CareerSource interim CEO Steven Meier announces retirement

Steven Meier, who was named interim CEO of CareerSource Pinellas in 2022, is stepping down. Meier was at the helm when the workforce development organization merged with CareerSource Hillsborough last year.

He joined CareerSource Pinellas in 2018 as Chief Financial Officer. “I always said I was going to retire at 63 and a half,” the New York native told the Catalyst. “I missed it by six months.”

Meier intends to travel, and “improve his golf game,” he explained. “I’ve been working for over 40 years; I’ve worked for eight employers in five different states. It’s time.”

Keidrian Kunkel, who became the newly-merged organization’s President and CEO in January, said she was grateful for Meier’s leadership and vision – along with other contributions both tangible and less so – during a difficult time.

“It’s never easy when you’re merging two organizations with different sets of standards and things like that, but I think he did a wonderful job navigating that phase,” she said.

“He’s given me entre into some very key relationships, and really put a strong platform in place for us to continue to work from.”

Steven Meier, left, with newly-hired CareerSource CEO Keidrian Kunkel and board chair Barclay Harless.

Kunkel praised Meier and his 60-member team for growing CareerSource under Florida’s 2021 workforce REACH (Reimagining Education and Career Help) Act. “They were able to maintain an A-level grade from the state under the REACH Act,” she said. “And that’s really, really stellar. Not every region is able to do that.”

Despite historically low unemployment, Meier and team successfully worked with employers to implement second-chance employment opportunities, further expanding workforce accessibility.

Meier took the reins during a period of unprecedented turmoil at CareerSource. He was appointed interim CEO following the departure of executive officer Jennifer Brackney, who resigned in 2022 after accusations surfaced of multiple improprieties, including “fostering a toxic work environment.”

The agency was down to 38 full-time employees.

Brackney had succeed embattled CEO Edward Peachey, who was fired in 2018 for falsifying records and other misdeeds. Peachey was in charge of both then-separate CareerSource operations, in Pinellas and Hillsborough.

Meier said his proudest accomplishment was “bringing the organization out of the depths of where they were when I was appointed. The morale was really bad. I’ve had people who left the organization three, four years ago because of the culture, come back because of what we did.”

During his tenure, “we were able to better serve jobseekers and employers. We improved our employee engagement significantly, just within six months. We were collaborating with the leadership team, we revitalized relationships with training providers, employers, community partners that had been neglected, while also forging new relationships.”

Meier was in the running for the full-time CEO position, and ready to commit, he said, to at least three years. “I did go through the interviews, I thought I got a fair opportunity, but the selection committee and the board decided to go elsewhere. And they have a fine CEO in Keidrian.

“I think it makes sense to bring in somebody from outside, who isn’t tied to the community.”

Kunkel had spent nearly a decade with Eckerd Connects in Charleston, South Carolina, most recently (since 2020) as Senior Operations Director.

She was among the staff and board members paying tribute to Meier at Friday’s board meeting, held via Zoom. The terms of Meier’s severance package were unanimously approved.

“These past three years, Meier told his colleagues, “I could not have done it without the leadership team that I put in place, as well the Pinellas board members. Your leadership, expertise and dedication to our mission were instrumental in navigating the challenges and triumphs.”

He thanked CareerSource employees, “for believing in me, and always having my back. It’s been an honor to serve, and leave knowing the future of CareerSource Hillsborough Pinellas is in good hands.”