Nilda Blanco, Interim President & CEO
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On September 4, 2026, Nilda Blanco was appointed to serve as Interim President & CEO. Nilda is working closely with the Polk County Board of County Commissioners and state officials to provide continuity during this interim period and ensure that CareerSource Polk day-to-day operations and services continue without interruption.
Nilda Blanco has dedicated her 27-year public service career to fostering collaborations that create impactful benefits in communities, through her deep understanding of workforce development, education and community systems. Nilda has worked with various community and business partners to create talent development solutions that provide opportunities for individuals of all backgrounds to increase economic mobility, and for business and industry to access the workforce needed to remain competitive. By providing strategic consultation, she works with nonprofit and government clients to design and implement strategies for growing and emerging demands, identify funding gaps and opportunities, and strategically align efforts with community systems – education, industry, and economic development – to address skills needs.
Nilda served as an executive leader at CareerSource Central Florida for 13 years where she established organizational policies and processes, created a business intelligence approach to inform strategy, designed signature programs such as High School Career
Express, programs for newly arrived workers, and cohort-based academies to support workers with specific employment needs, and attracted grant dollars to support innovative programming. Prior to serving in that capacity, she was a regional manager for a for-profit training program and was responsible for the youth services program for several Florida workforce development boards. Nilda has experience working within a school district and in local government, providing oversight and policy development in the areas of workforce development, housing, education, and health for two elected mayors.
Nilda earned Bachelor of Arts degrees in journalism, mass media, and communications from Rutgers University, and a master’s degree in public administration from Capella University. She has served as a Florida Sterling Council Advanced Examiner and is a
Six Sigma Black Belt. She currently serves on the Leadership Seminole and Osceola Chamber Foundation board of directors.