Peter Beard, vice president at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, works to advance the Foundation’s workforce mission with a focus on growing the portfolio and increasing its visibility and influence nationally. He also provides leadership over—and serves as spokesperson for—a portfolio of workforce development projects and initiatives and supports education and workforce policy with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the America Works initiative.

Before joining the Foundation, Beard was senior vice president of Regional Workforce Development at the Greater Houston Partnership where he led the Partnership’s UpSkill Houston initiative—a nationally recognized employer-led collaborative of business, industry, education, and community leaders focused on developing a work-ready workforce. UpSkill Houston was one of seven initial pilot sites to implement the Talent Pipeline Management® (TPM) strategies, and Beard has been a TPM faculty member and fellow at the Foundation.

He comes to the Foundation with a broad range of professional experiences. He has served in executive roles at United Way Worldwide and the Fannie Mae Foundation. Earlier, he served as general counsel at Habitat for Humanity International and was in private legal practice at Semmes, Bowen & Semmes.  

Beard is a member of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas’ Community Advisory Council, Davidson College’s board of visitors, LISC Houston’s Local Advisory Committee, and Artspace Projects’ board of directors. He is a senior fellow with the American Leadership Forum in Houston.

He received his A.B. in economics from Davidson College (North Carolina) and J.D. magna cum laude from Syracuse University College of Law.