It Takes a Village… of Partners

STRIVE Chief Marketing Officer Marcie Klein (at right) with the STRIVE Executive Team at JFF Horizons 2025.

We can’t do it alone.

As a relative newcomer to the workforce space, there are many similarities to the world of healthcare. Whether we’re trying to reach patients and families, or students, and whether we’re creating access to lifesaving treatments and care or life-changing employment opportunities, the common theme is partnerships. Partnerships with industry and employers, funders and donors, and legislators and policy makers to break down systemic barriers to opportunities for the individuals and communities who need them most.

And whether from the perch of a leading cancer nonprofit or STRIVE, a national workforce development solution, it has been gratifying and eye opening at the same time to be welcomed to prestigious thought leadership platforms. STRIVE has had the opportunity to discuss critical issues facing workforce organizations at a time when funding is uncertain while the needs are increasing.

But, I see our workforce partners and constituents truly rising to meet the moment.

Three recent panel discussions offer a window into how we’re partnering to find practical solutions:

L to R: Raj Borsellino (Director of National Philanthropy, Truist), Bertina Ceccarelli (CEO, NPower),
Leonardo Williams (Mayor of Durham, NC) and Phil Weinberg (STRIVE CEO).

In early June, the workforce community descended on New Orleans for the Jobs for the Future annual Horizons summit. Our STRIVE CEO, Phil Weinberg, joined Bertina Ceccarelli, CEO of NPower and the mayor of Durham, NC, Leonardo Williams, on a panel sponsored by our funder, Truist Foundation. Raj Borsellino, Truist Director of National Philanthropy, moderated a conversation about building inclusive and resilient regional economies. The “aha” for me was that change can be bottom up and top down, and a city like Durham can set an example for national funders in local communities, with employers and workforce organizations partnering to meet people where they are.

L to R: Robert Clark (CEO and Founder, Newark Opportunity Youth Network), Jasmyne Beckford (Manager,
Prudential Financial), Lauren King (Program Officer, W.K. Kellogg Foundation) and Monique Baptiste
(Chief Program Officer, STRIVE).

Also at Horizons was a STRIVE panel moderated by our Chief Program Officer, Monique Baptiste, featuring Kellogg Foundation Program Officer, Lauren King, Jasmyne Beckford of Prudential Financial and Robert Clark, CEO and founder of Newark Opportunity Youth Network. The topic – A Brighter Future for Young Adults Facing Opportunity Challenges, focused on young adults 18-24 who are disconnected from school, work and families, many of whom are justice-impacted. The takeaway – it takes a network of employers, funders, social services and employment organizations working together to reach these individuals earlier, providing mentorship and, importantly, practical skills and job training that match local employer hiring needs.

L to R: Monique Baptiste (Chief Program Officer, STRIVE), Valerie Orellana (VP, Human Resources ,Mount Sinai
Health System), Roy Castro (CEO, Castro Ventures; STRIVE Board Co-Chair & Alumni) and Gregg Bishop
(Executive Director, Joe and Clara Tsai Foundation Social Justice Fund).

Finally, earlier this year, STRIVE was on the stage at SXSW EDU for a discussion on alternative trade schools for people facing systemic barriers to employment. STRIVE’s long-term employer partner, Mount Sinai Health System VP, HR, Valerie Orellana, spoke so movingly about how doctors and nurses are the hospital heroes but it’s the unsung workers like those in environmental and sterilization services, patient navigation and logistics, that are the engine that keep hospitals running. For 20+ years, STRIVE has provided trained, certified and motivated employees for healthcare staff positions, and we’re doing the same in Birmingham, New Orleans and Brooklyn, where our program expansion was made possible through the support of the Joe and Clara Tsai Foundation Social Justice Fund. The Fund’s Executive Director, Gregg Bishop, reinforced the need to give employers a seat at the table to ensure we’re training employees with the right skills that lead to long-term careers and reduce recidivism.  

Bottom line: there’s not one track or one pipeline to a career and prosperity. It’s partnerships that create the pathways to possible for STRIVE graduates and others like them.

Marcie Klein  
Chief Marketing Officer  
Direct: 646.328.6008
she/her/hers 

About STRIVE

STRIVE is a national workforce development solution for people ready and motivated for a new start. We offer tuition-free skills and job-readiness training, one-on-one support and lifetime personal coaching. We create partnerships with employers that result in pathways to life-changing careers while helping employers close critical gaps in their workforce.