Advancing Talent and Equity Toward a Thriving Economy
Beyond its death toll and healthcare tragedies, the pandemic and subsequent recession highlighted and deepened our city’s already unbearable inequity and uneven access to economic growth. Over one million New Yorkers lost their jobs. And while the job losses impacted workers across every socioeconomic experience, the losses disproportionately impacted women, people of color, low income workers, immigrants and historically marginalized New Yorkers.
These are the New Yorkers that our members never stopped supporting through training and job placement services over the last two years despite a skyrocketing demand for workforce services, while budget cuts, staff layoffs and burnout ran rampant. In fact, our members met the pandemic’s turmoil with incredible innovation and urgency - pivoting programming, developing digital curricula, and deepening wraparound services.
As you will see in the pages before you, we at the Coalition aimed to meet 2021 with parallel innovation and urgency. We broadened our capacity by welcoming three colleagues to our staff and grew our membership to over 200 workforce organizations. We fostered new partnerships with employers, policy makers, advocates and experts to ensure that our solutions are as intersectional as the issues we face. We fought to reinstate City funding lost during 2020’s budget cuts and build up new resources. We ensured that talent development is at the center of New York City’s economic recovery and the next Mayoral administration and City Council. Most of all, we affirmed that advocacy and collaboration work.
In 2021, our advocacy was driven by the core need for New York City leadership to develop a robust workforce and economic recovery plan to tackle the scale of unemployment and business loss that our city is facing.
To build the inclusive and equitable economy New Yorkers want, 2022 must be a time of action, investment and imagination. I am so proud and grateful to lead this strong and diverse Coalition, and look forward to the work before us.
In solidarity,
Jose Ortiz, Jr.
CEO
The New York City Employment and Training Coalition (NYCETC) brings together New York City’s community of talent development organizations, colleges and universities, labor unions, and businesses to understand our collective training and talent needs.
Through conducting research, hosting panel discussions and peer-to-peer roundtables, issuing surveys, and more, NYCETC maintains a pulse on how the workforce development community is thinking at large, keeping track of its successes, challenges, and opportunities to improve.
With this shared focus on strengthening New York City’s workforce development community, NYCETC actively fosters cross-collaboration among various nonprofits, educational institutions, unions and businesses to create more inclusive economic outcomes.
The Coalition is composed of 200 workforce development service providers, educational institutions and labor management organizations that provide job training and employment services to over 600,000 New Yorkers. Since 2018, our coalition has grown by nearly 40%, making us the largest city-based coalition focused on talent development in the country.
NYCETC’s members are the foundation to all of our work. Their ideas, expertise, frustrations and aspirations for their clients and job seekers fuel our own expertise, policy recommendations and advocacy. Members connect underserved New Yorkers to career opportunities so they can support their families and thrive within their communities. Program models run a huge gamut - from high school equivalency and adult literacy programs to micro-credentials, 15 week technical training programs and apprenticeships, and everything in between. These programs serve every New Yorker - and especially New Yorkers with low- or moderate-incomes, New Yorkers of color, New Yorkers with multiple barriers to employment, and New Yorkers who have been left out of the growing economy due to systemic and historic marginalization.
Our monthly Member Spotlight series highlights different member programs and the ways in which workforce organizations have shifted their services to best support their clients and communities during the Covid-19 pandemic and within the post-Covid economy. The entire spotlight series can be found on our website.
NYCETC’s programming — ranging from conferences and panel discussions to workshops and peer-to-peer discussions -- creates space for workforce professionals, policy makers, funders, national and local experts, and employers to collaborate, learn and connect.
In 2021, we hosted 15 virtual programs and provided a forum for over 1,400 attendees working to train and place New Yorkers into good careers. While virtual this year, our much anticipated annual conference was held in four parts and covered the role of philanthropy; policy and advocacy; racial and economic justice; and job training providers within the workforce ecosystem.
Past speakers across our events include Governor Kathy Hochul; Borough Presidents Eric Adams, Gale Brewer and Rubén Díaz Jr.; Maria Torres-Springer of the Ford Foundation; Wes Moore, formerly of the Robin Hood Foundation; executives at Google, Nielsen and Bloomberg; and many more. Our workshops and peer to peer discussions create space for workforce professionals to share best practices, explore new training models, and create critical collaborations that enable New Yorkers to access a broader array of services. All events are available on our YouTube channel.
In the summer, we kicked off our multi-part Industry Needs series, which convenes local business leaders to share what they are doing within their borough and sectors to keep businesses open and flourishing, and how workforce development organizations can partner with them. Through these strategy sessions, members discussed how providers and the Coalition can support businesses in regard to equity in hiring practices, community relations, and cultivating stronger bonds leading to greater understanding of local hiring needs.
NYCETC works to discover new and innovative ways to create an interconnected and effective talent development system that meets the 21st century needs of New Yorkers and our growing economy. This means forging strategic partnerships, driving new programs, and publishing original research and policy recommendations. We frequently provide insights and solutions rooted in the workforce community’s best practices and needs to build an economy that works for everyone.
In August 2021, the Steering Committee for the NYC Inclusive Growth Initiative (IGI) released its agenda containing 50+ recommendations for equitable development in New York City. The Inclusive Growth Blueprint is a first-of-its-kind agenda for the Adams administration and the incoming City Council to change the way that development is done to prioritize infrastructure and development projects that proactively address long-standing disparities and meet the material needs of New Yorkers, especially the communities that are usually left out of the decision-making process. The group argues that only such an inclusive approach centered around the needs and ideas of people of color, immigrants, and New Yorkers who drive our workforce and sustain our communities will allow for equitable and sustainable growth.
Announced in November 2020, the IGI was founded by NYCETC, the Association for Neighborhood & Housing Development and Regional Plan Association and is composed of an 18-person Steering Committee representative of the city’s diversity in terms of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, immigration history and status, income status, thought and disability. Members met multiple times through July 2021 to craft the Blueprint, centering on three core pillars - economic development, workforce development, and affordable housing - critical to enacting the values and policies of inclusive growth.
Formed in the fall of 2020, the NYC Workforce Business Council is a group of 23 business leaders that keep the workforce development sector informed about the needs of the business community and act as advocates for the workforce system. The Council includes a variety of employers and business intermediaries in New York City such as the NYC Hospitality Alliance, Google, Amazon and the Chambers of Commerce. This Council furthers the critical role of employers within the workforce system, ensuring that businesses share their professional expertise, networks, hiring needs and sector knowledge with Coalition members, staff, board members and partners, and that their connection to local, state, and national resources and networks support a citywide workforce agenda.
NYCETC is the voice of New York City’s workforce development community and we are committed to holding our leaders accountable. Our work with elected officials and agencies leads us to advocate to fundamentally shift and align systems, investments and decision making processes that fuel our economy toward a talent-driven economic development model, one which recognizes workers and human capital as the primary pillar, creator and source of prosperity and growth within our communities.
Our advocacy is embedded in everything we do. In 2021, our advocacy has been driven by the core need for New York City leadership to develop a robust workforce and economic recovery plan to tackle the scale of unemployment and business loss that New York City is facing.
The dual health and economic consequences of the pandemic have had uniquely destructive consequences on our local and national economy, and magnified flaws and inequities that have long held New Yorkers back from thriving in our city, and businesses from having access to the highest quality local talent. A true recovery for all New Yorkers means being intentional about how we invest in people, community and systems, including getting New Yorkers — especially those with systemic barriers distinguished by race, gender, and socioeconomic status — back to work in good, quality jobs and careers; dedicating assets toward communities and neighborhoods that have experienced disinvestment; and infrastructure that will ensure optimal performance for all stakeholders served by the workforce development ecosystem.
For this reason, NYCETC advocates that City leadership and agencies need to fundamentally shift and align systems, investments and decision making processes that fuel our economy toward a talent-centric economic development model. This framework of economic development recognizes human capital as the primary pillar and source of prosperity and growth within our communities and among our businesses, in tandem with traditional approaches that solely consider labor-market demands and capital infrastructure.
In May, NYCETC and community partners hosted the 2021 Mayoral Forum - The Role of Workers in a Resilient & Inclusive Recovery. Moderated by Errol Louis, the hour-long forum gave the candidates the opportunity to answer a wide range of questions focused on getting New Yorkers into good, quality jobs. The forum featured candidates Eric Adams, Shaun Donovan, and Kathryn Garcia.
Spanning August 2020 through May 2021, our 2021 Mayoral Candidate Fireside Chat Series featured discussions with 10 candidates, enabling the workforce development community to learn about each Mayoral hopeful’s plans if elected to the office of New York City Mayor and their views on the role of the workforce development community in their administration and the Covid-19 recovery.
Between October and December, our Meet the Candidates: NYC Council Speaker series introduced four candidates running to be the next Council speaker to the workforce community. NYCETC members and partners learned directly from the candidates about how they will prioritize workforce development in the next Council cycle, asking questions on issues such as budget negotiation, agency oversight, and the digital divide.
In November, we held a briefing for incoming and returning Council members and their staff to learn about the role that workforce and talent development plays in the immediate and long-term recovery of the city and NYCETC’s ideas for creating high-quality careers for New Yorkers. The briefing established the Coalition as the go-to resource for workforce and economic development, and set the foundation for upcoming legislative and budget priorities for the Council.
Each year, NYCETC organizes its members and partners to collectively advocate for increased investments for workforce development programs in the City’s budget. In response to the continued recession from the pandemic and dramatic budget cuts in FY21, this year we focused our advocacy on restoring funding to pre-pandemic levels and growing Council initiatives that support reskilling and upskilling such as the Bridge Program for Workforce Development, the Digital Inclusion and Literacy Initiative, and the Job Training and Placement Initiative.
Despite the challenges brought on by the pandemic and the current election cycle, we fought long and hard as the budget process unfolded. Our efforts have resulted in securing significant levels of funding for our members’ programs and recovered funding lost during the height of the pandemic’s budget cuts. Based on our advocacy during this funding cycle we saw the below relevant changes.
Job Training and Placement Initiative increased to $8,000,000 in FY22, beyond FY20 allocations of $7,899,200.
Communities of Color Nonprofit Stabilization Fund returned to FY20 numbers, rising from $2,500,000 in FY21 back to $3,700,000 in FY22.
Digital Inclusion and Literacy Initiative increased to $4,590,000 in FY22, beyond FY20 allocations of $3,060,000.
Chamber on the Go and Small Business Assistance increased to $2,388,855 in FY22, beyond FY20 allocations of $1,605,527
The Bridge Program for Workforce Development renewed and increased to $1,000,000 in FY22, beyond $850,000 in FY21.
Construction Site Safety Training returned to FY20 numbers, rising from $1,045,000 in FY21 back to $1,100,000 in FY22.
2021 Advocacy Season Kick OffWe launched this year’s advocacy with our 2021 Advocacy Season Kickoff in April. The event featured speakers Congressman Ritchie Torres (NY-15) discussing Federal efforts to support New York’s pandemic and economic recovery efforts; James Parrott (Director of Economic and Fiscal Policies, Center for New York City Affairs at The New School) discussing NYC labor market data and findings from our joint report on challenges faced by the workforce community over the last year; Phil Thompson (Deputy Mayor for Strategic Policy Initiatives) and Amy Peterson (Director, Mayor’s Office of Workforce Development) discussing the City’s pandemic and economic recovery efforts, including the community hiring bill; NYCETC staff and board members discussed their vision and methodology that informed our 2021 Policy Priorities; and Evelyn Ortiz (Deputy Director, NYATEP) detailing state recovery efforts and ways to get involved.
NYCETC Lobby WeekWe held a lobby week with Council Members, NYCETC staff and 26 members to discuss the work that the Coalition and our member organizations are doing to support the city’s growing workforce and the support our field needs to ensure an equitable and inclusive economic recovery from the pandemic and recession. We met with the following 14 Council Members and/or their staff - Adams, Brannan, Gibson, Grodenchik, Koo, Koslowitz, Levine, Powers, Reynoso, Rodriguez, Rosenthal, Treyger, Ulrich, and Vallone.
NYCETC organized two letters to Mayor de Blasio advocating for a comprehensive jobs and training plan in the Covid recovery and increased funding for workforce programs in the FY22 budget: a letter from 23 Council Members, spearheaded by Council Member Helen Rosenthal, that urged the Mayor to invest $20 million for bridge programs in order to ensure training programs are accessible to all New Yorkers who are currently locked out due to language or numeracy barriers; and a parallel letter signed by 142 Coalition members and partners urging the Mayor and Council to increase investments in a wide range of initiatives, including bridge programs, digital inclusion and literacy, and job training and placement.
In the final days of budget negotiations, we held a virtual rally with 100+ attendees, a dozen speakers, and featured remarks from Council Members Helen Rosenthal, Adrienne Adams, Robert Cornegy Jr., and Barry Grodenchik to urge Mayor de Blasio and the New York City Council to increase investments for workforce development training providers and clients. Attendees also heard from business partners, service providers, and program participants on the urgent need for resources to support training and employment programs as a key strategy of the pandemic recovery.
Responding to the urgency posed in the first few months of the Covid-19 pandemic, NYCETC convened over 80 leaders from the private and human services sectors to create space for a solutions oriented discussion on the immediate crisis of unemployment and small business collapse in New York City that resulted from the pandemic and recession. Together, this group of leaders and experts developed Recovery For All: A Vision for New York City’s Equitable Economic Recovery, outlining strategies for New York City’s recovery in the following areas: the education and training ecosystem for displaced workforce and marginalized communities; relief programs for individuals and hard-hit communities; rebuilding through public works and direct public employment; recovery for local small businesses and nonprofits, and support for new business development.
Invest in Skills NYC (ISNYC) is a collaboration between NYCETC, the New York Association of Training and Employment Professionals (NYATEP), and JobsFirstNYC to make workforce development an economic priority and achieve policy change that streamlines the workforce development system through significant sustained state and local investment. In September 2021, ISNYC released our recommendations for the next New York City mayor to achieve an inclusive and equitable recovery for our city.
In response to the civil unrest and continued harassment and brutality toward Black Americans in our city and country, 90 leaders of Black, Latinx, Asian and Middle Eastern descent published an open letter calling on Mayor de Blasio and City leadership to protect the right to peacefully protest and create meaningful, structural and immediate ways for demands by POC leaders and communities to be heard and enacted. This letter was written by NYCETC’s Jose Ortiz, Jr. with the support of our friends and partners — Steve Choi (New York Immigration Coalition), Janelle Farris (Brooklyn Community Services), Damyn Kelly (Lutheran Social Services of NY), Frankie Miranda (Hispanic Federation), Eileen Torres (BronxWorks), and Jo-Ann Yoo (Asian American Federation).
We proudly supported the following coalitions and campaigns led by our partners and peers in advocacy:
Office of the Mayor Labor and Workforce Sector Advisory Council
Empire State Development and NY Forward Ad Hoc Advisory Council
From Crisis to Opportunity A Policy Agenda for an Equitable NYC led by the Robin Hood Foundation and the Century Foundation
Planning For A Just Recovery: A Collective Crisis Response for an Equitable and Resilient NYCHA led by the Ford Foundation and Hester Street Settlement
Human Services Recovery Taskforce & #JustPay Campaign led by the Human Services Council
New York City Coalition for Adult Literacy (NYCCAL)
Census 2020 led by the Association for a Better New York
Coalition to Advance Nonprofits (CAN) and Nonprofits Make New York led by Nonprofit NY
#UntappedTalent: Inclusive Economies for All led by the IMPRINT Coalition
We continue to bring forward the work our members do each day to ensure that every New Yorker gains the skills needed to earn a meaningful income. Our work as a coalition has been featured over 40 times this year in a variety of local and national publications, including The New York Times, Politico, NY1 and CNBC. You can expect us to build on this momentum to ensure that workforce development remains at the center of the conversation as we welcome the next Mayoral administration.
In unearthing the devastating cracks and inequities that underpin our economy, the pandemic and continuing recession have demonstrated the vital role of an interconnected and equity-centric workforce and economic development system to a thriving economy that works for all.
New York City continues to face a profound public policy challenge of reconnecting tens of thousands of displaced workers to employment, supporting businesses in (re)hiring skilled employees, and helping both employers and employees navigate and adapt to the Covid and post-Covid economy.
Throughout these 21 months and continuing into a slow recovery, workforce development organizations play a crucial role in connecting workers to the labor market and serving those New Yorkers who face high barriers to employment, including those whom Covid has forced into long-term unemployment. Workforce organizations are vital resources with decades of experience, deep community knowledge, and the ability to adapt training, education, and placement programs to best connect new and dislocated workers to the shifting opportunities of the labor market.
Within this economic crisis and heightened need for advocacy and equitable solutions, NYCETC’s voice has become more powerful, inclusive and influential. Bridging the expertise and impact of our growing membership with policy makers and business leaders, our voice is helping shape the city’s recovery to ensure that training, talent development and quality careers — particularly for historically marginalized communities — are at the center.
Our collective strength, impact and advocacy is reflected in the Coalition’s vast representation on Mayor Eric Adams' transition team, including 28 Coalition members participating across a number of committees. NYCETC’s CEO Jose Ortiz, Jr. co-led the Workforce and Economic Development Committee. Our role has helped connect stakeholders across the system to ensure that the incoming administration is well informed and prepared to enact policies that prioritize the workforce needs of New Yorkers. Announced in February 2022, Jose Ortiz, Jr. was appointed Senior Advisor for Workforce Development within the Adams' administration, where he will advise Deputy Mayor for Economic and Workforce Development Maria Torres-Springer on strategies for better coordinating the city’s workforce development programs to aid the city’s recovery from Covid-19 and ensure people from underserved communities have access to good-paying jobs.
Our research and communications are central to our innovation and advocacy efforts. We center our research on the needs of our member organizations and jobseekers, and how City policies and investments can impact their programs and services.
In collaboration with The Center for New York City Affairs at The New School, this report provides insight into the challenges and accomplishments of the workforce development sector over the past year. These include the various ways workforce organizations have developed new digital infrastructure to continue to train and connect people to employment throughout the pandemic, and the negative consequences of government budget cuts.
Follow The Money: Understanding New York City’s Workforce System Funding (2021)Published by Invest in Skills NYC, this report explores our City’s investments in workforce development, a system spanning 21 agencies and 75 publicly funded programs. The research maps out funding trends for these programs and agencies, highlighting gaps in data that are necessary to paint a full picture of the City’s system and improve it.
Bridging New Yorkers Into Good Jobs: A Toolkit for Expanding Bridge Programs in NYC (2020)In partnership with The Door, General Assembly, and Per Scholas, we published a report and toolkit that provides a stronger understanding and set of recommendations on bridge programs, which prepare individuals with the foundational skills needed to enter and succeed in job training programs and careers that were previously out of reach. This was one of seven research projects commissioned by the NYC Economic Development Corporation to develop innovative ways to make good jobs in tech and growing sectors accessible to more New Yorkers.
This report offers a snapshot of the challenges faced by workforce organizations and their clients in the first few months of the pandemic. This was based on an extensive survey of our members and informed our early advocacy with local and state leadership.
Covid-19 Economic UpdatesWe introduced a biweekly economic report to our newsletter prepared especially for the workforce development field by economist James Parrott of The Center for New York City Affairs at The New School. These reports examine labor market data and the impact of the recession on various sectors, demographic analyses, and economic projections that are critical to improving workforce programming and strategy.
Workforce WeeklyOur NYC Workforce Weekly newsletter keeps our community of service providers, elected officials, policy makers, and businesses informed on all local workforce development news, funding opportunities, program recruitment, and job opportunities within our sector. Nearly 6,000 New Yorkers engaged with 50 editions of our newsletter in the past year.
Recovery For All: A Vision for New York City’s Equitable Economic Recovery (2020)As an immediate response to the pandemic and subsequent recession, we formed the NY Workforce Recovery Strategy Group. Composed of over 80 leaders from the private and human services sectors, the group developed a recovery plan centered on small businesses and workforce development for displaced workers and marginalized communities. The final plan informed our recovery strategy in 2021 and engagement with current City, State and Federal leadership and candidates for office.
PHILANTHROPIC SUPPORT | |
---|---|
Foundations | $655,000 |
Corporate | $275,000 |
Individual | $3,813 |
Subtotal Philanthropic Support | $933,183 |
Earned Revenue | |
Membership Fees Program | $116,464 |
Related Income | $21,942 |
Subtotal Earned Revenue | $138,406 |
Total Revenue | $1,072,220 |
Expenses | |
Staff | $656,948 |
Space | $40,181 |
Consultants | $354,061 |
Other | $129,508 |
Total Expenses | $1,180,698 |
CARRY OVER | |
FY20 Carryover | $325,109 |
FY21 Ending Balance | $216,631 |
Thank you to our members for all the work you do to create jobs and connect underserved New Yorkers to opportunities so they can support their families and give back to their communities.
1199SEIU Training & Employment Funds
92Y
ACCES-VR
ACE
AHRC NYC
Alexandria Pang
America Works of New York, Inc.
American Management Association
Andromeda Community Initiative
Association for a Better NY
Association for Energy Affordability
Bard Prison Initiative
Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corp.
Benjamin Jurney
Borough of Manhattan Community College
Braven
Bridges From School to Work
Bronx Community College
BronxWorks
Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce
Brooklyn Community Services
Brooklyn Navy Yard
Brooklyn Public Library
Brooklyn Workforce Innovations
Bruce Carmel Consulting
Building Skills NY
CAMBA, Inc.
Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New York
Center for Community Alternatives
Center for Employment Opportunities
Center for Family Life In Sunset Park
Center for Urban Community Services
Chinese-American Planning Council
City University of New York
CMP
College of Staten Island
Commonpoint Queens
Community Service Society of New York
Comprehensive Youth Development
Concord Rusam, Inc.
Consortium for Worker Education
COOP Careers
Cooperative Home Care Associates
CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies
CUNY School of Professional Studies
Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation
Day Care Council of New York
DC37 Education Fund
Democracy at Work Institute
Diane Edwards
Dress for Success Worldwide
Eckerd Connects
EDSI
Educational Alliance
Empowering Work Advisors
Equus Workforce Solutions
Essteem
exalt
Fedcap Rehabilitation Services, Inc.
Fifth Avenue Committee
Flockjay
Freedom Youth
Friends of the High Line
Futures and Options
General Assembly
Generation
Genesys Works NYC
Goddard Riverside Community Center
Goodwill Industries of Greater New York & Northern New Jersey
Grace Institute
Grand Street Settlement
Grant Associates
Green City Force
HANAC, Inc.
Harlem Empowerment Project
HELP USA
Henry Street Settlement
HERE to HERE
Hostos Community College
Hot Bread Kitchen
iFoster
Independent Electrical Contractors New York Chapter
Institute for Career Development
International Rescue Committee
Internationals Network
ITAC
Jason Schunkewitz
Jennifer Curry
Jeremiah Program
Jericho Project
Jewish Community Council of Greater Coney Island
JLP+D
JobsFirstNYC
John Jay College Institute for Justice and Opportunity
Justice Through Code at Columbia University
Karp Strategies
Kathleen Masters
KindWork, Inc.
Kingsborough Community College
Kura Labs
LaGuardia Community College
Leslie Solomon
Literacy Assistance Center
Little Island
Lower East Side Employment Network
Mandala Café
Marcy Lab School
Maximus
Mosholu-Montefiore Community Center, Inc.
NADAP
New Visions for Public Schools
New Women New Yorkers
New York Association of Training and Employment Professionals
New York Blood Center
New York Center for Interpersonal Development
New York City Economic Development Corporation
New York City Housing Authority
Nontraditional Employment for Women
Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation
NPower Inc.
NY Early Childhood Career Development Center
NYC College of Technology, Continuing Education
NYC Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Readiness
NYC Department of Veterans’ Services
NYC District Council of Carpenters Training Center
NYC Ferry operated by City Experiences
NYC Human Resources Administration
NYC Kids Rise
NYC Labor Market Information Service
NYC Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities
NYC Mayor’s Office of Workforce Development
Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow
Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute
Part of the Solution
Path to Jobs
Per Scholas
Perch Advisors
Phipps Neighborhoods
Pilot Pipeline
Project Renewal
Public Works Partners
Pursuit
Queens Chamber of Commerce
Queens Community House
Queens Public Library
Rae Linefsky, ACEUM
Rebuilding Together NYC
Red Hook Initiative
Reel Works
RiseBoro Community Partnership
Seedco
Shorefront YM-YWHA of Brighton-Manhattan Beach
Silicon Harlem
So Harlem
Socrategy
Solar One
Spero’s Hope
St. Nicks Alliance
Stacks+Joules
Stanley M. Isaacs Neighborhood Center
Steve McEvoy
StreetWise Partners
STRIVE
Sunnyside Community Services, Inc.
SUNY - Brooklyn Educational Opportunity Center
SUNY - Manhattan Educational Opportunity Center
SUNY - Queens Educational Opportunity Center
Talk Hiring
The Actors Fund
The Alliance for Positive Change
The Boys’ Club of New York
The Bridge Fund of New York City
The Data School
The Doe Fund
The Door
The Edward J. Malloy Initiative for Construction Skills
The Fortune Society
The HOPE Program
The Knowledge House
The Osborne Association
The Thinkubator
The Urban Wild
UJA-Federation of NY
Union Settlement
United Neighborhood Houses
Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone
Upwardly Global
Urban Dove
Urban Resource Institute
Urban Strategies of New York
Urban Upbound
Voxy EnGen
Wall Street Bound
WES Global Talent Bridge/IMPRINT
West Harlem Development Corporation
Workforce Opportunity Services
Workforce Professionals Training Institute
Year Up
Youth Action Programs and Homes, Inc.
Thank you to our generous funders who make the work we do each day possible.
We are grateful for the generous support from our event sponsors that bring our community together.
Robin Hood Foundation
Robin Hood Power Fund
Ford Foundation
JPMorgan Chase
Amazon
Verizon
Ira de Camp Foundation
Altman Foundation
NYC Workforce Funders
GoVoteNYC
Pinkerton Foundation
NYC Council
Fund for the City of NY
1199SEIU Training & Employment Funds
ABNY
Amazon
Brooklyn Community Services
Brooklyn Navy Yard Corporation
Brooklyn Workforce Innovations
Building Skills NY
CAMBA
Capalino & Company
Center for Employment Opportunities
Chinese-American Planning Council
Civic Hall
Cognizant
Commonpoint Queens
Company
Equus Workforce Solutions
Federal Reserve Bank of New York
General Assembly
Goodwill Industries of Greater New York and Northern New Jersey
Grant Associates
Henry Street Settlement
Hot Bread Kitchen
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Knowledge House
New York City Economic Development Corp.
Nontraditional Employment for Women
NPower
Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow
Per Scholas
Ponce Bank
Queens Community House
Verizon
Thank you to our staff and board whose ongoing commitment ensures that every New Yorker can gain the skills needed to earn a meaningful income and thrive in New York City.
Chief Executive Officer
Annie Garneva
Vice President of Policy and Special Initiatives
Lena Bhise
Senior Manager of Policy and Campaigns
MJ Delgado Ureche Coordinator of Events and Operations
Stephanie Birmingham
Director of Community and Operations
CHAIR
President, Nontraditional Employment for Women
Jennifer Mitchell
VICE-CHAIR
Executive Director, The HOPE Program
SECRETARY
President and CEO, Henry Street Settlement
Valerie Payne
TREASURER
Executive Director, Rebuilding Together NYC
National Director, The Career Center, The Actors Fund
Aaron Shiffman
Executive Director, Brooklyn Workforce Innovations
Managing Director, New York, Per Scholas
Ben Thomases
Executive Director, Queens Community House
Christopher Watler
Chief External Affairs Officer, Center for Employment Opportunities
David Meade*
Executive Director, Building Skills NY
Eileen Reilly
Vice President, Economic Development & Refugee Services, CAMBA
Faith Wiggins
Director Homecare Education Fund, 1199SEIU Training & Employment Funds
Greg Morris*
President and Executive Director, Stanley M. Isaacs Neighborhood Center
Greg Rideout
Chief Program Officer, Commonpoint Queens
Senior Director of Workforce Development, LaGuardia Community College
Helen Kogan
Executive Director, Metro, NPower
Janelle Farris
President and Executive Director, Brooklyn Community Services
Jerelyn Rodriguez
Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, The Knowledge House
Katie Beck Sutler
Vice President of Workforce Development, Brooklyn Navy Yard Corporation
Katy Gaul-Stigge
CEO, Goodwill Industries of New York and Northern New Jersey
Keith Rasmussen
Executive Director, Seedco
Executive Director, New York, STRIVE NY
Liliana Polo-McKenna
Chief Executive Officer, Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow
Mike Dunne
Northeast Director, Equus Workforce Solutions
Paula Bailey*
Executive Vice President, Grant Associates
Shaolee Sen
Chief Executive Officer, Hot Bread Kitchen
Shari Krull
Executive Director, StreetWise Partners
Tom Ogletree
Senior Director of Social Impact & External Affairs, General Assembly
Wayne Ho*
President and Chief Executive Officer, Chinese-American Planning Council
*Chair of a Board Committee