Per Scholas Columbus Senior Managing Director Jenn Fowler Howard was featured in The Columbus Dispatch for her op-ed centered around embracing diversity in Columbus.

“The heart of Columbus’s tech success story shouldn’t just be about buildings or businesses; we must make room for diversity by empowering individuals from all backgrounds,” Fowler Howard writes. “For me, the future of Columbus’s tech workforce will embody inclusivity and diversity — unlocking hidden potential at every stop, so long as we do the work now to make it happen.”

Read the full op-ed here.

Per Scholas President and CEO Plinio Ayala recently contributed a chapter to Next Generation Evidence: Strategies for More Equitable Social Impact. In it, he recalls Per Scholas’ overnight transition to remote courses as a result of COVID-19. For the two decades prior, Per Scholas conducted our teaching in person to mimic the workplace, which we believed contributed to our success. To keep our training going, we took this as an opportunity to see how our program and learners fared remotely. We began collecting remote participants’ feedback from both the learners and staff. This feedback allowed us to make changes in real-time; we saw what we did right and learned what to improve on. When Barrow Street Consulting conducted an analysis over the summer of 2020, the learner Net Promoter Score was a success – scoring a 67 out of a 100 (the range is -100 to 100, with a typical score in the for-profit sector ranges between a 30 and 40). The feedback from this made us realize that in-person is not the only way for us to successfully provide teaching, and we now continue to offer remote options. 

Read the rest of Plinio’s reflection on this experience here. 

Amazon Business hosted a case study on Per Scholas’s procurement process and featured our story on their website. Per Scholas Director of Procurement Lawrence Chang reflects on how Amazon Business has helped our processes and provided solutions to some of our challenges.

“Amazon [Business] brought us a lot more structure and a lot more control over how we were purchasing,” said Chang.

Read the full feature with Amazon Business here.

Per Scholas Announces Three Senior Leadership Promotions

Poised to Advance Key Initiatives in Enterprise Solutions, Culture Advancement, & Professional Development for Learners 

BRONX, NY (October 31, 2023): Per Scholas, a national nonprofit committed to advancing economic mobility and unlocking potential through technology career training, today announced the exciting promotions of three invaluable leaders: Caitlyn Brazill to Chief Revenue Officer (CRO), Montreece Smith to Chief People Officer (CPO), and Noah Mitchell to Deputy Chief Training Officer (DCTO). 

Caitlyn Brazil is promoted to Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) after successfully holding the position of Chief Development Officer (CDO) at Per Scholas for more than six years. In her new role, Caitlyn will drive a cohesive revenue strategy with consistent messaging aimed at our key stakeholders: employers, philanthropic partners, and learners. She will also oversee three closely interconnected departments: Marketing and Communications, Enterprise Solutions, and Development. Per Scholas recognizes Caitlyn for spearheading the strategic planning and implementation of the organization’s sustainability and growth model, which had a significant impact across all Per Scholas locations. During her tenure as CDO, Caitlyn was instrumental in  providing the necessary resources to quadruple the organization’s annual impact. 

“It is an honor to be elevated to the role of Chief Revenue Officer at Per Scholas,” said Caitlyn Brazill. “It’s of utmost importance for me to use my new position to connect more enterprises with diverse, often overlooked skills-trained talent. Bridging the tech talent gap is more than just filling roles, it’s about fueling economic growth and ensuring a diverse, inclusive workforce.”

Per Scholas’ new Chief People Officer (CPO), Montreece Smith formerly held the position of Executive Vice President, People for Per Scholas, where she played a crucial role in the People Strategy and its connection to the goals of our rapidly expanding organization. As CPO, Montreece will carry the responsibility of driving organizational results through a high-performing culture characterized by accountability, professional growth, psychological well-being, and wellness for Per Scholas. 

Finally, Per Scholas’ Noah Mitchell will assume a new role as Deputy Chief Training Officer (DCTO) that will be pivotal in driving our primary initiatives as we expand to meet our training targets for 2024. This will involve setting performance standards for sourcing learner candidates, establishing connections with our talent solutions pathway, and supervising the professional development of our learners. Noah previously served as the Regional Senior Vice President for Per Scholas and is the former Managing Director for Per Scholas Columbus.

“The recognition of these three incredible leaders at Per Scholas is a testament to their dedication to being a driver of economic mobility,” said Plinio Ayala, President & CEO, Per Scholas. “Their passion, perseverance and commitment to our mission and culture pave the way for all future leaders and will play a vital role in helping Per Scholas ultimately change the face of tech.”

About Per Scholas 

For more than 25 years, Per Scholas has been advancing equity and increasing opportunity across America. Per Scholas unlocks potential for individuals, communities, and employers through rigorous training for careers in tech. Partnering with dynamic employer partners, from Fortune 500 companies to innovative startups, we are building sustainable and diverse talent pipelines, together changing the face of tech. With national remote training and campuses in 20+ cities and growing, Per Scholas offers tuition-free training in the most in-demand tech skills, including Cloud, Cybersecurity, Data Engineering, IT Support, Software Engineering, and more.

To date, more than 20,000 individuals have gained the skills to launch high-growth tech careers, earning three times their pre-training wage. Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging is in our DNA: 85 percent of Per Scholas learners are people of color, two in five are women, and more than half have a high school diploma as their highest education credential. Visit PerScholas.org and follow us on LinkedIn, X/Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

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August 26th marked Women’s Equality Day, and Jasmine Miller’s Opinion piece, “Tech Fields Need More of a Woman’s Touch,” focuses on the need for women’s insight and experience in tech.

Jasmine Miller mentions from her perspective, “Just as diverse teams fuel innovation, better manage risk and create products that cater to a broader audience, so too does diversity drive better results, decisions and products when it comes to technology. Women bring a unique set of experiences, insights and solutions. In a world increasingly driven by technology, omitting women’s perspectives is not just a question of equity but of missed potential.”

Read more from Jasmine’s perspective.

On July 20, Per Scholas Diverse by Design hosted our first-ever Unlocking Potential Summer Concert and Spoken Word Celebration. This hybrid event, produced live from Per Scholas New York and Per Scholas North Carolina and streamed at PerScholas.org/Concert, brought together Per Scholas staff, learners, alumni, partners, advisory board members, and more to rally around our mission to unlocking potential. 

This inspiring event featured talented musicians and poets who work, learn, and partner with Per Scholas, including:

• Deji Adefuye, Per Scholas Dallas Teaching Fellow, who premiered two original songs titled Persevere and You Believe In You
• Melodie Rodgers, Per Scholas Manager of Career Advancement, sharing her original poem, Unlock Your Potential 
• Zaidi Howard, Per Scholas Chicago Teaching Fellow, sharing his original poem, Soul Questions 
• Caprice Green, Per Scholas Detroit Alumna, performing Astonishing from Little Women 
• Mike Terrell, Per Scholas North Carolina Managing Director, performing Tears for Fears’ Everybody Wants to Rule the World 
• Omoanatse McCarther, Per Scholas Diverse by Design Senior Director, sharing her original poem, Forged Key 
• Broadway Star Tim Connell, performing Corner of the Sky from Pippin
• Nonprofit Consultant and Leadership Coach Saundra Thomas, performing her original poem, Silver Linings

Hosted by Executive Vice President for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging, and Culture Ken Walker, viewers had the opportunity to hear from our EVP of People Montreece Smith, Regional Senior Vice Presidents Noah Mitchell, Jaclyn Boyes, and Robin Nadeau, as well as President and CEO Plinio Ayala. Chief Development Officer Caitlyn Brazill delivered remarks live from the Bronx and introduced the final performances. 

Scores of Per Scholians came together for this exciting event; many thanks to Per Scholas Columbus, Per Scholas Dallas, Per Scholas New York Bronx, and Per Scholas North Carolina for hosting on-campus viewing parties.

In closing, the event showcased just a handful of our brilliant Per Scholas alumni, which you can watch here.  If you missed the Unlocking Potential Summer Concert and Spoken Word Celebration, you can watch the recording here! If you feel inspired and want to help unlock potential, please give at perscholas.org/donate.

Earlier this month, Per Scholas was proud to attend and present during several sessions at Horizons, Jobs for the Future’s premier national platform for ideas and action that drive equitable economic advancement for all. This year’s theme, “Without Limits” inspired attendees, encouraged collaboration, and jumpstarted solutions for essential work ahead. Per Scholas Chief of Staff Tamara Johnson and Per Scholas Director of Development Kevin Aspegren attended the summit to gain key industry knowledge and insights aligned with Per Scholas’ commitment to unlocking potential for our learners, alumni, communities, companies, and economy.

Per Scholas Chief Development Officer Caitlyn Brazill spoke during a Pre-Session Panel centered on Skills-First Education and Work with leaders from JFF, Franklin Cummings Tech, and Opportunity@Work, encouraging attendees to embrace skills-first learning and hiring and consider the positive impact to advance Black learners and workers.

On the first day of the conference, Regional Senior Vice President Noah Mitchell shared his insight during the Partnering with Employers to Rethink Talent Pipelines Workshop, sponsored by Charles Koch Foundation. Moderated by Andy Tonsing, Director of Postsecondary Education at Stand Together, Noah was joined by Daniel Cervantes, Senior Vice President of Skills for America’s Future to bring participants through a thought exercise to consider innovative ways to build employer partnerships. 

Noah reflected, “The Workshop was energetic, and participants brought really creative approaches to the discussion. The ability to share just one unique way Per Scholas partners with businesses – in rethinking talent pipelines by developing tech apprenticeship programs – was incredible, and I know it sparked ideas of collaboration for the future. When we invest in programs that work, we all win.”

Caitlyn participated in a panel discussion, moderated by Dan Kamins, Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships at Comcast, titled “Iteration and Innovation: Expanding Access to Digital Jobs,” joining leaders from AZ Cyber Initiative and Hampton Roads Workforce Council. The session convened practitioners, employers, and training and credential providers to share best practices and strategies to increase the number of Black, indigenous, Latinx, people of color, women, LGBTQIA, and other populations underrepresented within the IT industry. 

Common themes throughout Horizons included Artificial Intelligence, skills-based hiring, the importance of digital skills, equity, and considering what individuals can do “without limits” in hiring, training, developing, and retaining talent. 

JFF Horizons sparked many essential conversations around creating economic equity and advancement for all. Per Scholas was thrilled to attend the conference and even more so to share our insight on unlocking potential within our learners by empowering them with new digital skills and sparking new ways of engaging with employer partners. 

Per Scholas Baltimore, led by Managing Director Jessica Diaz Council, was featured in Technical.ly Baltimore, highlighting their skills training and professional development aspects. The Baltimore campus holds mock interviews and headshot lounge sessions in addition to our tuition-free tech training.

The article also noted Per Scholas Baltimore’s efforts to close the diversity gap in tech and recent Bank of America Neighborhood Builders award and featured alumna LaLonnie Moseley’s story.

Read the full story here!

Per Scholas New York Managing Director Debbie Roman discussed our tuition-free tech training on NY1, the 24-hour news network dedicated to NYC, with anchor Ruschell Boone. In her interview, Debbie shared information about Per Scholas’ footprint in New York and our accessibility to individuals in all five boroughs through our innovative satellite training model. She also reflected on how diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging are at the core of Per Scholas and is reflective of the community and culture that lives in New York City.

The feature was during a Women Wednesday segment, where Debbie was highlighted as a woman leader, and she reflected on her 15-year career in workforce development following her move from Puerto Rico.

Watch Debbie’s interview here!

Per Scholas Greater Boston Managing Director H. Kay Howard was interviewed by the Boston chapter of GreenLight Fund, a national nonprofit that helps open opportunities for children, youth, and families experiencing poverty through community engagement and investment. 

GreenLight Fund Boston invested in Per Scholas in 2019 to provide alternative pathways to meaningful, high-paying careers. Per Scholas Greater Boston’s former Managing Director, Robin Nadeau, helped launch, grow, and develop Per Scholas Greater Boston before accepting a new role as Regional Senior Vice President. H. Kay Howard has now taken on the position of Managing Director, and we are excited for all she will bring to the organization as our Greater Boston campus continues to grow!

Read H. Kay Howard’s full interview here, in which she discusses her background, how she came to Per Scholas, the ways in which she exemplifies our organization’s values, and her plans for the campus’ future growth and development.