Blog Post: Getting to Know STARs – Highlights from a Conversation with Opportunity@Work

In February 2021, Workforce Matters invited Byron Auguste, CEO and Co-Founder of Opportunity@Work and LaShana Lewis, CEO of L.M. Lewis Consulting and a technologist who also works on diversity, equity and inclusion in tech, to join our Steering Committee for a conversation about STARs — the 70+ million adults in Read more…

Blog Post: Catching up with the Families & Workers Fund

Workforce Matters recently caught up with Rachel Korberg to check in on the progress of the Families and Workers Fund as it approaches its first anniversary. Rachel Korberg is currently a program officer at the Ford Foundation where she was a key member of the multi-foundation team that established the Families Read more…

Lessons Learned & Key Takeaways from our Inaugural Peer-to-Peer Learning Labs

In this blog post… About the Labs Real-World Implications: What Participants are Saying Key Take-Aways Advancing Equitable Employer Practices Amplifying the Voice and Power of Workers and Learners Redesigning Workforce Policies and Systems for Equity and Resiliency Further Reading: Learning Lab Resource List About the Labs In the Fall of Read more…

Blog Post: Advancing Racial Equity in Workforce Development – A Conversation with Allison Gerber

In 2019, the Annie E. Casey Foundation partnered with Associated Black Charities (ABC) and Workforce Matters to launch the Advancing Racial Equity in Workforce Development initiative. The initiative built the capacity of organizations engaged in research, advocacy, technical assistance and other field-building activities in workforce development to integrate and apply policies Read more…

Blog Post: Advancing Racial Equity in Workforce Development – A Conversation with Diane Bell-McKoy

In 2019, the Annie E. Casey Foundation partnered with Associated Black Charities and Workforce Matters to launch the Advancing Racial Equity in Workforce Development initiative.  The initiative focused on building the capacity of workforce field-building organizations to integrate and apply a racial equity lens to their organizational, operational, and programmatic Read more…

Guest Post: Insights from Harbor Freight Tools for Schools

Harbor Freight Tools for Schools is the flagship program of the Smidt Foundation.  Everything we do to advance skilled trades education in America’s public high schools rests on three beliefs: People who work with their hands are intelligent, creative, and deserve our admiration and support; Students learning the trades can Read more…

Blog Post: Connecting Justice-Impacted Individuals to Employment: Reflections on The Road Up

Workforce Matters recently had the opportunity to screen the documentary The Road Up and host a Q&A, moderated by Tameshia Mansfield of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, with panelists Sheena Meade from Clean Slate Initiative, Esther Franco-Payne from Cabrini Green Legal Aid (CGLA), and Kristen Robinson, co-founder of the Ecofeminist Action Institute Read more…

Guest Post: Acting as Agents for Change in the Era of COVID-19: Priorities for Funders of Workforce Initiatives

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2020 By Elaine E. Katz, MS, CCC-SLP Elaine E. Katz, MS, CCC-SLP is Senior Vice President of Grants and Communications at the Kessler Foundation, where she oversees the Foundation’s comprehensive grant making program and its communications department. The Kessler Foundation drives positive change for people with disabilities Read more…