AULANDER – N.C. Governor Roy Cooper has appointed Roanoke Electric Cooperative Chief Operating Officer Marshall Cherry to serve as an at-large member of the Education and Workforce Innovative Council. Cherry was one of 31 new appointees designated for various state boards and commissions.

The Education and Workforce Innovative Council develops and administers the Education and Workforce Innovation Program (Program). The Council administers the Program and grants competitive awards to individual schools, school administrations or regional partnerships in an effort to advance comprehensive, high quality education. The Council also publishes the Program annual report.

“The rapid evolution of technology creates a great need in our industry to meet the equally evolving demands of serving our co-op member-owners,” said Cherry. “In order to meet the demand, we must recruit and retain a skilled workforce of individuals educated in the academic disciplines of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.”

As a member of the Council, Cherry joins fellow appointees working to accelerate successful innovative academic studies and skills development. The Council goal is to graduate every North Carolina high school student as both college and career ready. Key Council and Program objectives are to ensure all students possess job-ready skills, provide more quality education options to parents, enhance teacher and principal effectiveness, leverage technology to accelerate student and teacher learning and align public schools with the state’s businesses, industries, colleges and universities.

“I am honored to represent Roanoke Electric Cooperative by working in this capacity,” stated Cherry. “I look forward to joining the dedicated community leaders on the Council in making innovative STEM educational opportunities available to all North Carolina students and to building a statewide workforce that is second to none.”

Roanoke Electric Cooperative is the non-profit electric utility serving over 14,500 members in parts of Bertie, Halifax, Hertford, Northampton, Gates, Perquimans and Chowan counties. For more information on Roanoke Electric, visit www.roanokeelectric.com.