The resignation of Traci Marques, chief executive officer of the Pikes Peak Workforce Center, is a loss for Teller County. Under Marques’ direction, the workforce opened a satellite office in the Aspen Mine Center. Brent Kennedy is the workforce development specialist in the Cripple Creek office.

 “We are sorry to see Traci go; she is an employee of El Paso County,” said Teller County Commissioner Bob Campbell, who is a member of the workforce consortium executive board.

Campbell announced the resignation at the commissioners’ meeting June 25.  While there has been no public explanation for Marquese’s sudden departure last month, Campbell said that workforce officials were still working through a lawsuit.

According to an article June 18 in the Colorado Springs Gazette, the workforce is suing the Colorado Department of Labor & Employment and the Colorado Personnel and Administration over a dispute about pandemic relief funding.

Marques was a familiar figure in Teller County, giving annual reports to the commissioners and attending events by the Greater Woodland Park Chamber of Commerce.

Deb Miller, the chamber’s president, is a member of the Pikes Peak Workforce Development Board and past chairman. “As a rural representative, I can say without hesitation that Teller County always had a seat at the table because Traci made certain our voices were heard,” Miller wrote in an email. “Whether working with local businesses, collaborating across Colorado, or representing our region on the national stage, she consistently ensured that rural communities were recognized as an essential part of the workforce conversation.”

Marques recently represented the Pikes Peak Region in discussions at the White House and with leaders in Washington, D.C. “While there, Traci shared the successes, challenges, and innovations occurring in the region,” Miller wrote. “To have someone from our local workforce system invited to help shape national workforce discussions speaks volumes about the respect she earned throughout the industry.”