Faces of Workforce

In 2018, after spending 20 years raising her daughters as a stay-at-home mom, Shellie Baxter created Our Genetic Legacy (OGL), a nonprofit educational publishing house focusing on amplifying the voices and stories of People of Color. Shellie used our TechHire program to provide paid work experiences for young female data analysts and drone pilots.

Jose Tamayo is a 23-year-old from National City who has had an eventful journey to finding his passion and career path. Knowing that college wasn’t the right fit for him, Jose decided to explore other opportunities. He participated in the Ocean Discovery Institute as an AmeriCorps intern and later landed an internship through the San Diego Workforce Partnerships.

After struggling with substance use and multiple instances with the justice system, 55-year-old Susan Rivera decided it was time to seek help and change the trajectory of her life.

46-year-old Lamont Burns had never held a full-time job. His little work included an on-call dishwasher, and it had been five years since he held that job. Lamont relied on the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) he received to support himself. After being connected to our Ticket-to-Work and Self Sufficiency (Ticket) program–a federal program designed to provide SSDI beneficiaries help to enter and maintain employment­­–Lamont was finally able to secure a full-time job and reach a goal he had long strived to achieve.

26-year-old Jessica Osorio is one of the first graduates of the Healthcare Administration Pathways program, a three-month accelerated training towards a specialized certificate in the healthcare revenue cycle. After three years of staying home to care for her two kids,

Sticky Digital is a startup digital marketing agency that helps its clients build brand loyalty through innovative emails and personalized messages. When their business started to grow, one of the founders and current chief revenue officer, Nicole Glock, contacted the San Diego Workforce Partnership’s business engagement team for help with hiring and training new employees.

24-year-old Michael Lane was facing hard times. He was living out of his car, jobless and unsure what to do next. Living on his own with a minimal support system, he spent a lot of his free time at his local YMCA, where he would shower and work out to decompress. There, he got connected to the H.I.R.E program and began receiving the support he didn’t even realize was possible.

After struggling with her own behavioral health and substance use, Anaisa Flores got connected with the Workforce Partnership’s Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Counselor Training program. With 315 hours of education completed, Anaisa tells about her plans for certification, graduate school and why lived experience is a strength, not a weakness.

Accessing On-the-Job Training funds allows local manufacturer, FutureStitch, to invest in the surrounding community, hiring and training formerly incarcerated women. Rather than just aiming for a higher bottom line, FutureStitch measurements of success include employee happiness, retention and reduction in recidivism. Read on to learn how they do it and why it matters.

Jose Mendiola reached a point where he knew he had to change his life. After working with our partners at South Bay Community Services (SBCS), Jose obtained the financial and skill-building support he needed to land a higher-paying job in the career field he is passionate about.