The International Association of Workforce Professionals held its 105th conference this past June to discuss the latest trends and information relative to workforce professionals. Currently, the United States is trying out for solutions to its growing jobs crisis. Many adults—particularly individuals with no more than a high school education—struggle to obtain and maintain jobs that pay enough to support their families and permit upward mobility. At the same time, some employers report difficulty finding employees with the right skills to meet their needs.

Per Scholas had the opportunity to screen“Solutions to America’s Workforce Crisis,” produced and directed by the What Works Media Project. Through the stories and experiences of students, program leadership, employees, and employers, the audience was  brought to a shared understanding of what makes training models like Per Scholas successful as well as the potential for positive impact made possible by investing in working models.

Following the film, Jason Skidmore, Per Scholas Advisory Board Member and CEO of Vernovis, led and moderated panel discussion on employer-facing job training, the value of cross-sector collaboration, and using evidence to drive innovation. Panelists included Lauren Moore, Software Quality Analyst, Thrive Impact Sourcing; Leslie Courtney, Senior Director, Kroger; Jordan Vogel, Vice President, Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce; and Paul Cashen, Managing Director, Per Scholas.

The panel discussed a myriad of topics, including the value that Per Scholas training provides to its students, the importance of providing a diverse workforce and the value hiring and community partners.

The panel also highlighted the commitment companies like Kroger and institutions like the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce have pledged to developing the Cincinnati Community.

We’d like to thank all of the panelist and attendees of the panel, and look forward to being a staple in the workforce development community of Cincinnati.

Over one hundred community members, nonprofit and business leaders, and Per Scholas students and alumni celebrated Per Scholas Dallas’ grand opening on June 28th. The brand new facility in downtown Dallas will allow Per Scholas to train hundreds of students a year and grow a diverse, overlooked talent pipeline for area employers.

Community leaders, Ty Bledsoe, Vice President of External Affairs, AT&T and Scott Seeliger, Local and State Corporate and Government Affairs Lead from Cognizant spoke to the strengths and opportunities for partnership. In addition, Per Scholas graduate, Tara Fuller, let the crowd know that progress is a process; her story of self-determination and training at Per Scholas provided a launch-pad that will support her growing career, and ultimately her family.

“I was so inspired by Per Scholas, it has impacted my life so much. It even impacted me emotionally, because when you go through a storm, and all of our storms are different, the impact is the same. You start to feel less than. You start to feel like you’re not worth anything. You start to see life from the darker side.” 

“I think Per Scholas shed a light on my life emotionally, spiritually, and mentally, so much so that I re-enrolled in school for IT. I currently have an associates degree in IT, and I’m continuing to pursue my bachelors in computer science. Per Scholas has played a key role in where I currently am. I’m thankful that my salary has surpassed where I was before. I was able to buy a house and pay off some debt. We’re still a work in progress, but my family has definitely felt the impact of Per Scholas.”      

Thank you to our local and national partners in Dallas and our local advisory board members who have paved the way for informed curriculum, local hiring networks, and relationships that allow our graduates to thrive in the industry.

Per Scholas was honored to have two of our Platform by Per Scholas cohorts graduate in New York and Dallas during the month of May. In addition to 21 graduates in our New York Data Engineering class, we had 10 graduates obtain jobs upon graduation, three of which were hired by Platform as instructors and teaching assistants, and seven of which have been hired by firms like Learnvest and Infosys.

Dallas’ inaugural Platform cohort was a great success with 86% of enrolled students graduating, and 50% of those graduates being woman that are ready to start a career in technology. Not to be out done by New York, Dallas also had 4 students hired immediately after graduation. Thank you to our partners Cognizant, MAKE Corporation, Southwest Airlines, and Aspire Business Solutions for seeing the value that determined Per Scholas graduates can bring to their organizations.

A perfect example of a determined Per Scholas Graduate is Greg Finnell. Greg is the person in the family that can fix anything. “I am kind of like a jack of all trades,” he says. “If a computer was broken, or a router was not working — I was the guy my family would call on to fix it.”

Born and raised in Texas, Greg moved to Houston to pursue a degree in Business Management. Greg says he understood that a degree would provide him flexibility, but he had trouble sitting through classes, and with the increasing cost of education he decided to leave after earning his Associate’s Degree.

Greg spent a period of time working in a low wage customer service job. After hearing comments that “without a four year degree, it would be hard to find more advanced positions.” Greg realized that “I didn’t want to be working next to a fifteen year-old kid who would be making the same wages as me, and that’s when I started looking into certifications. I knew that technical jobs paid more than customer service.”

Like many students, Greg thought that Per Scholas was fake: “I thought it was a lie – but then I thought – if it is true then it can’t hurt.” Greg enrolled in Per Scholas’ entry level IT Support course and earned himself an A+ Certification. After 10 weeks of training he was immediately hired as a Help Desk Support for a technology consulting firm and doubled his yearly income. Greg says, “after I got my A+ certification, it opened up the door for me it, it was life changing and put a fire under me and made me start studying and working even harder.”

Greg continued to work nighttime Monday through Thursday from 8pm-7am, and took another job on the weekends at the baggage claim with American Airlines on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. On his own time he studied for additional certifications, earning three in January and February, and eventually earning his Net+ certification in March.

During that period, Per Scholas reached out to alumni about a new training opportunity with Platform by Per Scholas, a customized training track teaching an Application Support Management course in Dallas. This was a perfect upskilling opportunity for Greg, and offered customer solutions training, project management skills and advanced coding knowledge, all skills he needed in order to advance in the industry. He enrolled in the course, and continued to work nights and weekends. “It was a challenging time, and I did not have much sleep, but I was going to succeed. My dream is to make six figures in my lifetime to support myself, my partner and my family.”

Platform by Per Scholas upskills individuals with previous backgrounds in technology. Greg was able to leverage his IT Support course and working experience at Cognizant to begin learning new skills including several coding languages. “Platform was teaching new information that opened the door for my career. Companies in Dallas are trying to re-train their current employees on new languages and technologies that Platform is already teaching. All of these companies are moving towards ITIL languages, skills I had already learned at Platform.”

Before graduation, Greg was contacted by a hiring team from Southwest Airlines. Within a week he was hired as a Senior Service Desk Technician at $28/hr, nearly three times the salary he was earning before he found Per Scholas. “They found my resume online, noticed that I was going for multiple certifications, that I was a hard worker and that I wanted to continue to learn, and they hired me just like that.”

When asked about the future Greg says “I really like the technical side of these jobs. It gives me a lot of energy and I want to continue to grow. I have a love for travel and like seeing new places. I’ve got some great trips planned for myself and my partner– Paris, Rome and London are on the list!”

On May 17th, Per Scholas was welcomed to the main stage of the Propelify Innovation Festival with partners from Google, Barclays and Prudential Financial to discuss the ways companies can be driving forces behind alternative talent solutions in the tri-state technology community. This was the festival’s second year showcasing innovative products and solutions in the region. Aaron Price, Propelify founder and CEO commented, “If you’re in the innovation community in the northeast you belong here… What is an airplane without forward motion and lift? Just an idea.”

 The session’s host, Carley Graham Gracia, Head of External Affairs at Google, moderated a lively discussion titled “Propelling Innovation: Changing the Face of Tech.” Carley orchestrated an engaged conversation that focused on cross-sector partnerships that have proven impact to build a diverse and successful workforce. The panel included: Sameer Jain, Chief Technology Officer, Barclays; Mekaelia Davis, Director, Corporate Giving, Prudential; Kelly Richardson, Managing Director, Per Scholas; Anthony Pegues, Software Engineer, MM.LaFleur and Per Scholas alum.

 The panel elevated Per Scholas as a proven workforce training model that puts employers at the center of the equation to develop diverse tech talent. Partnering with leaders in finance, technology, telecommunications and beyond, Per Scholas builds industry recognized curricula, tailored to meet specific employer talent demands. The panel followed New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy who spoke to a crowd of over two hundred on the priorities his office has placed on supporting the state’s entrepreneurs and business community as a means to drive innovation and strengthen economic growth opportunities for residents.

 Sameer Jain, representing Per Scholas Champion Partner Barclays, commented that the bank puts heavy priority on teams that look different, think different and therefore develop strong and resilient solutions to the problems of the day. Barclays has enabled Per Scholas to extend training to multiple boroughs and develop a new cybersecurity training track, while bringing in hundreds of volunteers. In addition, the bank has hired over forty Per Scholas graduates, staffing their offices with talent prepared to enter the workforce. Sameer elaborated on Barclays’ continued commitment to Per Scholas that will include resources and thought leadership to help Per Scholas scale impact across the region and serve even more students in 2019.

 Mekaelia Davis, representing Prudential, spoke to the crowd about the strength of the Newark, NJ business and workforce community. “[Newark] is really prime and right for innovation,” Mekaelia said. “We are proud of partners who are building a tech ecosystem. This includes Girls Who Code who is going into their fourth year in the city of Newark, Newark Venture Partners who are incubating tech companies in the city and Apple who has engineers working with our public schools  to design better math curriculum, all so we can build a stronger pipeline of engineers in the city.”

 Kelly Richardson, Managing Director for Per Scholas discussed the value that Per Scholas presents to employers as an alternate talent resource. “What we are starting to see is major employers, Fortune 500s, tech startups, folks here in the audience today, coming to us to say ‘we really care about diversity in our tech workforce and you can help us design a solution to get there’” commented Kelly. “Our vision at Per Scholas is that we can walk into any tech employer in any city in the country and see a workforce that is as diverse and beautiful as the students of Per Scholas.”

 One of those graduates, Per Scholas alum Anthony Pegues closed out the panel with a strong message for employers in the audience. After taking a look at his watch Anthony commented “about a year ago at this time, I would be mopping the floor of a high school auditorium. Now I am sitting on stage talking about my skills and training and heading back to my office to put in work as a developer with MM.LaFleur in downtown Manhattan. What people need is an opportunity, and Per Scholas is able to provide that chance.” 

A note from Ken Walker, Senior Vice President, Core Mission Support:

Jerome Dazzell is a Per Scholas alum who graduated valedictorian of his IT Support class in 2012, came to work for the organization for six years and is now impacting the world of data collection and research management at scale. During his time in the classroom, staff immediately recognized Jerome’s technical skills and business talent. On several occasions, when the instructor was absent for personal reasons, Jerome decided to prepare the evening before to teach the class himself. This demonstrated a tenacity for continuous lifelong learning, a fundamental characteristic within every single Per Scholas student.

Per Scholas hired Jerome after graduation and he has spent the last six years surpassing all of our expectations. The Information Technology and Information System Departments at Per Scholas have been shaped by Jerome’s work. Jerome is credited with architecting the first database Per Scholas implemented to capture student information during the admissions process and he went on to pilot and rollout Salesforce, the existing Customer Relationship Management tool that captures and manages the thousands of data points important to our work. Beyond all of this Jerome has been a kind, generous and brilliant colleague for the last six years.

Jerome has recently accepted a position as a Salesforce Developer with MDRC. Jerome is one of the thousands of Per Scholas students who will never stop learning, never stop growing and making significant contributions to the employers that are lucky enough to hire them.

Per Scholas is one of the employers who benefits immensely from the talent that comes through our doors. Many of my colleagues, the Per Scholas graduates that I work alongside everyday, are proof points of our model at work.

Here’s Jerome’s story in his own words. Thanks for your hard work – and keep working hard.

Ken Walker

I grew up in Guyana with my parents, my brother and my sister. As a family, we were taught that you don’t take anything for granted. Resources were important to us, and while I wouldn’t say I grew up in poverty, my moral compass has been driven by an awareness of the access to resources and learning opportunities that I’ve had in my life.

As a kid, I was very curious about everything. My parents did not consider my sister or myself as “normal”. We were under two years apart and we loved to experiment with anything we could get our hands on. I was seven years old when my parents got me my first Lego set, a tropical island with coconut trees and beaches that I would build over and over again. It was the first and only leggo set I ever received as a child, and it taught me that I loved to be active with my hands.

From then on, I started taking everything apart. The problem was, unlike the lego set, I never knew how to put things back together. My house was an 80s household, 80s pop culture was dominant almost everywhere. There was a song in the 80s called Midas Touch that my father sang, “everything you touch turns to gold.” My father would joke that I was the “anti- midas touch.” Everything I touched seemed to end in pieces. The stereos we had at home- I would break them apart because I was curious what was inside. The fact that I couldn’t put them back together did not bother me, but it drove my parents nuts. This was the case for record players, speakers, computers. At age ten my parents decided to start locking away all of the electronic equipment in our house so I couldn’t get my hands on it.

My parents decided to move to the United States when I was thirteen. They moved to the Bronx so that there would be more opportunities for me and my sister. It was a major decision for our family because they were both successful back home, but like many Per Scholas students, they were determined to find opportunities for our family.

In college, I chose to major in Finance and in my second year I began my first professional job in the banking industry. I was a part time teller, promoted to a personal banker and then operations manager. I was then presented with a unique opportunity to open my own financial center, and at age twenty-two, I had a staff of ten and was responsible for everything in the branch. I felt fortunate being so young to have opportunities to effectively manage people, learn to manage my own time and coach my staff to perform even better. But when the market crashed in 2008 the bank I managed was bought by JPMorgan. I worked under them for a few years before being laid off. I had a few options, but I had reached a point where I was not passionate about banking, and coupled with the stress I decided I wanted to start working with my hands again and that meant technology. 

I knew I had to be certified so I started looking for the fastest way to get my foot in the door and earn certifications. While searching, I stumbled on Per Scholas and enrolled in a fifteen week training to earn my A+ and MCTS (Microsoft Office) certifications. That course was amazing for me, and I pushed myself to succeed. It made the things I did when I was younger more of a reality. But I also realized, that the skills I was learning would not be enough to sustain my entire career. At some point, these skills would be obsolete, and though I was excited to be learning, I realized that I needed to continue to learn and grow at every step in the process.

After graduation, I was presented the opportunity to work for the organization full time. I didn’t want to turn it down, there was a part of me that felt gratitude to Pe Scholas, an organization giving folks this unique opportunity to find meaningful careers. I was hired onto the Admissions team in 2012, and when I started there was no electronic system in place to intake applicants info. We used a filing cabinet that was not alphabetized and could take up to 30 minutes to find a student’s information.

I thought: there must be a better way to organize this material and encouraged the shift for the organization to Google Suite. I started exploring the capabilities of the platform and built an electronic Google form that staff could input student data into a spreadsheet. I continued to work on these types of projects, building systems that would help optimize the work of our program staff and make us a more efficient organization.

After about six months, word got around about the work I was doing and I was tasked to create an online database that would house all of our policies and procedures. This was my first opportunity to work on a national project and I advanced into a new role as Program Operations Manager.

In late 2012 we made the decision to adopt Salesforce as a Customer Relationship Management Tool and I was given another opportunity to project manage the pilot and rollout to staff. I was excited to be working with a data management platform and back to a lot of the skills I had learned in my IT Support class. I was building processes within a tech landscape, developing applications for Salesforce that were customized for our organization and the company gave me confidence to administer the platform — with every new project my skill set grew and grew and grew.  

The first major policy I wrote for the organization was a data use and security policy that still exists today. In addition, I embarked on a project to partner with an external software firm for the companies first Intranet to support a growing national organization.

If there is one great thing I can say about this role is that I have fulfilled my passion for technology- and I continue to fulfill it, however, I’ve also been able to partner with teammates on non-tech initiatives. Performance management is one example where I’ve helped my team members think through how we can use tech to accomplish goals relating to culture or communications.

In my new role as a Salesforce Developer at MDRC I’ll be asked to architect their data models which means creating the blueprint for the ways they manage and report out on data. MDRC is all about research, and they are the gold standard in their industry. I feel like I can add value to their team because I have confidence and a deep understanding of the workforce landscape. From my own experience, from the experience on the Per Scholas admissions team and working on Information Systems for a provider partner, I’ll be able to understand the pain points and limitations of many of the partners that MDRC works alongside. I know right off the bat that there will be projects that I will be thrown into that I am not a master yet, which is one of the reasons I wanted to pursue this challenge.

I am sad to leave Per Scholas. I will miss the people that I’ve worked with who are some of the most amazing individuals that I’ve had the opportunity to know. The people at Per Scholas have helped me grow professionally and personally in so many ways. I am grateful for the trust that the organization has had in my capabilities and I am excited to continue to grow and contribute in this next phase of my career.

Platform by Per Scholas at the Cognizant Bronx Training Center has quickly turned itself into a center of technology learning and innovation in the South Bronx. “It is remarkable to see the growth, especially considering that the first training tracks launched only nine months ago” says James Judge, Managing Director at Platform by Per Scholas New York. “Now, the space is currently training over one hundred students across five separate tracks at any one time. In the morning we are full of students studying before the day’s exercises and we are hosting a guest speaker series in collaboration with Cognizant to bring real world discussions into the classroom.”

Per Scholas Champion Partner, Cognizant, has invested considerable time and resources into the success of their New York flagship pre-employment training location in the South Bronx and a brand new partnership with Platform by Per Scholas in Dallas,Texas. After launching the partnership last summer, six courses have launched including Application Support Management, Quality Engineering, Data Engineering, Security Operations Center Analyst, Java Developer, and Java Basics, an intensive five week Java bootcamp to develop fundamental knowledge in the coding language. New York has enrolled over two-hundred students to date and Dallas has enrolled over sixty students in the last four months. Both locations are training students with material that has been customized to meet Cognizant’s standards and fill their needs in a growing workforce.

The Cognizant Knowledge Sharing Series is an excellent example of the resources and experience employer partners can offer students. Several weeks ago Nitil Kamal, a Client Service Executive at Cognizant, spent a Saturday with Platform students in New York to discuss big data and artificial intelligence trends in the insurance market. Mr. Kamal elevated case studies where big data analysis and smart computer programming can expand business possibilities across a range of sectors. The conversation focused on the impact data analytics can have on profit margins and systems that have been designed to leverage data effectively within a corporation. Specifically, in the insurance business, data analysts are able to predict human and market behavior to determine fraudulent claims. Mr. Kamal commented that he was “very impressed by the technology acumen and intellectual gradient of the students at Platform by Per Scholas.”

“The deep experience and knowledge of the IT industry is probably the biggest asset our partners at Cognizant can provide students,” Judge commented after the day-long conversation. “There are plenty of tech boot-camps popping up in the city, but our main focus is the direct input and feedback loops from one of the most successful employers in the world. Our students are getting face-time with executives and technical teams, and each course module has been identified as a top priority by a hiring partner.”

The knowledge sharing series continues on Tuesday, May 8th, with a visit from Morgan Luniewicz, Consulting Security Engineer with Fortinet. The conversation will examine the software tools and developer knowledge necessary to enter the field.

To read more about Cognizant’s support of Per Scholas, click here. To apply to Platform by Per Scholas’ customized training tracks in New York and Dallas, click here.

In today’s shifting job market, having relevant technical skills is only half the battle of securing employment. Recently, 57 percent of 2,000 business leaders surveyed by LinkedIn identified soft skills as most important to them. With this in mind, Per Scholas has continuously put an emphasis on professional development.

Career coaches of Per Scholas work with students one-on-one, preparing them to become competitive job candidates by graduation. National Capital Region alumnus Ken Curry speaks fondly of his experience with Peyton Brooks, Director of Business Solutions. “Peyton focuses on the person. He knows how to tailor each resume to make students stand out with their unique skills.”

Before attending Per Scholas, Ken never had to job search. He worked in IT for a government contractor, but grew bored with his mundane routine. He then transitioned to the restaurant business. As much as Ken loved the fast-paced environment, working 12 to 14 hour shifts, 6 days a week, left him no downtime to spend with his wife and children.

In search of a more sustainable career, Ken enrolled in Per Scholas’ IT Security course. “It’s life changing for people who put time into it,” he says of his training. Even with prior experience, Ken had more to learn. The IT Security course at Per Scholas was the perfect opportunity for Ken to upskill and earn two certifications. After being out of the IT industry for 12 years, Ken realized that the hiring process had evolved. “With online job boards, it’s tough to get in front of people for an interview.” But Peyton helped Ken keep his resume simple and develop an authentic elevator pitch to attract employers.

During his job hunt, Ken was anxious to get hired. Peyton told him to be patient and broaden his scope. “Do everything they tell you to do,” Ken advises current and future Per Scholas students. After graduating in December 2017, Ken started his role as On-Site Customer Engineer for mindSHIFT, a Ricoh company, in March 2018.

With his flexible new IT job, Ken now has more time to spend with his family. “This turned out to be a great career changer. My position is well tailored to my skill set.” One of the most valuable things he learned from the career coaching services at Per Scholas was realizing his spot in the marketplace or “finding his niche”.

“Two years ago I was a full-time bartender,” Ken recalls. “Now I’m an ambassador for a great company.” Alumnus Ken Curry is just one example of how Per Scholas’ career coaching services are working in communities across the country.

To close out the month of April, Per Scholas was hosted by both Salesforce and Amazon Web Services to screen Solutions to America’s Workforce Crisis, a documentary profiling evidence based programs including Per Scholas. Produced by the What Works Media Project, and directed by award-winning producer Mikaela Beardsley and filmmaker Kristi Jacobson, this documentary follows the lives of three young people, two of them Per Scholas graduates, as they navigate training, placement and career opportunities in an evolving market. 

The week started off with a visit to the Salesforce Tower, where Per Scholas students engaged in a panel discussion about the value of mentorship, and how diversity strengthens change and growth within an organization. That conversation ultimately concluded that a diverse workforce can boost a company’s effectiveness and ultimately strengthen an organization.

The Panel was moderated by Esther Nai, who heads up Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Programs across America and Asia for Salesforce. The other panel chairs were occupied by Ashley Morris, who is a part of Salesforce’s Workforce Development and Education committee; Giselle Jaquez, who Manages Corporate Engagement at Per Scholas; and Helena Hill, a current Network Engineering student at  Per Scholas. Helena captured the audience’s attention when she told a motivational story about persevering through difficult times, and deciding to change her career path despite knowing the financial strain it would put her under. Helena fought through those hard times while living in a housing shelter, and still managed to make it to her classes at Per Scholas, ultimately getting her Network+ certification. She is currently looking forward to kicking off a new career where she can use the skills she has learned at Per Scholas.

After the Panel, Per Scholas students were able to break into small groups for speed interview/networking sessions alongside Salesforce employees. The students learned what a typical day is like from a number of Salesforce employees, and also got some insight into what their new certifications mean on the job market.

At the end of the week, we made our way to the Amazon Loft in Soho where we also kicked off the night with the documentary. The beautiful Amazon space was filled with over a hundred people that included partner employers, Per Scholas board members, and the founder of Per Scholas, John Stookey.

The highlight of the night was the Panel discussion hosted by Ken Eisner, the global lead for AWS Educate, with panelists Alba Teta, who is a Per Scholas graduate and a current Amazon employee, and our own CEO Plinio Ayala. The panel covered a myriad of topics including the value of mentorship, continuing education after Per Scholas, and how local companies can contribute to their communities and partner with workforce development organizations. Panelist Alba Teta offered insight into how immigrants with higher education backgrounds and degrees can struggle when they change markets and move to America. Alba also spoke to the training, mentorship, and placement assistance that she got from Per Scholas, and her career launch with Amazon in New York.

As a special treat, Jonathan Silva, one of the students featured in the film, was in the crowd and had great questions about the future growth of Per Scholas. He praised the training program for completely changing his life and putting him on a new path.

Both screenings were huge successes, and Per Scholas students made great connections with Salesforce employees at both events. We would like to thank our hosts at Salesforce and Amazon Web Services for having us, and we look forward to our continued partnerships in the future.

On Thursday, March 22, 2018, Per Scholas and the Information Technology Senior Management Forum (ITSMF) hosted Diverse by Design, the fifth in a conversation series about building diversity and inclusion in the workforce.

Over 100 leaders representing organizations across the tech, finance and nonprofit sectors gathered at David L. Lawrence Convention Center to engage in courageous conversations about initiatives work to promote diversity in the workplace. Speakers and panelists shared best practices in uncovering unconscious bias in hiring and tactics for C-suite leaders to identify, coach and retain diverse talent across all levels of their organizations.

This page highlights speakers and key learning moments from the event.

WELCOME AND OPENING REMARKS

• Matthew Nelson, Chairperson National Society of Black Engineers

Matthew Nelson, a Chairperson on the board of the National Society of Black Engineers kicked off the event by welcoming guests to Pittsburgh and discussing the growth of NSBE and the benefits of having a high level talent pool as a resource to outside organizations.

 “NSBE is at the point where we are so big that we can only go to certain cities that can accommodate us. That’s a powerful place. 12,600 Black Engineers registered for this years event, the biggest in our 43 year history. This partnership is powerful because we are building a pipeline to talent.”

TOWN HALL PANEL

• Moderated by Erica Bland, Senior Manager,Digital Operations & Business Advisory, Capgemini
• Errika Moore, Executive Director, TAG-Educational Collaborative
• Akissi Lewis, National Talent Development, NSBE
• Tujanna B. Williams Vice President/Chief
  Diversity and Inclusion Officer, Fannie Mae

Panelists from the Town Hall highlighted how employers are championing diversity, inclusion and how companies need to be both nimble and courageous to keep pace with the rampant innovation taking place in the sector.

Authenticity in your work, the value you place in yourself, and your commitment to developing your professional skills was a major motif.

“Being authentic is crucial to success for myself, and for the thousands of students- particularly women that entering and progressing in the job market. Be the wind don’t let the wind push you” -Errika Moore

“No one starts in diversity and inclusion- people come to you because they see your authenticity. If I can’t be who I am in the space that I’m in, then why am I there? It’s about reaching back and bringing along someone else.” – Tujuanna B. Williams

“Exercise those muscles, I have to nurture the skills I have developed and can’t be complacent. You need to take charge. You need to ask for more! Do not undersell yourself”

-Akissi Lewis

IGNITE PRESENTATION

• Dena Jones, Director, Securitization and Servicing Technology, Fannie Mae

Continuing the theme of courageous conversations, Dena Jones spoke to partnerships and programs that Fannie Mae is engaging to support inclusivity within the company.

Dena’s 4 key lessons to building diverse talent as an executive not working directly In the diversity space are:

1. You need senior leadership support

2. You need a value proposition

3. You need to build your internal and external network

4. It all starts with a question

KEYNOTE PRESENTATION

• Yvette Wright, VP, Manager, Program Governance, BNY Mellon
• Renee LaRoche-Morris, COO, BNY Mellon Investment Management

During the keynote conversation Renee LaRoche-Morris spoke from an executives perspective. Her poignant observations highlighted the level of accountability that executives need so that their hiring managers have the capability to take on diverse talent. Having a safe space for feedback loops on all levels was elevated to address any underlying biases team members may have with the hopes of putting people at ease by finding common ground and understanding without judgement.

“I want to make sure we are clear, this is about finding the best talent -not the most diverse talent. But if you are looking, than the best talent is diverse” -Renee Laroche-Morris

CLOSING REMARKS

• Renea Pierre, Director, DevelopmentITSMF
• Damien Howard, Vice President, Social Ventures, Per Scholas
• Ken Walker, Senior Vice President Core Mission Support, Per Scholas

Event hosts Renea Pierre, ITSMF and Damien Howard, Per Scholas closed the event by charging the audience to be courageous, bold and intentional to generate the change needed in the technology sector.

“No such thing as perfection but there is such a thing as proper preparation” -Damien Howard