Dr. Roy Swift is the executive director of Workcred and served as the chief workforce development officer at the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). His previous position at ANSI was as the senior director of personnel credentialing accreditation programs, where he built ANSI's internationally recognized personnel credentialing accreditation programs. Prior to ANSI, he was a consultant to educational, certification, licensure, and health care organizations. From 1993-1998, he was executive director of the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT). This appointment followed a 28-year career in the United States Army Medical Department. In his last position, he was chief of the Army Medical Specialist Corps in the Army Surgeon General’s Office with policy responsibility for Army occupational therapists, physical therapists, dietitians, and physician assistants throughout the world.
He has served on many national committees, non-profit Boards of Directors, and federal and state government advisory committees. He currently serves on the Apprenticeship Powered by Industry (API) Working Group and the Executive Advisory Council at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science’s Interprofessional Healthcare Workforce Institute. Dr. Swift has served as chair of the Assembly of Review Committee Chairs of the former Council on Allied Health Education and Accreditation of the American Medical Association; chair of the American Occupational Therapy Association Accreditation Committee (Academic Accreditation); and on the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs Advisory Committee for Certification. Dr. Swift recently served on an Institute of Medicine of the National Academies Panel dealing with Provision of Mental Health Counseling Services under TRICARE, and a planning committee for the future of Allied Health Practice. In addition, Dr. Swift recently chaired an international working group within the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) to recognize personnel certifications among member countries through the development of multilateral recognition arrangements. He is also active on working groups related to personnel credentialing in the International Organizational for Standardization (ISO) in Geneva, Switzerland, and is a guest lecturer at the University of Geneva on credentialing.
Dr. Swift holds a B.S. in occupational therapy from the University of Kansas, an M.S. Ed. from the University of Southern California, and a Ph.D. in continuing and vocational education with an emphasis in continuing competency in the professions from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has also successfully completed the University of Chicago’s three-week management development course.