth Economic Empowerment Development Corporation Board. She also serves as an Advisory Committee member for the Homewood Community Development Collaborative and a Core Team member for the Homewood Comprehensive Community Plan, formally adopted into the city’s Comprehensive Plan. She is an Advisory Committee member for the University of Pittsburgh Community Engagement Center. Monique received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Pittsburgh and a Master of Education from Penn West California.

Monique succeeds Michael Smith, who retired last fall after serving as Goodwill SWPA’s President/CEO for 20 years. She will officially begin in her new role on March 1, 2023. Monique represents a considerable step forward for Goodwill SWPA and its commitment to integrating diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging into how they function, as the first woman and person of color to lead the organization.

Goodwill SWPA is a diversified nonprofit human service agency that serves southwestern Pennsylvania and north central West Virginia and manages several affiliate units and special-purpose entities, including Goodwill Commercial Services, Inc. and Mission Logistics, LLC. The agency operates 34 retail stores and several other businesses to help fund programs and to provide job training, education and related services to help people overcome employment barriers. The organization serves over 10,000 adults and youth annually while employing over 1,000 people with an annual budget of over $60 million.

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