Frank Alvarado, Director of Research and Data Management at Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC), recently qualified as a Certified Economic Research Professional. 
Alvarado is one of only four researchers in Pennsylvania to achieve the CERP designation. It is from The Council for Community & Economic Research (C2ER), the nationally recognized, trusted leader in the community, economic, and workforce research field.
To attain the certification, Alvarado presented on the development of LVEDC’s Hot Careers Dashboard, an interactive digital resource created to help students and job seekers explore careers. He demonstrated how that project required a broad range of research skills and understanding of data, concepts, and storytelling.
He also submitted a portfolio showing experience working on a variety of projects.
“Your application, submitted projects, and final presentation demonstrated a strong mastery of economic and workforce research, exceptional communication skills, and proactive leadership,” the CERP review team said. “In particular, your webinar stood out as an excellent example of data-driven storytelling, your ability to incorporate feedback effectively, and your skill in coordinating and managing a team to achieve a common goal.”
“It’s rewarding to receive this special designation, especially coming from peers whose work I respect very much,” Alvarado said. “Research plays a central role in the work that LVEDC does with our partners to support economic growth and create opportunity.”
The Hot Careers Dashboard is part of LVEDC’s award-winning talent development, attraction, and retention strategies, led by Karianne Gelinas, LVEDC’s Vice President of Regional Partnerships & Talent Strategies. The dashboard, developed and maintained by LVEDC, was created with input from Lehigh Valley employers and educators to be a tool for researching careers that are growing in the Lehigh Valley’s major industry sectors.
Anywhere on the dashboard that an occupation is listed, users can click in and learn more about it through the accompanying links that provide data such as average annual wages; education requirements and Lehigh Valley education institutions that offer that curriculum; and job posting counts.
The dashboard has been recognized with awards from the International Economic Development Council and C2ER.
"Frank has an amazing ability to uncover the story behind the numbers and the expertise to build powerful tools that make data more accessible to the Lehigh Valley. His certification from such a nationally recognized authority not only affirms his expertise but also connects LVEDC with a community of highly skilled professionals for deeper insights and perspectives into the data we use to understand our region," said Nicole Radzievich Mertz, LVEDC's Vice President of Marketing, Communications, and Research.
Alvarado is a member of C2ER's Regional Chapter committee, a group of regional economic development researchers across the U.S. that meets monthly to discuss data resources, challenges, and their current projects.