Carl Van Horn, Ph.D., is the founding director of the John J. Heldrich Center for WorkforceDevelopment, one of the nation's leading university-based research centers for the study of work and the labor market. He is a widely recognized expert on workforce, human resources, and employment policy issues, with extensive experience in public and private sector policy making.

Van Horn has written more than 100 articles and 18 books. His most recent books are Working Scared (Or Not at All): The Lost Decade, Great Recession, and Restoring the Shattered American Dream and Investing in America’s Workers.

In 2018, Van Horn was appointed by New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy to the state's Jobs and Economic Opportunity Council and as a Senior Advisor to the Governor. He is also a Visiting, Non-Resident Scholar with the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. From 2006 to 2010, he was the chair of the board of directors of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority.  He also has served as senior economist for the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress, and director of policy for the State of New Jersey and member of the Commission on Science and Technology.