Workforce Development Pioneer Penn Foster Appoints Misty Frost as CEO

Frost to Lead Continued Scaling of Business Amid Unprecedented Demand in Labor Market

Penn Foster, the nation’s largest workforce development platform,announced the appointment of Misty Frost as Chief Executive Officer. Frost most recently served as CEO of Carrus, a leading online healthcare training and professional development provider, which combined with Penn Foster in October 2021. Frost is a seasoned business leader with valuable experience in emerging labor market dynamics and deep knowledge of the workforce training landscape. She succeeds Frank Britt, who served as CEO for a decade and remains on Penn Foster’s Board of Directors.

Under Frost’s leadership, Penn Foster will continue to expand its pioneering approach to middle-skills career development programs that are tailored to the needs of employers. In addition, Frost will focus on expanding the company’s healthcare training capabilities in order to address talent shortages in allied health and skilled trades, which continue to suffer from persistent labor shortages and are estimated to be among the fastest-growing segments of the economy by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“I’m honored to lead an organization with more than a century of experience helping people receive affordable, career-focused training in order to advance and thrive in their careers,” said Frost. “Preparing today’s learners with the necessary skills to connect them with in-demand jobs, while ensuring employers can offer ongoing skills development to employees that move their career forward, is core to  job-tech market. Our work is about joining forces with employers nationwide to equip people with the skills to compete in tomorrow’s labor market — while addressing  talent gaps.”

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Following the combination of Penn Foster and Carrus in October 2021, Frost continued to oversee Carrus, while leading the integration of Penn Foster’s digital and data driven learning solutions across the company’s combined platform. Frost has more than two decades of experience in education technology, and prior to Carrus, served as Senior Vice President at educational software developer Instructure.

“Misty’s deep industry expertise and strategic vision aligns perfectly with the next chapter of growth for Penn Foster during this crucial period for workers across the country,” said Ian Blasco, Penn Foster Board Member and Partner at Two Sigma Impact. “It is a critical time to train and mobilize the workforce of the future and Penn Foster plays an important role as a driving solution. Misty has experienced Penn Foster’s culture and values first hand, and she is the right person to further Penn Foster’s mission and create pathways for all to build a stronger and more equitable labor market.”

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“Misty’s combination of strong leadership and unique understanding of the employer and employee relationship make her the ideal person to lead Penn Foster through its next phase of growth,” said Tom O’Rourke, Penn Foster Board Member and Partner at BayPine. “Since the Penn Foster and Carrus combination, we’ve seen immense progress integrating Penn Foster’s educational tools with Carrus’ career placement services to provide skills-based training and job placements across fast-growing industries like healthcare. We look forward to continued success for the company under Misty’s stewardship.”

Penn Foster is a leader in middle-skills career development and its digital curriculum helps more than 450,000 learners acquire new skills each year, including 115,000 participating in its healthcare training programs.

About Penn Foster
Penn Foster is bridging the gap between education and economic opportunity to build the workforce of tomorrow. We partner with employers to design and deliver digital and blended learning programs that attract, upskill, and retain workers in America’s fastest-growing fields and professions. With more than 40,000 graduates each year, Penn Foster helps individuals discover pathways to opportunity through accredited diploma, certificate and degree programs that matter in the world of work.

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