The Workforce Matters team was busy in June, connecting with members in Bozeman, New Orleans, and Los Angeles at different conferences and events.
On June 4th, Natasha Hale, project manager for our Workforce Grantmaking in Native Nations and Communities initiative, presented "Yours in Service: Native Nation and Community Design in Workforce Grantmaking" at the 2025 Feedback Labs conference in Bozeman, Montana.
Natasha’s session focused on the steps we took to be intentional about centering deep listening and feedback from both Tribal leaders and Tribal practitioners who have dedicated their careers to strengthening the Tribal workforce in designing our fund. Key to our process was taking direction from Tribal leaders and practitioners who self-identify as policy or practitioner experts in workforce development in Indian Country. We were able to have a thoughtful exchange with conference attendees about the governance structure, culturally competent grantmaking processes, and practices that ease the burden of applying for and reporting on funding. We left with some good ideas about how to continue refining and strengthening our approach, how to respond to partners in this moment, and ways to work with broader coalitions.
On June 10-11, co-director Loh-Sze Leung attended the Horizons conference in New Orleans and was able to connect with Workforce Matters members who were attending and showcasing their investments as well as their grantees and partners. From the Truist Foundation sharing about their investments in Ralegh-Durham and Birmingham to Workday sharing about the power of a multigenerational workforce to Accenture and JPMorgan Chase sharing about youth apprenticeship policy to the Annie E. Casey Foundation sharing about strategies for connecting youth to emerging infrastructure jobs and careers, our members were well-represented. We even got to hear one of our Fund for Workforce Equity grantees, Michigan State AFL-CIO Workforce Development Institute, share about their work in a panel on the role of labor management partnerships in advancing high quality training. Best of all, we were able to forge more personal connections over a shared meal in New Orleans.
On June 25th, co-director Clair Minson brought together a small group of Los Angeles-based funders over happy hour. Members from the ECMC Foundation, the James Irvine Foundation, and the Teshinsky Family Foundation met to catch up and brainstorm ways to foster deeper connections among peer funders.
It’s always a joy to see our members and partners in the field. It helps us stay grounded in what you’re interested in, investing in, and concerned about and helps us better serve the network. Going to a conference? Want to know if Workforce Matters will be there, too? Please ping us at info@workforce-matters.org!
