Through periodic MAX Member Spotlights, our MAX team is honored to help our broader workforce development network get to know our members better in order to strengthen connections, collaborations, and practices among workforce developers and organizations engaged in workforce development. Here, our members share insights on how MAX is helpful in their work, accomplishments they’re most proud of, emerging trends they see as affecting workforce development, and more.
Why did you become a MAX member?
When I first started working at First Step in 2018, I was new to the workforce development space. I was trying to understand the current landscape of needs and services and was invited to attend my first MAX meeting. There I met other practitioners, saw the impact the collective power of the group could have, and watched silos disappear! Fellow MAX members and organizations became my go-to counsel on programs, funding, and fulfilling the needs of our First Step clients. It helped to launch my first co-created program with Construction Ready in 2018. Ultimately, MAX has been a place to work with like-minded colleagues, but also to make friends!
How long have you been engaged with the MAX network?
More than 5 years
Are there specific collaborations, connections, or practices that have come about through your engagement with MAX?
Yes – Our first was with Construction Ready where we developed a co-enrollment, earn-and-learn model for First Step clients who were otherwise locked out of training opportunities. First Step also established ongoing referral partnerships with several other agencies, including Atlanta Center for Self Sufficiency, City of Refuge, and others. It also brought about a joint venture opportunity with Goodwill of North Georgia. Lots of good things coming out of the MAX network!
How have you engaged through MAX in the past 12 months?
MAX Academy, MAX Board of Directors, MAX Leadership Network, MAX Minutes, MAX Mondays, MAX Provider Council, MAX Talks
Which MAX event do you most look forward to attending? Why?
MAX Leadership Network – good to connect in-person with colleagues and share best practices.
How many years have you served in the workforce development profession?
9
Why do you serve in this profession? What motivates you or inspires you to do what you do?
To help someone see their own amazing potential – the power they have to transform their own lives – is magical!
What is something you and/or your organization have accomplished in the past 12 months that you are most proud of?
First Step has added both breadth (adding 3 new city locations – Dallas, Augusta and Houston – over the last several months) and depth – creating new Retention Services programs that support job retention and economic mobility. These include direct housing assistance, a wide array of free upskilling (through many MAX partnerships), and financial literacy.
What are some emerging trends you see as affecting the job seekers and employers served through our profession?
Access to earn-and-learn models for low wage workers will be essential for helping create the pipeline of workers for the future!
Is there anything you believe that we, as a profession, should do differently in the future to best serve those we serve?
PARTNER! PARTNER! PARTNER! No agency should try and provide everything to anyone all alone. Partnerships help us create an impact ten times what we could do on our own!
What is a little-known fun fact about you?
I LOVE musicals and have several tap dancing awards!
ABOUT FIRST STEP STAFFING
First Step Staffing is the largest nonprofit light-industrial staffing agency in the United States with offices in GA, PA, TN and Southern CA. Founded in 2007 in Atlanta, First Step currently employs over 5,000 individuals, and is on a mission to provide a path out of homelessness through work experience. First Step is a financially independent and self-sufficient social enterprise.