People — Chief Executive Officer

In August 1999, the Board of Directors of the Center for Employment Training unanimously selected Hermelinda Sapien as President / Chief Executive Officer of CET following the retirement of Russell Tershy, who had served in this position for 32 years.

Hermelinda Sapien has been a member of the Executive Management Team for The Center for Employment Training (CET) since it’s inception in 1967. Prior to CET, Hermelinda worked in a demonstration program funded by the U.S. Department of Labor for the purpose of opening opportunities for Latinos in MDTA programs.

Ms. Sapien was the first Executive Secretary at CET for Russell Tershy, the co-founder of CET, while also responsible for administrative duties for the CET Board of Directors and CET's co-founder, Dr. Antonio Soto. Because she was involved in the development and expansion of the program from the beginning, her responsibilities increased as the program grew. She successfully managed CET's administrative support units until she was appointed to establish and run the Corporate Department of Human Resources; she directed this HR Department for 18 years. In this role, she developed procedures, systems and training programs for management and line staff, and was designated by the Board of Directors to be the Affirmative Action and Grievance Officer for staff, students and community. For many years, additional responsibilities included CET legal and personnel matters.

In 1987, as the CET program began to gain growth momentum, the position of Deputy Director was created and Ms. Sapien was appointed to this new post. The primary focus of this newly created executive position was direct supervision of training operations for the rapidly expanding family of CET vocational training centers, nationwide.

Ms. Sapien has led successful campaigns for funding initiatives and opposed funding cuts on behalf of CET at the local, state and national levels. She has directed numerous CET community outreach programs, some of which have involved public events for over 10,000 people.

Honors

During the 1970's Ms. Sapien was a lecturer and Ambassador in the Cursillo Movement: a dynamic leadership-training program in the Catholic Church, founded in Northern California by Dr. Antonio Soto.

In 1990, the newly appointed Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Dr. Henry Cisneros, invited Ms. Sapien to become a member of the Transition Team of President Clinton's Administration.

Ms. Sapien was recipient of the 1993 Human Relations Award in Santa Clara County and a nominee for the Women of Achievement Award. Her parents and entire family (Hermelinda is one of nine children) were honored in 1992 as recipients of the Family of the Year Award in Santa Clara County for their exemplary commitment to alleviating social ills.

Hermelinda Sapien is a graduate of Durham Business School and of Stanford University's prestigious Executive Management Program.

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