Edward Lada Jr.

As president and CEO of Goodwill Keystone and Goodwill Keystone Area Foundation, Edward Lada Jr. steers a $102 million social enterprise that fuses sustainability, AI, and human empowerment across 22 Pennsylvania counties and employs more than 1,500 people. He joined the organization in 2021. Lada is also an adjunct professor at Penn State Harrisburg, teaching an AI Experiential Learning Lab.

Lada launched the first Goodwill-led AI literacy program in December 2023 and led the creation of the WOW program, formerly known as Women of Wealth, which equips individuals with entrepreneurial and AI knowledge to build generational stability.

Lada has served as founder and cochair of Goodwill Industries International’s Emerging Trends Task Force; led national work on AI adoption and reverse supply chains; and advised major institutions including Penn State Harrisburg, Xavier University of New Orleans, and Goodwill locations across the country on AI adoption. He received the 2025 Sustainability Champion International Award, the Circular Economy Industry Award, and recognition in the Central Penn Business Journal’s Power 100, among other honors.

Lada has a master’s in public administration from Marist University and a bachelor’s of social science from Loyola University of New Orleans. He also has credentials from MIT Sloan School of Management and Harvard Kennedy School.