ERICA R. CANTOR
Administrator, Office of National Response

Erica R. Cantor is the Administrator for the Office of National Response (ONR), in the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration. Ms. Cantor oversees the Department’s response to major economic dislocations due to mass layoffs, plant closures, and disasters. This includes the administration and oversight of the Workforce Investment Act’s National Emergency Grants to states that train and employ workers dislocated or laid off because of base realignments (BRAC), natural disasters, industry downsizing, or terrorism. She is responsible for rapid response activities that address employment and training needs of both employers and employees when a company experiences a large layoff. Ms. Cantor also oversees the Department’s Trade Adjustment Assistance program which provides funding to enable workers adversely impacted by imports or shifts of production overseas to retrain and become reemployed quickly.

Prior to joining ONR, Ms. Cantor served as Comptroller and Budget Officer for the Employment and Training Administration, overseeing the financial and budget activities of an agency with an $11 billion annual budget.

Ms. Cantor holds Bachelor’s degrees in Political Science and Psychology from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Florida International University in Miami, Florida. She has also completed the Senior Managers in Government program at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She lives in Bethesda, Maryland with her husband and two children.