Dr. Gaal was the Director of Training and Workforce Development for the St.
Louis-Kansas City Carpenters Regional Council. He retired after 40 years of industry
service at the end of January 2019. As a labor representative, John continues to serve on
the St. Louis Airport Commission, St. Louis County Workforce Development Board,
Missouri Workforce Development Board, and International Vocational Education and
Training Association’s Board of Directors (president-elect). He recently completed terms
of service on the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans’ Board of Directors
(Chair, Committee on Apprenticeship, Training & Education), and National Skills
Coalition’s Leadership Council. Since 2018, John completed the Mental Health First Aid
Train-The-Trainer course, NAMI Family-to-Family Teacher Training course, Missouri
Certified Peer Specialist certification, and NWI’s Certified Wellness Practitioner
certification. He is in his 24 th year as a professor of Labor-Management Relations at
Webster University.