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Building Capacity for Workforce Development Organizations to Improve Service Delivery and Upward Mobility for Their Target Demographics

This month’s Changemakers LA podcast episode is hosted by LISC LA’s Program Officer, Shon Sen, and covers best practices and areas of opportunity to address the unprecedented impact that COVID-19 and inequity have had on the workforce as experienced by employers and employees that live and work in the City of Los Angeles.  Each guest and the host provide a unique perspective on the importance of building the capacity of workforce development organizations to improve service delivery and economic mobility for the impacted demographics and entities they serve and partner with.

Joining LISC LA for this conversation are:

This episode began by discussing the transformative state workforce development is currently in. COVID-19 has caused a once in a lifetime health and economic disaster that has permanently changed how people learn, work, live, and access resources. This requires a need for innovative approaches to ensure living wages, benefits, and workforce development resources that prepare all
workers to thrive.

DeAndrea Ross Lottier provided insight on systematic issues that prevent Black Angelenos from having access to high road long-term careers. DeAndrea also discussed the importance of leveraging community-centered policy development and implementation to address the long-standing discriminatory work for systems and practices that profit through the exploitation of Black employees/patrons but do not directly address services delivery or outcomes that facilitate inequity. 

Jeffery Wallace gave a clear directive for an anti-racist workforce. He explained how achieving measurable equity outcomes is a joint effort facilitated collaboratively. To improve equity outcomes, anti-racist employers must engage in dismantling racial disparities that systematically drive inequity.

Zahirah Mann highlighted the collective impact and place-based work SLATE-Z is leading. SLATE-Z's work strengthens career pathways in construction, homelessness services, and nonprofit careers through several program partnerships with key stakeholder groups. Zahirah lays out SLATE-Z’s five levels of change that facilitate qualitative and quantitative outcomes they have achieved in job creation, education, transit, public safety, and small business and entrepreneurship for the most impacted demographics in their designated Promise Zone.

About our panel:
De’Andrea Lottier Ross
joined the Los Angeles Black Worker Center (LA BWC) in 2016 as the Project Coordinator. They co-created and launched the Filling the Apprenticeship Readiness boot camp in 2018, a multi-week apprenticeship readiness training that prepares Black workers to join unionized construction trades. De’Andrea is now the Director of Leadership Development with the LA BWC. They lead the healing justice programming and the Ready 2 Work program, a social justice career readiness program that connects Black workers to highroad careers and builds Black community and labor leadership within the Construction and Public sector. De’Andrea addresses anti-black and anti-worker issues by teaching Black workers popular education methods to navigate highly discriminatory hiring practices and workplace standards. They organize from a collective community care lens and utilize liberatory pedagogy to create programming that centers “the whole worker.”


Jeffery T. D. Wallace is a native of Richmond, California, is a next generation social entrepreneur uniquely equipped to fulfill the dual roles of visionary and architect to find a sustainable solution to almost any social issue. He is President and CEO of LeadersUp, a nonprofit that bridges the gap between the untapped potential of young people and the business challenge of finding and keeping the best talent. With Wallace, LeadersUp has established best practices by facilitating employer-led solutions that are demand driven and human-centered to tackle high youth unemployment in Chicago, Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area. He gets in front of the issues that fuel educational and economic inequities and unites people around shared goals to achieve disruptive and transformative change. 

As SLATE-Z’s President and CEO, Zahirah Mann leads the Backbone Team and guides partnership activities of the South LA Promise Zone through visionary and adaptive leadership. Zahirah is an accomplished non-profit professional who has led several successful initiatives to advance greater opportunities for Los Angeles residents. Prior to joining SLATE-Z, Zahirah split her career between philanthropy and law. Most recently, Zahirah was a Senior Program Officer at The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation where she oversaw a diverse portfolio of grants that supported vulnerable children and families and led a strategic initiative focused on child welfare and wellbeing. Before entering philanthropy, Zahirah worked as a public interest attorney, representing and advising for-profit and non-profit entities, coalitions, and governmental agencies on large scale, systemic issues that impacted families, youth, and businesses.  

Want to dive into the full transcript? Check it out below!

Shona Sen 00:03
Hello, and welcome to the latest episode of the Changemakers LA podcast presented by LISC LA. The Changemakers LA podcast is a tribute to the people and the policies that make LA neighborhoods good places to live, work and play.

Shona Sen 00:10
This is Shona Sen, program officer at the Local Initiative Support Corporation Los Angeles (LISC LA) office. Today's episode will cover the importance of building capacity for workforce and business development organizations to improve service delivery and economic mobility for their communities.

Shona Sen 00:37 
Joining us today we have three awesome guests, we have Jeffrey Wallace. Jeffrey TD Wallace is a native of Richmond, California. He is a next-generation social entrepreneur uniquely equipped to fulfill the dual roles of visionary and architect, to find a sustainable solution to almost any social issue.

Shona Sen 00:56 
He is President and CEO of Leaders Up, a nonprofit that bridges the gap between the untapped potential of young people and the business challenge of finding and keeping the best talent.

Shona Sen 01:08 
With Wallace, Leaders Up has established best practices by facilitating employer lead solutions that are demand-driven and human-centered, to tackle high youth unemployment in Chicago, Los Angeles, and the San Francisco Bay area. He gets in front of the issues that fuel educational and economic inequities and unites people around shared goals to achieve disruptive and transformative change. Thanks for joining us, Jeffrey.

Shona Sen 01:34 
Also here with us is Zahirah Mann. As Slate-Z President and CEO, Zahirah Mann leads the backbone team and guides partnership activities of the South LA Promise Zone through visionary and adaptive leadership.

Shona Sen 01:49
Zahirah Mann is an accomplished nonprofit professional, who has led several successful initiatives to advance greater opportunities for Los Angeles residents.

Shona Sen 01:57 
Prior to joining Slate-Z, Zahirah split her time between philanthropy and law. Most recently, Zahirah Mann was a senior program officer at the Ralph M Parsons Foundation, where she oversaw a diverse portfolio of grants that supported vulnerable children and families and led a strategic initiative focused on child welfare and well-being.

Shona Sen 02:17 
Before entering philanthropies, Zahirah Mann worked as a public interest attorney, representing and advising for-profit and nonprofit entities coalitions, and government agencies on large-scale systemic issues that impacted families, youth, and businesses. Thank you for being here Zahirah. Finally, we have De'Andrea Lottier Ross.

Shona Sen 02:38
De'Andrea Lottier Ross joined the Los Angeles Black Worker Center (LABWC) in 2016 as the project coordinator. They co-created and launched the Filing the Apprenticeship Readiness Bootcamp in 2018, a multi-week apprenticeship readiness training that prepares black workers to join unionized construction trades.

Shona Sen 02:58
De’Andrea is now the director of leadership development with the LABWC. They lead the healing justice programming and they're ready to work Program,  a social justice career readiness program that connects black workers to high-road careers and builds black community and labor leadership within the construction and public sector.

Shona Sen 03:18
De’Andrea addresses anti-black and anti-worker issues by teaching black workers popular education methods to navigate highly discriminatory hiring practices and workplace standards. They organize from a collective community care lens and utilize laboratory pedagogy to create programming that centers the whole worker.

Shona Sen 03:37
Thank you all so much for being here on what I’m sure is a very hectic time for you all. I appreciate you sharing your time and insights with us today. I'll just go over quickly what we'll be covering today and then we'll jump into questions.

Shona Sen 03:54
Workforce development is in a transformative time. The COVID-19 pandemic is a once-in-a-lifetime health and economic disaster that has permanently changed how people learn, work, live, and access resources.

Shona Sen 04:07 
Many of our societal functions require the mechanics of industries and the power of the people to operate. In communities like South LA, COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted job opportunities and how Angelenos experience work.

Shona Sen 04:22 
Many industries, as we know them, are forever changed. More than ever there's a need to develop innovative approaches to ensure living wages, benefits, and workforce development resources that prepare all workers to thrive.

Shona Sen 04:34
Workplace development organizations are in a position to heed this unprecedented wake-up call to be agile and relevant to the workers’ industry needs during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Shona Sen 04:46 
The pandemic has brought long-standing inequities to the forefront and workers are demanding higher pay, FMLA, and health insurance in industries that have traditionally kept wages and benefits low.

Shona Sen 04:58 
So let's talk about what you all are doing to support the workers' access to and preparation for quality jobs. And how that impacts industry stability during and post the COVID-19 pandemic.

Shona Sen 05:10
Jeffrey, we'll start with you. Regarding how you started Leaders Up. You describe a letter written to Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz explaining the negative economic impact of closing a neighborhood Starbucks. Can you tell us more about that experience and how it became what we know today as Leaders Up?

Jeffery Wallace 05:29
Absolutely, and thank you for having me today.

Jeffery Wallace 05:33
I was actually leading programming at the Los Angeles Urban League, which is the institution in LA County that fights for economic opportunity and equity for African Americans in the broader Indigenous People of Color Community across South Los Angeles. The CEO and I would walk down to Starbucks every day on Crenshaw and Vernon, and one day to Starbucks was just closed.

Jeffery Wallace 05:54
So the CEO of the Urban League wrote a letter to Starbucks as an advocate for inclusive economics and inclusive growth. Stating that as a core person, you should be more intentional about investing in communities than being extracted. From an economic perspective, from a workforce development perspective and we briefed Howard on what was going on with the LA Urban League in South Los Angeles.

Jeffery Wallace 06:20
Well, to our benefit Howard got the letter and invested a lot of money into the Los Angeles Urban League to really do some transformative work across our workforce development centers, our work at Crenshaw high school, and beyond.

Jeffery Wallace 06:34
And about a year later Starbucks reached out to me and said they'd be interested in launching a youth unemployment initiative and they had a million dollars to launch that effort.

Jeffery Wallace 06:47
So I went to the media, I didn't know it was an interview actually. But it was, and I told them, at the end of the day, we have a tremendous amount of talent in our community. The reality is that there's a gap between the opportunities and the preparation to be ready for those opportunities. And I think most importantly, the social capital necessary to navigate and manage what would be a good steward of those opportunities and growth from a wealth perspective.

Jeffery Wallace 07:12
It was from that conversation that we launched Leaders Up and now we're an anti-racist social enterprise, focused on bridging the divide between the untapped potential of BIPOC talent and the next wave of anti-racist employers.

Jeffery Wallace 07:27
And from our perspective, what it means to be an Anti racist employer means that you're actively engaging in dismantling racial disparities across the systemic drivers of the wealth and income inequality gap. From our perspective, those are education, employment, compensation, and benefits. 

Jeffery Wallace 07:54
When we look at the disparity of pay parity between our white male counterparts and African American community, we're seeing about a 23-cent gap per dollar that a white man makes. If we close that gap alone, it would expand the GDP of America by $2.7 trillion. So when we talk about advancing equity, we are talking about dismantling structural racism that impedes our economy.

Jeffery Wallace 08:10
We believe that it's a combination of engaging employers to shift how they prepare, connect, and advance talent. And also empowering and equipping talent with their workers’ rights and with a foundation of support and platform. In order for leadership to raise the floor as it relates to worker conditions, quality of the workplace, quality of pay, etc.

Jeffery Wallace 08:31
So that's how we got to this point. It all started with a letter to Howard Schultz discussing not closing down the Starbucks on Crenshaw and Vernon.

Shona Sen 08:42
Thank you so much, Jeffrey. That's incredible and so inspiring to hear about how a letter led to such transformative changes in the community.

Shona Sen 08:51
Zahirah, the next question is for you. How has the Slate-Z place-based approach to economic opportunity created and what are some of the goals and outcomes you all developed?

Zahirah Mann 09:03
Well, thank you so much for having me here, I really appreciate the opportunity to discuss the work that we're doing at Slate-Z.

Zahirah Mann 09:10
In 2014 Slate-Z was born out of the South LA community's desire to address economic activity that occurs with new infrastructure. Our geographic areas are bound by transit lines, I believe they are now called the K, E, and A-lines, formerly known as the Expo, Crenshaw, and Blue lines. With the development of the third line, the Crenshaw line, the local community saw an opportunity to focus on the economic development such a line would bring.

Zahirah Mann 09:37
After extensive planning in 2016, the Community sought and was awarded a Federal Promise Zone Designation, which supports select high-poverty communities and rural tribal and urban areas. Providing enhanced funding opportunities and additional federal resources such as preference points, grant applications, a federal liaison, and AmeriCorps vistas. We are one of 22 promise zones throughout the nation, the second in LA County, and one of four in California. 

Zahirah Mann 10:05
At the heart, the mission of Slate-Z is one that is both targeted and replicable. As a promise zone, it's a place-based initiative and it's a collective impact effort focused on revitalizing South LA by moving residents to economic opportunity.

Zahirah Mann 10:18
We have around 100 partners and our work focuses and occurs at the intersection of economic revitalization and environmental sustainability, with five levers of change.

Zahirah Mann 10:28
Jobs, which is moving 10,000 residents into living wage jobs. Education, which we focus on increasing certificate degree attainment and career preparation. Transit, which is increasing the safety, affordability, and use of public transit, really thinking about mobility within and outside of the region. Public safety, which is reducing violent crime through youth development, wellness, re-entry services, justice reform, and alternatives to incarceration.

Zahirah Mann 10:55
And with that group, in particular, we have a focus especially this year, on engaging residents and engaging youth by creating councils and committees that are focused on those particular groups. And then, small businesses and entrepreneurship, which is investing in businesses, entrepreneurs and Community oriented infrastructure.

Zahirah Mann 11:13
Since 2016 some of Slate-Z’s key accomplishments have included helping secure 46 million in federal funding that benefits South Los Angeles.

Zahirah Mann 11:21
We've connected 5300 residents to living wage jobs and career tracks. We piloted a free bus/ train pass program with metro for 11th graders within a Slate-Z school. Now, that program has been expanded through K through 12th-grade students and community college students throughout the county. We're really excited about how that's unfolding.

Zahirah Mann 11:42
And then also convening key partners to coordinate COVID-19 responses. We serve as a hub of lots of different activity that brings together South LA. And then, most recently we've seen Metros’ approval of rail to rail, which is the project that will work to improve access along the Slauson corridor. And that effort was a priority project of our transit work group.

Zahirah Mann 12:03
From a workforce perspective, I’ll highlight just a couple of goals that we have over the next couple of years. One is jobs so that's one of our key efforts in terms of 10,000 residents moving into living wage jobs.

Zahirah Mann 12:15
And as part of that work, we're working on strengthening nine career pathways. Focusing on construction, homelessness services, and nonprofit careers. And we actually have an apprenticeship program right now with council district nine, with CDTech, with YWCA Greater LA, and others who are focused on that. Another effort is in terms of pathways: transportation, hospitality/ culinary, health, information, technology, early childhood education, and green sector jobs.

Zahirah Mann 12:48
We will continue to work to place residents into those jobs both in and out of the zone and work to train to ensure that people can go into those career sectors.

Zahirah Mann 12:58
And then, with education, we focus on promoting access to work-based learning opportunities with K through 12 schools within the zone. And we also work on college and aligned career pathways, working closely with LA Trade Tech and other partners.

Zahirah Mann 13:14
One of the additional pieces that we do, because at Slate-Z we're focused on the geographic area within South LA, but we're also focused on specific vulnerable populations, even within our community.

Zahirah Mann 13:26
And one of those populations is the foster youth population, so we do have a foster youth subcommittee even within these five levers of change that connects to two of those goals. And what the Foster youth subcommittee we're looking at is education and workforce development opportunities for youth in foster care.

Zahirah Mann 13:42
Connecting youth ages 16 to 24 to education and workforce experience, to promote successful transitions into adulthood. So we're constantly with that effort just working to see what are the various things that we can do to ensure the success of our youth.

Zahirah Mann 13:57
But that's just a summary of what we're doing right now, and thank you again for the opportunity to share.

Shona Sen 14:03
Thank you so much for sharing Zahirah, I know Slate-Z is one of LISC’s longtime partners and we're so excited to hear about all of the work that you all continue to do in the community.

Shona Sen 14:15
De'Andrea, in 2015 the black worker Center successfully ensured the most significant minimum wage increase and anti-wage theft policy in the nation. Impacting more than 800,000 low-wage workers in Los Angeles.

Shona Sen 14:30
This is a two-part question, why is policy engagement important for workforce development organizations? And, what approach does the Black Worker Center use to influence workforce development policy?

De'Andrea Lottier Ross 14:45
Yes, thank you for having me. 

De'Andrea Lottier Ross 14:50
To start, the Black Worker Center develops organized power and grassroots leadership amongst black workers to reverse the disproportionate levels of unemployment and underemployment in the Los Angeles black community,

De'Andrea Lottier Ross 15:00
We have numbers that are saying that 50% of black workers in LA are unemployed or underemployed. On top of this, in 2020 83% of black workers filed for unemployment. We happen to also be 40% of the homeless population and 7% of the total population in California. 

De'Andrea Lottier Ross 15:31
To change this experience/ circumstance for black Los Angelenos, we must start with changing workforce development organizations and systems meant to support black workers. And to do that, we focused on engaging policy that specifically affects black workers. 

De'Andrea Lottier Ross 15:56
So many issues that affect us and our family are because of systematic issues that prevent us from having access to high-road long-term careers. Therefore, policy engagement is how we address those long-standing discriminatory workforce systems and practices that profit off of black folks but doesn't benefit them. For example, many issues black workers are facing are institutionalized, so these are the long-standing hiring practices.

De'Andrea Lottier Ross 16:27
For example, when sending in your resume, black workers face so many barriers to just getting their resume viewed, at the same capacity or in the same way, as other folks who are navigating a workforce journey.

De'Andrea Lottier Ross 16:45
So about Black Worker Center and how we use policy as the vehicle to add to those existing processes or established new systems that make careers and workforce development more accessible for black workers. 

De'Andrea Lottier Ross 17:08
I think a specific way we influenced workforce development policy is through State bills 218 and 419. We have been carrying them for several years to lift preemption in the state of California, to create more protections for protected classes. So that they can have more rights in the workplace to navigate discriminatory workplace standards and also have a voice in how those cases are heard and what steps take place.

De'Andrea Lottier Ross 17:35
Another example of how we've used policy to influence workforce development is our workforce development equity program Ready To Work. Which is a multi-week boot camp that was founded on pro-black policy to create opportunities for black workers. 

De'Andrea Lottier Ross 18:03
So like with our work like Fight for 15 or 218; these are really opportunities for us not only to change those existing systems but to be more of service to black workers in our communities.

De'Andrea Lottier Ross 18:14
But also to forge relationships with unions or other high road employers to link black workers with careers that provide livable wages. Thus affecting their overall well-being and allowing them to stay in South LA.

Shona Sen 18:32
Thank you so much De'Andrea. I would love to follow up with you on getting those statistics. Those are some really staggering facts and it's so good to hear that an organization like Black Worker Center exists in Los Angeles. And I wish it existed in other places too. I think the work that you all are doing is incredible.

Shona Sen 18:51
Jeffrey, going back to you. I will introduce it with some background, but then the question will come at the end of this.

Shona Sen 19:00
The cost of living is increasing rapidly but wages remain minimally changed or stagnant, as we all know. The overall statistics might point to progress, but as De’Andrea mentioned earlier, this is not the case for the most systemically excluded and oppressed in our communities, especially the black community here in LA. For example, in Los Angeles county, we might hear that the unadjusted unemployment rate fell to 7.1% down from 7.8%, according to recent figures; but that obviously has not been experienced by everyone.

Shona Sen 19:35
The falling unemployment rate is not equally distributed across LA, as we all know. For many, including women who are heads of their households and people who are transgender, the wage gap is even starker, and fighting for equal pay and quality jobs is even more critical.

Shona Sen 19:56
According to some of the LA almanacs’ most recent data, Black Angelenos in Los Angeles county have 2.3 times the unemployment rate of Asian Angelenos and 1.9 times the unemployment rate of White Angelenos.

Shona Sen 20:09
So the question for you is how can workforce development organizations like yours, help to ensure that resources and funding, like money from the infrastructure bills, do not forget about these disparities and how does Leaders Up model these best practices?

Jeffery Wallace 20:27
No lite question that all. (laughter)

Shona Sen 20:29
(Laughter) That was a lot, let me know if you need me to repeat any of that.

Jeffery Wallace 20:39
First of all, I’ll say this, I don't think Leaders Up alone can solve this issue and LISC has done a great job of demonstrating, here today, the ecosystem that is necessary.

Jeffery Wallace 20:51
In order for us to really both at the grassroots level and at the systemic level, ensure that the infrastructure dollars and dollars that are being invested in the community for recovery are really hitting the ground in a way that is transformative.  

Jeffery Wallace 21:08
But we look at whether the Great Depression, 9/11, great recession, and all of those pieces or moments in our history in America activated levels of recovery. And we see, time and time again that the level of recovery and the intensity of the interventions through funding did not impact African Americans or historically marginalized communities.

Jeffery Wallace 21:26
So we have an opportunity now. I think it's important for us to continue to work with partners like the Black Workers Center to advocate for policy agenda and some type of monitoring, evaluation, and workaround. Once policies are in place, how do we ensure that it's trickling down from the state to the county level and going into programs that are really being innovative? 

Jeffery Wallace 21:52
Like the programs that Zahirah was talking about, through Slate-Z, a collective impact strategy is important because once those dollars hit, then you also have a unified vision and a set of goals that now are being fueled by those efforts.

Jeffery Wallace 22:06
Our role at leaders up is to be that intermediary between grasstops and grassroots, and how that really plays out from our perspective is a couple of things. 

Jeffery Wallace 22:17
One, engaging employers to understand that we're not in a great resignation we're in a general strike.

Jeffery Wallace 22:22
And what that means is that we need to ensure that we raise the floor as it relates to quality wages, as it relates to visibility of career pathways, and utilization of benefits like tuition benefits and well creation benefits that really move folks out of just being from a will to survive to thrive.

Jeffery Wallace 22:40
Ensuring that the federal dollars in infrastructure resources also help us meet the basic needs of individuals and then level at them up into the mainstream economy. Those career pathways of being scaled across high-growth sectors and, more importantly, visibility around what opportunities are available to young adults and the next generation of talent in order to pursue those opportunities. I think the biggest thing that we face, and I would love to hear to hear Zahirah and De'Andrea's reaction to this, in our communities is an exposure gap.

Jeffery Wallace 23:10
We are not exposed to the jobs and career pathways in green tech and infrastructure. and that's the new wave, you won't be able to sell a car that runs on gasoline over the next decade.

Jeffery Wallace 23:23
So being able to ensure that our community is leveraging where the funding is going from an infrastructure perspective to get ahead and be around the corner in the future of the economy is the central point. Leaders Up does a lot of prospecting of employers that represent sectors that, one, are resilient to the economic pitfalls of COVID-19, but also have a tremendous amount of growth opportunity.

Jeffery Wallace 23:48
Entertainment and creative arts here in Los Angeles is not going anywhere and it's evolving, financial services are evolving, FinTech, we're moving into a digital economy.

Jeffery Wallace 24:01
Green tech and climate justice jobs, ensuring that our communities are being staffed and maintained, and the infrastructure that is being laid is being staffed and maintained by the individuals within those communities.

Jeffery Wallace 24:14
I think it's important that we continue to recruit employers that have a high propensity around career pathways and making those equitable. We want to connect their talent acquisition engines into communities locally and who also want to create a place where young people in our community can land and grow.

Jeffery Wallace 24:35
And not just have a family-sustaining $20 an hour job, which was a great start but let's be clear $800 a week and $3200 a month pre-tax is not a lot of money to live on. So how do we continue to push employers and the systems to propel folks up halfway, because I think that's central as we think about mobility from an academic, economic, and justice perspective.

Shona Sen 25:05
Thanks so much, Jeffrey.

Shona Sen 25:07
Going back to you De’Andrea, what are the most significant barriers and getting BIPOC communities prepared for careers in construction, and how does the BWC see mitigate those barriers?

De'Andrea Lottier Ross 25:24
One of the biggest barriers folks are navigating when soliciting work in the construction industry is simply the lack of navigation and support as they are moving through the hiring solicitation and onboarding processes.

De'Andrea Lottier Ross 25:46
As mentioned earlier, because our workforce system is situated on highly discriminatory and racist history and practices, it can be almost impossible for our members to simply approach a work site to solicit work. It could be almost impossible for workers, once they are unionized and start in their trade, to last more than a month because of the nefarious ways that discrimination shows up on the job, in the onboarding process, in conversations with peers, and in conversations with HR.

De'Andrea Lottier Ross 26:26
And I think the biggest barrier to preparing workers to enter into construction is providing them with tools. As well as an understanding of how to best navigate a system that was not created to be of service to black workers, or create family-sustaining jobs, or allow black workers to thrive and plan for the future, or purchase a home.

De'Andrea Lottier Ross 26:56
The way that BWC addresses this issue is by providing that navigation support through our Ready To Work program. Our Ready To Work program is a multi-week boot camp that is focused on career readiness, leadership development, and industry-specific training. And we provide members of the community with training in construction and the public sector. 

De'Andrea Lottier Ross 27:50
This program is so important in addressing this issue because where work workforce development programs have missed the mark is that they don't have a level of cultural competency or relateability.

De'Andrea Lottier Ross 28:08
They are often not trauma-informed and if it is it's from a deficit standpoint, where that black worker is at fault for their situation. That black worker has somehow created these experiences of discrimination, chronic unemployment, and underemployment. Having a workforce development model that centers black leadership; not only are we going to give you the training so you understand how to best navigate these highly discriminatory workspaces. But, we're also going to help you envision and build a plan for retention and for a full career, where you can retire and you can put your child through college. 

De'Andrea Lottier Ross 28:59
It's really challenging the traditional workforce development model and creating something completely new that centers black folks and their needs and their experiences. And then works from this liberatory space where we're not just getting what's left. 

De'Andrea Lottier Ross 29:14
We are not going to be the diversity hire. We're going to have an intentional space in this workforce development system because, Black Los Angelenos, our money, and our families, we move LA and we move California.

De'Andrea Lottier Ross 29:32
The Ready to Work program is instrumental in helping to reshape these existing workforce development programs. So the barriers that keep folks from being able to access careers or really any high road career in any industry, need to really center black folks. And it needs to come from a place that understands and articulates that experience so they can have real-world tools to better build for their future and stay in their career.

Shona Sen 30:11 
Excellent I can't wait to dive into the Ready To Work framework. Here at LISC, we're starting to establish and develop our workforce development model and looking to experts like you all to help guide the way in that process.

Shona Sen 30:29
Zahirah the next question is for you. At Slate-Z you all coordinate an inside-outside approach, where you engage impacted community leaders as collaborators with government agencies, corporations, and organizations.

Shona Sen 30:44
How does Slate-Z manage stakeholder alignment regarding workforce development in this process, and is there anything else you'd like to add about your approach?

Zahirah Mann 30:55
Thank you, I really appreciate that.

Zahirah Mann 30:57
What I’ll add first is what was discussed by my two colleagues here on really how to build effective systems.

Zahirah Mann 31:10 
There was a conversation about relationships and access. There's a piece in terms of case management and the cultural competency of support.

Zahirah Mann 31:18 
And our approach in terms of the various partners that we bring together is because you need all sorts of pieces to come together in order to have effective programs. You need the perspective of all of those different entities in order to create something new. We've done the same thing over and over again.

Zahirah Mann 31:37 
And when you keep getting the same response, which is not achieving your goals, the work that we're doing together helps us do things differently together. It helps us augment our different efforts and approaches and to be more, in terms of how we're uniting and our efforts.

Zahirah Mann 31:54
And so I would say, in some ways, it is an inside-outside approach, but more specifically in terms of the collective impact approach; it's an approach that use internationally to address complex community issues, and we're applying it to our work in South LA. Promise zones and our work at Slate-Z are in many ways modeled after other collective impact approaches, like the Harlem children's zone.

Zahirah Mann 32:19 
And a lot of these approaches have similarities so traditionally it's a backbone entity, so that's Slate-Z. A common agenda is the focus on economic revitalization in South LA; those five levels of change that I shared earlier.

Zahirah Mann 32:34
And then shared measurement, the shared measurement piece, for us, has been a focus on really very specific scorecards for each of the areas: transit, education, housing, jobs, etc.

Zahirah Mann 32:48
And what we're moving into this year is developing a new data dashboard that will hopefully be in partnership with USC where it'll be public facing so that our partners will be able to access our shared data.

Zahirah Mann 32:59
And, that way they'll be able to understand that these are the achievements that we're making in jobs or an education. And, that level of shared measurement and that level of transparency then helps us all collectively advance our shared goals. And then the mutually reinforcing activities with all of our work. 

Zahirah Mann 33:23 
I've worked for organizations, where they may be an organizing entity or they may have science support, whether they do policy. All of those pieces become separate within organizations and when you take them and you put them all together towards a shared goal we're able to go faster. We're able to go farther together.

Zahirah Mann 33:39 
What we're really doing in terms of those mutually reinforcing activities is building the structure that is going to help all of us move as far as possible in terms of our shared goals and activities.

Zahirah Mann 33:53
And so we need everyone to be part of it, but it's all from different lenses. Some organizations that we work with focus on direct services, some of them systems change, and some of them funding opportunities or apprenticeship programs, but we need all of it.

Zahirah Mann 34:05
And, rather than one entity trying to do all of it within their one organization we're doing it collectively. So that our organizations form this huge effort that allows us to have the shared goals and move them forward; but coming from the perspective that makes the most sense for each of us and coming from the expertise that each of us has.

Zahirah Mann 34:28
And then continuous communication, so we do that through a lot of regular communication, through newsletters, through social media posts, through blogs, through workgroup and subcommittee meetings. We're constantly convening people and constantly having discussions.

Zahirah Mann 34:42
All of those pieces help to ensure that we all stay focused on the same thing because there is a constant feedback loop and constant piece of understanding and communication. So that those shared goals really do feel like shared goals.

Zahirah Mann 34:56
And that's how we're able to ensure that we have that continuous alignment. Because people will go to meetings where we're talking about this particular career pathway that is then discussed with respect to reaching a job. And then, when we talk about small businesses, how are those aligned and how are we ensuring that our small businesses are still strong?

Zahirah Mann 35:20
Then also talking about from the education perspective and what a community college brings in. But, understanding that we have all of these resources in our Community. And how can we align them so that we're all working towards the same thing, but we keep the same goals in mind.

Zahirah Mann 35:34
And so we've been doing that over the years. Then, what we're doing is creating additional tools to ensure that we can continue doing those pieces, in terms of the data measurement, in terms of the mutually reinforcing activities, and in terms of us being able to tell a shared story.

Zahirah Mann 35:50
At Slate-Z, our story is the story of all of our partners, we all own it, it is all collectively ours. So that particular piece of having people have ownership over their story, becomes really important because they're then that much more invested in it because it really speaks to their work. 

Zahirah Mann 36:11
We really greatly appreciate the partnership of LISC LA, LA Promise, CRCD, EWDD, YWCA of greater Los Angeles, CDTech. We have so many partners who have worked so hard to have these shared goals and shared efforts. So when we look at going into the future and what our workplace and workforce development goals look like, from an education perspective in terms of work-based learning or in terms of those various career pathways. It's all done in partnership with so many different organizations and it needs to be.

Zahirah Mann 36:46
And that's what helps to ensure that we can look at something from a multi-layered lens rather than a single lens. That multi-layered way of helping understand helps to ensure that when we create these solutions and we're pilot projects. It includes all of the elements that we've talked about previously. It includes case management, relationship building, includes cultural competency, and includes appropriate support to ensure that people can actually execute the program. As well as that they are supported in the way that they need to be in order to be successful.

Shona Sen 37:23
Thanks so much Zahirah.

Shona Sen 37:25
We're reaching our last question of the morning. I would love to get a quick response from all of you on this one.

Shona Sen 37:34 
The question is, what else counts that we're not counting? Earlier, I mentioned that, although the unemployment rate has recently improved in LA county, many of the communities we partnered with do not benefit. Sometimes the way that we collect and analyze data does not reflect the nuances within the communities that we partner with.

Shona Sen 37:55
Our communities are dynamic, they are diverse, they are multifaceted, and they are comprised of intersecting identities. When we don't also include gender, sexual identity, immigration status, education, income levels, and disability status on top of race and ethnicity, we might end up with organizational and policy decisions that are not as inclusive as we'd like.

Shona Sen 38:18
For example, how are we ensuring that our work is reaching black communities who are also undocumented and LGBTQ plus? We know that inequities in accessing workforce development and economic mobility are exacerbated when additional layers of oppression are factored on top of structural racism.

Shona Sen 38:35
What else counts that we're not counting, what else would you like to see counted and incorporated into our policy? Our policy goals, our policy changes, our dismantling of structural racism? What else do we need to include in that?

Shona Sen 38:55
I'll pass it to whoever would like to go first. Maybe I'll call on De’Andrea to start and then we'll pass it around and we'll do a quick last question.

De'Andrea Lottier Ross 39:06
I think so many things count. What a question, I feel like my brain was popping all over. 

De'Andrea Lottier Ross 39:22
To start, something so small as when construction companies are hiring. Oftentimes we see photos of male-identified folks working or the language used is focused on male-identified people being recruited into those spaces. And I know there is a focus on the workforce development world to hire and bring on more folks across genders. 

De'Andrea Lottier Ross 39:49
To do that, you simply need to use inclusive language that communicates to the community black folks of all gender and all range, that you are welcome here.

De'Andrea Lottier Ross 40:02
And I think, on the other side of that, there needs to be intentionality from that employer to create a hospitable work environment that is free of discrimination. It counts so much. We really focus on who can check boxes. And I think, what counts is how we make a well-rounded team that's reflective of the community those jobs are situated in. And that isn't gendered and that isn't limiting based on the assumption of who will worker is. 

De'Andrea Lottier Ross 40:42
That in itself doesn't allow us to fully account for who we should be considering when we are outreaching and trying to link people to career opportunities. Even with the statistic that I shared earlier, 83% of black folks in the state of California, as a result of not just COVID, but a compounded experience of institutional racism. These folks had to reach out for support just to have to meet their basic means, and I think who else counts are all of the black folks who are denied that support.

De'Andrea Lottier Ross 41:18
The folks who are at the margins, the folks who are invisible in our systems, as you said, who aren't counted in data, or who are hard to reach, so to speak.  Folks who are hard to reach within workforce development systems, often are black folks.

De'Andrea Lottier Ross 41:36
They count and they are a meaningful part of our economy and they support so much non-union work, under-the-table work, and gig work. And those folks do count.

De'Andrea Lottier Ross 41:55
Once we start to create workforce development models that are based on curriculum, that speak to the whole worker, that centers the leadership and the success of that person in their family.

De'Andrea Lottier Ross 42:13
That is the best place to start, and the Black Worker Centers model really is championing that. I have been so excited to hear about the partners on the call because so much of the work we've done in the past and plan to do in the future, has been part of this collective approach to building together. It's such a multifaceted plan to uplift the workers who fall through the cracks, who are at the margins, and whose traditional workforce development processes have failed time and time again. This time, we can really get it right if we have strategic partnerships, and if we really speak to workers who are unaccounted for and move so much of the economy and different processes to help support even our daily lives.

Shona Sen 43:11
Amazing, thanks so much De’Andrea. We'll pass it to Jeffrey and then we'll end with Zahirah and we'll close out this awesome session.

Jeffery Wallace 43:21
Fantastic. I'm gonna take a different cut from this and I think one of the things that really need to be counted more is corporate America in the private sector’s commitment to advancing racial justice. Post the George Floyd murder, we got a wind feel of tremendous investment from the private sector and public statements around committing racial injustice.

Jeffery Wallace 43:46
I think it was the Washington Post or the New York Times that published an article about three months ago. It said a significant amount of resources have not gone out into the marketplace. But beyond that, it is important for us to track not just the dollars that are being invested in communities, but how are those resources actually landing in the community. And landing internally for the culture and workplace of the workers and talent that are part of these corporations. 

Jeffery Wallace 44:17
We need to track more employee satisfaction.
Especially as it relates to systemic drivers of racism in the workplace and beyond the systemic drivers of racism in the community. Corporations no longer just need to be corporate citizens but corporate neighbors that care about the communities that they actually operate within. There needs to be some level of accountability infrastructure in place that says this is what you said you're going to do. And here's what the community and your workers are saying you're actually doing. 

Jeffery Wallace 44:44
There are either tremendous gains or some gaps that are being made. Even when we think about LA County and our public health infrastructure for restaurants. We walk into a restaurant and notice an A, B, or C.

Jeffery Wallace 44:53
Workers are not given that opportunity of transparency to understanding what the culture, what the opportunities, the economic mobility chances that are there when they are signing up to work with an employer. We need to level the playing fields on that by collecting data from workers and putting that against what employers are saying that they're doing in our Community and in our workplace. I think that would help us democratize the labor market a lot more and amplify the voice of workers by holding employers accountable as corporate brands. Because that allows us, as a community to leverage our purchasing power to hold companies accountable. Brands that invest and are highly scored within our community; we should support those brands.

Jeffery Wallace 45:46
Brands that aren’t in alignment with our goals and aspirations around an inclusive and equitable anti-racist economy; we don't need to support those brands. But we're not tracking that data and it's not public enough at the community level for us to take corrective action.

Shona Sen 45:56
Thank you, Jeffrey. Zahirah.

Zahirah Mann 46:00
Thank you. Thank you for this wrap-up question. I would say, there are two pieces that come to mind, for me. One is more of a system and the other one is a little bit trickier to do.

Zahirah Mann 46:17
I think, from a systems approach, in terms of what counts is how we understand money and the utilization of resources. If there are funding opportunities, tie those funding opportunities to how are you going to be advancing the needs of populations that have been historically disadvantaged or historically more vulnerable populations.

Zahirah Mann 46:39
I think that tying money to what the outcomes are that we actually want to see and doing more of a link, in that way, in terms of funding opportunities; is a way to address some of this in terms of how dollars are invested.

Zahirah Mann 46:53
The other half of this is less systems and it's more relationships. They're all of these different systems fixes to address this, but people get jobs from relationships. You get a position, and you get your foot in the door, because you know someone there. A lot of times, if you know someone there it doesn't matter how much education you have, it doesn't matter how much experience you've had before that. What matters is that you have a contact, you have a relationship, and someone is able to tell the other part of your story.

Zahirah Mann 47:24
And the story oftentimes that they're able to tell is the story that is so much a part of who you are, but you haven't fully understood it yet. But when someone else helps to reshape your story for you, and in this incredibly compelling way and it is reflected back to you. You then realize ‘Oh, I really do have all of those experiences and I really have all of these wonderful things to offer’.

Zahirah Mann 47:46
But you need a chance and those chances come from relationships and that part I think with the workforce is incredibly difficult to figure out ways to have systems around them.

Zahirah Mann 48:02
It is all about relationships. And those relationships are things that I know that Jeffrey's organization really tries hard to bridge and De’Andrea's organization also really tries hard to bridge. But those pieces, in terms of the relationships, are really critical in getting people in the door.

Zahirah Mann 48:21
Beyond that, the efforts that we're doing in terms of career pathways and the educational pieces.

Zahirah Mann 48:28 
All of that helps to set people up for success, but being able to crack what it is, in terms of relationships, and if there is a way for us to be able to systematize that in some way.

Zahirah Mann 48:38
I think would just open up so many incredible opportunities, because you see it all the time, especially with high school students. You might have a high school student who is just brilliant but they just don't present that way. They need someone to help shine a light on their brilliance. And as soon as someone does that other people can clearly see it, but it takes a lot of intentionality around relationships in order to be able to do that. That's the piece that counts that we're not fully counting. And figuring out a way to make that more systemic and maybe it's just more resources to the organizations that do this incredibly well.

Zahirah Mann 49:15
That's a piece that I think is really important, and at this moment where we're trying to address so much inequity, it's a place where I think a lot could be focused on and a lot of resources dedicated to. In order to ensure that we really do see the level of transformational change that we're all seeking at this moment.

Shona Sen 49:33
Thank you so much De’Andrea, Zahirah, and Jeffrey for joining me in this dynamic conversation. Your insights are essential in understanding how to build capacity for the workforce and business development organizations and to improve service delivery to upward mobility for their communities.

Shona Sen 49:51
I think this was such an interesting conversation just around dismantling structural racism, dismantling those systemic barriers that many times workforce development models or approaches don't incorporate and don't you know directly integrate into their plans. Each of you plays a vital role in achieving economic equity outcomes in this space during and post-COVID-19.

Shona Sen 50:16
I look forward to seeing all of you continue to dismantle structural barriers and increase economic mobility through your groundbreaking work. Thank you so much, I hope you all have a great rest of the day. And thanks for sticking with us until 11 am.

De'Andrea Lottier Ross 50:31
Thank you, Shona.

Jeffery Wallace 50:35
Thanks for having us.

Shona Sen 50:36
This episode of Changemakers LA was made possible by our partner JPMorgan Chase.

Shona Sen 50:40
If you would like to learn more about how we support place-based initiatives for housing and economic development at LISC LA, please visit us online at www.LISC.org/Los-Angeles. And follow us on Twitter @LISC_LA.

Shona Sen 51:02
You can find the rest of the series on iTunes, Spotify, and Google podcasts. Subscribe to hear more conversations about the people and places that shape Los Angeles.

Shona Sen 51:15
This podcast was produced in collaboration with Growing Greatness Now, a consulting firm committed to social and environmental justice.