district of columbia youth workforce...
TRANSCRIPT
YO U T H W O R K F O R C E
LEADERSAC ADEMY
District of Columbia
2015–16
The Youth Workforce Leaders Academy (YWLA) is supported by a grant from the Greater Washington Work-force Development Collaborative (GWWDC), an initiative of The Community Foundation for the National Capital Region. Thank you to all the GWWDC members: the Consumer Health Foundation, the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, the Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation, the Moriah Fund, Kaiser Perma-nente, Northern Virginia Health Foundation, Patricia Weiss Fagen, JP Morgan Chase, the Scheidel Foundation, United Way of the National Capital Area, and the Washington Area Women’s Foundation.
YWLA’s content is based on a variety of foundational materials developed by the National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth (NCWD/Youth). NCWD/Youth—housed at the Institute for Educational Leadership—is a national technical assistance center funded by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Dis-ability Employment Policy (ODEP). We would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge ODEP’s signifi-cant investment in building the capacity of youth-serving organizations through the Youth Service Professionals’ Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Initiative (YSP/KSA). The YSP/KSA training modules and materials were heav-ily leveraged throughout this project.
We are also deeply indebted to our guest speakers who contributed their time and expertise:
• Bridget Brown, National Association of Workforce Development Professionals• Taryn Williams, Office of Disability Employment Policy, U.S. Department of Labor • Rochanda Hiligh, Advocates for Justice and Education, Inc.• Peter Guttmacher, DC Trust • Jennifer Thomas, Institute for Educational Leadership• Jennifer Brown Lerner, American Youth Policy Forum• Allison Hagaman, Raise DC• Jaime Roberts, Latin American Youth Center• Raymond Hutchinson, Office of College and Career, DC Public Schools• Thomas Penny, Courtyard by Marriott Convention Center• Sarah Grime, SchoolTalk• Willina Robson, Rehabilitation Services Administration, DDS• Janet Brown, Office of Disability Employment Policy, U.S. Department of Labor
YWLA Staff and Advisors
DC Alliance of Youth AdvocatesAmy Dudas | Maggie Riden
Institute for Educational LeadershipPatricia D. Gill | Mindy Larson | Kathryn Nichols | Curtis Richards | Jenny Stonemeier
The Community Foundation for the National Capital RegionDawnn Leary | Benton Murphy
Special Thanks
Copyright 2016 Institute for Educational Leadership and DC Alliance of Youth Advocates.
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Funded by the Greater Washington Workforce Development Collaborative, the Youth Workforce Leaders Acad-emy is a year-long learning community that supports professionals at District of Columbia youth workforce development providers, including nonprofit and government agency staff, in building their own skills as well as bringing innovative and proven practices back to their organizations. The DC Alliance of Youth Advocates and the Institute for Educational Leadership’s Center for Workforce Development collaboratively lead the Academy.
The cadre of 15 youth service professionals who were competitively selected to participate in the Academy rep-resent a diverse mix of nonprofit organizations and public agencies that provide youth workforce development services. Participants expanded their expertise in providing high quality youth workforce development services through the following Academy activities:
• Completing a self-assessment of competencies in youth workforce development• Attending monthly in-person learning sessions (October 2015 to July 2016) • Participating in online peer-to-peer discussions and expert-led webinars• Creating and carrying out a professional development plan identifying specific actions to address an
organizational challenge or priority and to achieve personal learning goals• Sharing organizational resources and strategies with peers including contributing to a local resource guide
for youth workforce development professionals• Working with a peer mentor for additional professional development and support• Developing and presenting on a capstone project
Topics covered in the monthly sessions include: Foundations of the Work: Youth Rights & Policies; Youth Devel-opment & Youth Voice; Program Design and Delivery; Career Exploration; Workforce Preparation; Assessment & Individualized Planning; Employer Engagement; Access to Resources: Collaboration & Partnership; and En-gaging Families.
The benefits for participants in the Academy include• New resources, strategies, and tools for working with youth• Networking with other professionals from the D.C. region and across the country• Better understanding of own professional strengths and areas for improvement• Knowledge about regional and national policy and innovative strategies• Improved practices with youth and enhanced program activities
The benefits for participants’ organizations include• National resources and frameworks for quality program design• New partnership opportunities with community and national organizations• Staff with increased capacity and resources to share with colleagues• Real-time information about local and national policy trends and emerging practices• Expert-led webinars open to the entire staff that fosters a culture of continuous improvement and
knowledge sharing
About the Youth Workforce Leaders Academy
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Urban Alliancewww.urbanalliance.org
Urban Alliance empowers under-re-sourced youth to aspire, work, and succeed through paid internships,
formal training, and mentorship.
Experience2 years at organization, 8 years in the field
Personal Impact“I learned how to communicate to my youth better through avoiding adultism and shaming. The tweak on my communication style has increased my workshop attendance and overall program performance. I’ve also learned how to work bet-ter with employer partners through assessing their workplace needs to produce the best match for our In-terns. ”
Organizational Impact“Through the Academy, Brittany had the opportunity to share many of the program design resources from the YWLA curriculum with the other Program Coordinators to enforce structure around youth en-gagement and participation. ”
Capstone Project2016 Urban Alliance Mentor Net-working Fair & Conference – Pro-spective Urban Alliance interns will have the opportunity to participate in their first job fair with Mentors! Participants will register for work-shops that focus on workplace read-iness while navigating a career map to meet some of the Urban Alliance job partners.
Brittany Anderson, Program Coordinator
Urban Alliancewww.urbanalliance.org
Urban Alliance empowers under-re-sourced youth to aspire, work, and
succeed through paid internships, formal training, and mentorship.
Experience 1 year at organization, 11 years in the field
Personal Impact“The trainings opened my eyes to so many things, particularly universal design. I’m now working to ensure our curriculum is accessible for all students. I am also excited about the connections I’ve been able to make with other workforce professionals; it’s been absolutely amazing!”
Organizational Impact“YWLA has helped to shape the way I view evaluation for Curricu-lum Outreach at UA. We are now
exploring practical ways to test and affirm students’ knowledge after each of our sessions.”
Capstone ProjectPre-Employment Summit – The Curriculum Outreach team offered a four-hour experience designed to equip 18 to 24-year-olds with the skills needed to get the jobs they want! Students from various pro-grams, organizations, and schools were invited. Throughout the ex-perience, students participated in resume and cover letter writing, interviewing skill building, and job search workshops. Using our team’s resources, students left the summit with edited and formatted resumes, cover letters, and lists of references.
Martin Copeland III, Curriculum Outreach Manager
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Chess Challenge in DCwww.chesschallengeindc.org
Chess Challenge in DC seeks to promote the academic, social, and leadership development of under-
served youth in the District of Co-lumbia. Using the game of chess, children learn to think strategically; develop self-discipline and positive social skills; and increase their self-worth.
Experience6 months at organization, 5 years in the field
Personal Impact“The program was an eye opening experience that helped change my approach to youth programs from parent engagement, program de-sign, and outcomes.”
Capstone ProjectAssistantships – Our program will provide post-secondary students with an opportunity to become as-sistant coaches. They will serve as a much needed help to our coaches and act as role models and peer men-tors to teach and excite the learning of chess. The assistantships will help introduce teens to education, teach-ing, community engagement, and promote relationship building.
Elio Cruz, Program Manager
Year Upwww.yearup.org
Closing the Opportunity Divide by providing young adults with ex-perience and support that will em-
power them to reach their potential through professional careers and higher education. We achieve this mission through a high support, high expectations model.
Experience2 years at organization, 5 years in the field
Personal Impact“I learned a lot about building a curriculum and all of the amazing resources that are offered to build a community of leaders. I also met a great network of DC professionals!”
Organizational Impact“I was able to bring back several ideas and tools to a few teams at my office, while also referring students
to other organizations in the area.”
Capstone Project$wagonomics – Financial Literacy Empowerment Curriculum for col-lege first year students providing an experiential learning opportunity for students to comprehend finan-cial literacy while making college cheaper and building a community of leaders through peer-to-peer en-gagement. In 2016, the national col-lege debt was 1.3 trillion dollars, up 6% from 2015.
Isaias Garcia, Program Manager
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Brainfoodwww.brain-food.org
Brainfood uses food as a tool to
engage, empower, and employ DC youth. We run programs, intern-ships, and job opportunities that equip youth with the leadership and workforce skills needed to be re-sources in our community.
Experience10 years at organization, 10 years in the field
Personal Impact“I learned about approaches for en-gaging employers and ways to ad-vocate for youth in the workplace. I also learned so much from this cohort of talented, committed class-mates.”
Organizational Impact
“Carina has shared resources with her co-workers and built out more comprehensive training models for Brainfood’s new entrepreneurship wing. ”
Capstone ProjectHomegrown Training Opportunities – Brainfood is piloting a summer Mini-Market where program grad-uates can train onsite at a Brainfood facility. The Mini-Market stand provides supportive, structured training for youth and serves as way for them to get hired for our food entrepreneurship wing, Brainfood Homegrown.
Carina Gervacio, Program Director
Latin American Youth Centerwww.layc-dc.org
LAYC’s mission is to empower a di-verse population of youth to achieve a successful transition to adulthood, through multi-cultural, comprehen-sive, and innovative programs that
address youths’ social, academic, and career needs.
Experience5 years at organization, 10 years in the field
Personal Impact“YWLA workshops provided a ded-icated time to reflect on my work and consider how to incorporate new best practices, which is time that can be hard to find in our busy work days. I also realized the benefit of incorporating additional time for reflection in our youth activities. The monthly sessions gave me a sense of community among the other youth workforce providers in D.C. ”
Organizational Impact
“I shared strategies, activities, and
materials with program staff, espe-cially WISE’s Job Readiness Train-ing Instructor to enhance classroom instruction. The trainings taught me to analyze our accessibility for youth with disabilities and introduced the concept of universal design. ”
Capstone ProjectUsing Learner Persistence Strategies to Increase Retention in the WISE Program – To increase student re-tention and completion of the GED, incorporated strategies from YWLA and research about cultivat-ing learner persistence in youth and adult education programs, including activities that facilitate strong rela-tionships between youth and staff, distance learning options, and pro-gram space designed to feel com-fortable and safe.
Carolyn Greenspan, Community Schools Coordinator
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Generation Hopewww.supportgenerationhope.org
Generation Hope exists to empow-er ambitious, family-focused teen parents striving to complete their
college education by pairing them with caring, committed, adult men-tors and an emotional and financial support system, thereby driving a two-generation solution to poverty.
Experience 3 years at organization, 3 years in the field
Personal Impact“I learned so much about serving youth with disabilities and incor-porating career development into programming. I think my favorite part of the program was building a phenomenal network of other D.C.-area nonprofit professionals! ”
Organizational Impact“The YWLA network has already had a big impact on my organiza-tion. I have been able to make re-ferrals, bring in cohort members to provide workshops, and more! I know that this network will contin-ue to be a huge resource.”
Capstone ProjectCareer Clinic for graduating Schol-ars – “I am adding a track to our existing Career Clinic that will fo-cus specifically on our graduating Scholars. This track will provide students with one-on-one interview preparation and feedback, opportu-nities to meet potential employers, and more.”
Caroline Griswold Short, Director of Programming
DC Prep Academywww.dcprep.org
PrepNext is DC Prep Academy’s unconditional commitment to its alumni and their success in high
school, college, and beyond. We support students in achieving at college-prep high schools, access-ing good-fit colleges, and persisting toward college degrees and career goals.
Experience2.5 years at organization, 9 years in the field
Personal Impact“I gained specific skills in program design, universal design for learning, and employer engagement that have already benefited my youth. I’ve built a network I hope to continue to learn from and engage with.”
Organizational Impact“Jill has incorporated a number of best practices to enhance our pro-gram and has helped us expand our network of partner organizations to better serve our students. We are so grateful for the YWLA program.”
Capstone ProjectWhat’s Next? Career Exploration Workshop – Students explore po-tential careers and participate in ac-tivities to gain key workplace skills. Youth learn from local leaders about their paths and career choices and engage in a mock interview pro-gram designed to build students’ in-terview skills and facilitate conver-sation between youth and leaders.
Jill E. Salisbury, Associate Director of College Counseling
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Higher Achievementwww.higherachievement.org
By leveraging the power of com-munities, Higher Achievement’s proven model provides a rigorous
year-round learning environment, caring role models, and a culture of high expectations, resulting in col-lege-bound scholars with the char-acter, confidence, and skills to suc-ceed.
Experience1 year at organization, 11 years in the field
Personal Impact“I discovered a cohort of passionate professionals. I learned the impor-tance of providing accessible pro-grams and spaces.”
Organizational Impact“Michelle has used the information provided to assist with the profes-sional development of interns and
further develop the internship pro-gram. ”
Capstone ProjectSarah Rosen Scholars Internship Program – Rising High School juniors and Higher Achievement alumni spend the summer intern-ing at Higher Achievement’s sum-mer academy. Additionally, students have an opportunity to participate in professional development, high school success, and service learning activities.
Michelle N. Smith, Manager of Alumni Programs
Child and Family Services Agency: Office of Youth
Empowermenthttp://cfsa.dc.gov/service/youth-
services-cfsa
CFSA works to improve the safe-ty, permanence, and well-being of abused and neglected children in the District of Columbia and to strengthen their families. CFSA Office of Youth Empowerment sup-ports teens and young adults ages 15-21.
Experience3 years at agency, 6 years in the field
Personal Impact“Participating in YWLA has made a profound impact on me personally and professionally. The collabora-tive nature of the Academy has af-forded me opportunities to network with peers, mentors, and leaders in the field of youth workforce devel-opment.”
Organizational Impact“I have been able to share strategies, resources, and assessments with the Career Pathways Unit at CFSA to assist and support youth workforce development for older youth in fos-ter care. ”
Capstone ProjectEarly Career Readiness Activities for Youth in Foster Care – “To design a career pathways program model for foster care youth in grades 9th & 10th that will provide year-round career awareness, career exploration, and career preparation activities that will empower and prepare them for successful transition. ”
Alysia Spence, Vocational Specialist
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HumanitiesDC Soul of the City Summer Youth
Programwww.wdchumanities.org
To provide leadership and work-
force development skills using the humanities. The program focuses on advocacy, research and writing, and fostering a greater awareness of DC history and culture.
Experience1 year at organization, 15 years in the field
Personal Impact“I appreciated the opportunity to reflect on the work of my organiza-tion in an educational setting, and to hear from others about the successes and challenges of their programs.”
Organizational Impact“I have alerted my colleagues at HumanitiesDC about the latest developments in the field of youth
workforce training, particularly in the area of youth with disabilities.”
Capstone ProjectSoul of the City Summer Youth Pro-gram – Young people participate in a journalism-focused leadership and workforce training program. They learn from Washington Post writers, photographers, and other news pro-fessionals how to interview subjects, conduct press conferences, create photo galleries, draft news briefs and editorials, and draw editorial cartoons. The end result is the pub-lication of the latest issue of Capital Student News, an online newspaper for D.C. high school students. The program is funded by the Pulitzer Centennial Campfires Initiative.
Jay Stewart, Program Director
Inspire Food Service Management/Inspire BBQ
Hospitality training for young adults, veterans, transgender per-sons, persons with disabilities, and
returning citizens. Training includes work readiness, financial literacy, en-trepreneurship, and job placement.
Experience15 years at organization, 15 years in the field
Personal Impact“Being a participant was awesome! I made friendships while learning how to improve my organization. I want to thank YWLA staff for stay-ing committed to our personal and organizational growth.”
Organizational Impact“The YWLA staff and guest speak-ers came prepared to develop us each session. Our organizations are collaborating in improving our community workforce.”
Capstone ProjectHospitality Training For All – In-spire is preparing our participants for jobs now in the fastest growing employment sector in Washington, DC. Our graduates earn their Food Service Manager handling license while learning job readiness prin-ciples from the Skills to Pay the Bills curriculum. Our graduates are working at local restaurants, hotels, and the Ronald Reagan National Airport. “
Furard K. Tate, CEO and Founder
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Advocates for Justice and Education, Inc.
www.aje-dc.orgAJE empowers families, youth, and the community to be effective ad-
vocates to ensure that children and youth, particularly those who have special needs, receive access to appro-priate education and health services.
Experience7 years in the field
Personal Impact“Participating in this program was a great personal and professional op-portunity. It challenged me to think and develop new ideas outside the box. I was able to create a network of professionals who work for the same cause: serving youth in D.C.”
Organizational Impact“While working at AJE, Lynn used strategies and resources gained through YWLA to strengthen the
Transition Advocacy Project and Youth to Youth support group. ”
Capstone ProjectAlgebra equations can solve life prob-lems? – “This program focuses on discussing the silent skills or the skills that people state “you should already know how to” such as bud-geting money, how to read a lease, what to wear on interviews, and how to do your laundry. We tend to forget that these skills may not be taught and once the students are on their own, they are left to fend for themselves. This curriculum would help guide students to transition smoothly in daily operations.
Lynn Truong, formerly Youth Program Director at AJE
Public Allies, Washington DCwww.publicallies.org
Public Allies’ mission is to create a just and equitable society and the diverse leadership to sustain it.
Experience2 years at organization, 6 years in the field
Personal Impact“This program provided me with an incredible opportunity to learn dynamic and inclusive youth devel-opment practices from my peers and stellar facilitators. ”
Organizational Impact“We were able to foster relation-ships with other organizations in the cadre and identify candidates for our program. Now, we have a more cohesive resource network.”
Capstone ProjectThe Leadership Toolkit: What will you need for your journey? – During their 10-month apprenticeship, Al-lies discussed various social justice, leadership and professional devel-opment topics then selected mean-ingful items that correlated to the lessons they learned. They presented their leadership tools to community members.
Nandi Turner, Program Manager
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DC Alliance of Youth Advocates works to ensure all DC youth have access to the re-sources they need to grow into thriving adults. We accomplish this mission by building communities of learning, informing local policies, and conducting youth-informed re-search. Through the work of DCAYA, government agencies and community-based or-ganizations are equipped with the information, tools, and funding streams they need to best serve young people in reaching their lifelong goals.
The Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL) is a national nonprof-it organization that initiates, operates, and supports improvement and innovation initiatives at the federal, state, and local levels. IEL’s mis-sion is to build the capacity of individuals, organizations, systems, and communities to work together to prepare all children and youth for postsecondary education, careers, and citizenship. For more than 50 years, IEL has partnered across institutional boundaries, helping indi-
viduals and institutions tackle leadership challenges and leverage the resources of multiple partners to foster re-form.
YWLA is jointly led by DCAYA and IEL
YO U T H W O R K F O R C E
LEADERSAC ADEMY