58th Commencement Keynote Speaker

 

Keynote Speaker
Randy Peers
PRESIDENT AND CEO, BROOKLYN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Randy Peers joined the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce as the president and CEO on September 9, 2019. He brings decades of workforce and economic development expertise, and several years of executive leadership experience growing non-profit organizations that serve the business community.

He previously served as the inaugural president & CEO of the Greater Reading Chamber Alliance (GRCA) in Berks County, PA, overseeing the alignment of the Chamber of Commerce and two economic development organizations.

For over a decade, Peers was CEO of Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow (OBT), a Brooklyn headquartered workforce development organization that was the leading provider of disconnected youth job training services in NYC.

From 2002-2006, he served as vice president of economic development at the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce under then-President Kenneth Adams, developing a portfolio of projects that included the Good Help program, Real Estate Development (RED) industry initiative, as well as developing the concept for the Business Solutions Center.

His non-profit program management experience developed while at CAMBA, one of the largest social services providers in Brooklyn. During his tenure as chair of Sunset Park’s Community Board 7, he saw the completion of Sunset Park High School and three neighborhood rezonings.

Peers holds a bachelor’s degree from Brooklyn College and an MPA from NYU’s Wagner School of Public Service. He was born, raised, and spent most of his professional career in Brooklyn, having lived in five different neighborhoods across the borough.