Staff

Dan Swinney Executive Director Dan founded the Center for Labor and Community Research (CLCR) in 1982 in response to the thousands of manufacturing plant closings in the Chicago area. Prior to founding CLCR, Dan worked for 13 years as a machinist in the Chicago area and organized Steelworker Local 8787 at G+W Taylor Forge in Cicero, Illinois and served as Vice President. Taylor Forge closed in 1983. CLCR is a not-for-profit consulting and research organization that specializes in developing innovative and effective High Road approaches to community development, industrial job retention, education, and business development. CLCR provides these services in Chicago and around the country--working for city and state government, unions, community coalitions, businesses, associations, and others. Dan directs the Chicago Manufacturing Renaissance Council—a regional partnership that brings together the top leadership of Chicago’s city government, labor educators, the business community, and community-based organizations in focusing Chicago’s development strategy and capacity on High Road/High Performance manufacturing recently recognized by Mayor Rahm Emanuel in his “A Plan for Economic growth and Jobs.” Dan helped lead the first replication of this model—the San Francisco Bay Area Manufacturing Renaissance Council. The CMRC website: www.chicagomanufacturing.org These initiatives are now the inspiration behind a National Manufacturing Renaissance Campaign with new efforts in New York City, Newark, and elsewhere. Dan founded a public high school in Chicago—Austin Polytech Academy—that opened in September 2007. This school is preparing the next generation of leaders in advanced manufacturing and focuses on careers in high tech production, management, ownership, as well as careers related to manufacturing outside the company. The web site for Austin Polytech is www.austinpolytech.org This school was identified by presidential candidate Obama as a national model and is attracting national and international attention. Dan went to the University of Wisconsin, graduating with a B.A. in history in 1967. He writes and speaks regularly for manufacturing trade associations, universities and colleges, community development networks, unions, and others interested in promoting advanced manufacturing and its intersection with public interests. Page top

Mary Lou Wattman
Chief Operating Officer

Mary Lou Wattman started her career at Fortune 500 companies in sales and management roles at Procter and Gamble, International Paper and Jefferson Smurfit. She then led a printing and new media company, where she ran a 200-person operation located in Chicago, with a global presence. For over ten years, at her own firm, Mary Lou consulted on numerous subjects including: strategic planning, investor relations, board formation and sales and operation excellence. Mary Lou holds a BA, double majoring, in Economics and Business Management from North Carolina State University. She has an MBA in Marketing and Organizational Behavior from Northwestern’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management. Mary Lou joined CLCR is November of 2010 to provide structured management, strategic planning and processes and planning functions.
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Leonard McKinnis
National Policy Director

Dr. Leonard C. McKinnis is the National Policy Director of the Center for Labor and Community Research (CLCR) and Managing Director of the National Manufacturing Renaissance Campaign (NMRC). In his role as National Policy Director Leonard manages the national and congressional work of CLCR. In this capacity Dr. McKinnis interfaces with the Federal Government, including Congressional offices and the Obama Administration, and national policy and education institutions in an effort to influence the way in which our nation thinks about advanced manufacturing. Additionally, Dr. McKinnis manages the NMRC, a network of national organizations committed to a robust and thriving manufacturing sector in our nation, of which CLCR serves as the managing partner. Dr. McKinnis' portfolio also includes leading CLCR's replication of the MRC model in several US cities.

Dr. McKinnis brings extensive educational and significant professional experience to CLCR. Obtaining his Master of Theological Studies in Theology and Social Justice at Harvard University, Dr. McKinnis has completed course work at the Harvard Divinity School, the Kennedy School, and the Graduate School of Harvard University. Dr. McKinnis earned his Doctor of Philosophy, "With Distinction," at Loyola University of Chicago where his coursework concentrated on Social Ethics and Political Theology. A political science and international relations major in college, Dr. McKinnis has served as a White House intern in the Bush Administration, a graduate Fellow in the United States Department of Labor under Secretary Elaine Chao, and a Chicago Mayoral Fellow in the Daley Administration. Dr. McKinnis joined CLCR in 2010.
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Erica Swinney
Career and Community Program Director (Austin Polytechnical Academy)

Erica Swinney has worked for the Center for Labor and Community Research (CLCR) since 2008 as the Director of Career & Community Programs serving Austin Polytechnical Academy, an innovative Chicago Public High School on Chicago's Westside. Erica was responsible for successfully developing, implementing, and managing a dozen or so career preparation initiatives for Austin Polytech students during the formative stages of Austin Polytech’s development. Erica continues to work closely with Austin Polytech students on a variety of leadership programs related to careers, entrepreneurship, economic & community development including starting initiatives such as: co-leading a trip with 9 students to Mondragon in Spain in 2009, Sustainability Leadership Club, Patent Law Savvy Workshop, SkillsUSA chapter, and a student-owned manufacturing business planning process.

Before joining CLCR, Erica worked for over 5 years in the Environmental Justice Movement as a bi-lingual community organizer, grassroots leadership trainer, and program manager for several organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area and California’s San Joaquin Valley. Prior to that, she completed her MS in Ecology at San Francisco State University and worked on habitat restoration projects around the SF Bay Area. Erica served 2 years in Peace Corps Paraguay and 18 months in Americorps after completing her BA in Integrative Biology at the University of California at Berkeley. Erica was born and raised on the Westside of Chicago and is a product of Chicago Public Schools.
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Ingrid Gonçalves
Communications Director

Since joining the staff in 2008, Ingrid has managed all aspects of CLCR communications, including public relations campaigns, website redesigns, direct marketing, and event promotion. Her writing and photographs have appeared in various industry publications. Ingrid holds a B.A. in Political Science and International Studies with honors from the University of Chicago.
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Bruce Braker
Director of the Chicago Manufacturing Renaissance Council

Bruce Braker served on the staff of the Tooling & Manufacturing Association for 38 years and was TMA president for 27 of those years.  In 2010 he was presented with the Winzeler Award for distinguished service to TMA and the industry.  He was co-founder and CEO of TMA’s wholly-owned subsidiary TMA-Benefit Services, Inc., a health insurance agency and was co-founder and Secretary/Trustee of the TMA Education Foundation.  He served as Secretary/Trustee of the TMA Group Insurance Trust and the TMA Retirement Trust.  He developed and implemented many of the services TMA offers today.  Having a strong interest in workforce development he was a founding board member of the National Institute for Metalworking Skills and presently serves NIMS as an Executive Committee member and treasurer.  Bruce graduated in 1970 from Western Illinois University with a B.A. in Economics, and a minor in Sociology and has taken MBA courses at NIU and Roosevelt.  Bruce will serve primarily as Director of the Chicago Manufacturing Renaissance Council and will work to build a strong CMRC link with the manufacturing community.
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Dr. Amara Enyia
Policy Director

Amara Enyia has her Ph.D in Educational Policy with a focus on evaluation methodology as well as a law degree where she focused on education equity litigation, contracts and negotiations, environmental law and policy, human rights, corporate law and international law. Dr. Enyia also received a Masters degree in Education and has worked as a principal researcher on projects funded by the Ford Foundation, Spencer Foundation, and National Science Foundation. She worked as a Public Policy Analyst mainly on issues of economic development, community development, housing policy, public safety, food security and education policy in the Mayors Office under Mayor Richard M. Daley before joining the CLCR staff.
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Melanie Zech
Chief Financial Officer

Melanie is a CPA and has her B.S. in Accounting from Minot State University in Minot, North Dakota.  She worked previously as an income tax and cash manager for SPSS Inc., a statistical software developer.  Prior to that, she was a litigation consultant for Coopers and Lybrand, calculating damages in intellectual property infringement matters. She has also served as treasurer for her local condominium board and PTA.  Melanie joined CLCR in early 2011.
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