Monthly Presentations
Below are the recordings and slide decks of some of our monthly convenings.
October 2024
The Intersection Between Democracy, Employment Equity, and Policy
In light of the 2024 elections that will be taking place next week, Brad Williams from the Detroit Regional Chamber, talked about the latest poll of Michigan's electorate, and took EELAC on a deeper, behind the top lines, to tell us the story behind the polls, what it means for Nov. 5th, and to the weeks, months, and years to follow.
Monique Stanton, President and CEO of the Michigan League for Public Policy, discussed the intersection between democracy, voting and public policy. She provided an overview of the Michigan League for Public Policy's worker agenda and highlighted different scenario planning for 2025, including a conversation about how to work across the aisle.
September 2024
One on One Meeting Data Synthesis
In this EELAC meeting, Fatima Salman discussed updates on the EELAC 1-on-1 interview findings. EELAC members met with the ENGAGE team and gave them a rundown of all their goals and activities their organization is working on. This list has been compiled into a document that will help the ecosystem learn more about each others work. Sonia Harb then outlined the Action Plan for the upcoming year. This action plan was created with the feedback from EELAC participants. The EELAC Program Evaluator Liz Delaney present from Delaney Data Empowerment then gathered data during the September convening using a Miro board and introduced a short survey for participants to provide feedback about EELAC. The meeting ended with DeWayne Wells from Economic Justice Alliance of Michigan (EJAM) sharing the organization’s significant policy wins.
June 2024
Centering Learner Voice in Program Development, Implementation, and Evaluation
Speakers: Alex Breen, CSW- Corporation for a Skilled Workforce, Senior Policy Associate on the Improving Practices & Outcomes Team, Chioke Mose-Telesford, CSW Director of Improving Practices & Outcomes, Marwa Berro Zaman International, Terrell Hemphill, Per Scholas, Gigi Salka Zaman, Chief Workforce Development Officer
The Corporation for a Skilled Workforce addressed our June EELAC and introduced the EELAC network to participatory action research and its benefits and explore the idea of bringing the Worker Centered Benchmark Project to our network. This session furthered our emphasis and priority on centering worker voice in all that we do as EELAC and featured workforce development participants from Per Scholas and Zaman International who presented their innovative research. These speakers focused on thinking about how to incorporate systems-level changes, workforce development, and employer initiatives to foster positive hiring practices and cultures. Additionally, state-wide advocacy efforts were highlighted. We invite you to watch the recording of the convening to learn more.
April 2024
Jobs and Equity for Justice Impacted Individuals
Speakers: Greg Anderson - Director of Flip the Script Empowerment Programs, Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit; Melissa Riccio - Project Manager II and Inclusive Hiring Professional, Center for Employment Opportunities; Margrit Allen - National Director of Workforce Development, Trinity Health; AJ Evans - Talent Attraction Manager: Community Partnerships, Academics Pipelines and Apprenticeship, Corewell Health; John Cooper - Executive Director and Ken Nixon - Director of Outreach and Community Partnerships, Safe & Just Michigan
This convening, which took place during Second Chance Month, focused on how we can impact systems to create economic opportunities for justice impacted individuals. Six speakers representing groups working on systems level change, workforce development providers and employers who are working to create positive cultures and best practices for hiring, and state-wide advocacy efforts shared ways their organizations have been engaging in this work and explained how EELAC members can support related advocacy agendas.
February 2024
Healing Centered Restorative Engagement
Speakers: Dr. Tracy Hall - CoFounder & Ontological Guide, Healing Centered Restorative Engagement; Ericka Page - Director, Detroit Employment Solutions Corporation; Ann Leen - Assistant Vice President of Youth Services, SER Metro-Detroit
Dr. Tracy Hall provided an overview of Healing Centered Restorative Engagement (HCRE), a model she created with Dr. Jessica Camp to shift organizational practices to center on well-being. HCRE calls for a recognition of problems and strengths but with a clear call to challenge systems that create inequality and disconnection from opportunity. It challenges social problems at their very origins and prioritizes preventative action. Representatives from DESC and SER Metro-Detroit shared how HCRE has transformed their organizations and helped their organizations’ programming and staff.
January 2024
Community Benefits Agreements
Speakers: Tonya Myers-Phillips - Community Partnerships & Development Director and Jacob Fallman - UIA Policy Coordinator, Maurice & Jane Sugar Law Center for Economic & Social Justice; Sam Butler - Executive Director, Doing Development Differently in Metro Detroit
Two representatives from the Sugar Law Center for Economic & Social Justice provided an overview of community benefits agreements (CBAs), shared examples from national and local projects, and discussed common challenges with the CBA process. They also showcased their free, recently launched CBA resource website and led EELAC members in considering how they can leverage CBAs to secure equitable development and promote equity goals and how they can help the communities they serve be better prepared to engage in CBA processes. Following their presentation, the Executive Director of Doing Development Differently in Metro Detroit (D4), presented on D4’s engagement with CBAs, gave examples of how employment equity goals can be included in CBAs, and provided recommendations for how EELAC members can better support this work.
October 2023
The Apprenticeship Landscape in Detroit
Speakers: Janene Erne - Regional Apprenticeship Administrator, Workforce Intelligence Network (WIN) and Apprenticeship Ambassador, U.S. Department of Labor (DOL); Jessica Carr - Director of Industry-Led Training, Detroit Employment Solutions Corporation (DESC); Kendra Quinlan - Michigan Market Development Director, Accenture
The Regional Apprenticeship Administrator at WIN, who also serves as a U.S. DOL Apprenticeship Ambassador, started this meeting with a presentation on registered and non-registered apprenticeships and the trend towards pre-apprenticeship programs. We then heard from the Director of Industry-Led Training at DESC about Detroit@Work’s apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship program initiatives and from the Michigan Market Development Director at Accenture about the company’s work on developing apprenticeship programs for their own company and creating resources to engage other businesses in this space through the Detroit New Apprentice Network.
May 2022
Centering and Lifting Worker Voice
Speakers: DeWayne Wells - Executive Director, Economic Justice Alliance of Michigan; Eboni Taylor - Executive Director, Mothering Justice; Chris White - Director, Restaurant Opportunities Center-Michigan and National High Road
The Executive Director of the Economic Justice Alliance of Michigan moderated a discussion that focused on centering worker voices as a lever of change and strategies for organizing and building the capacity of workers to advance equitable employment policies and workplace cultures that meet the needs of employees. The Executive Director of Mothering Justice and the Director of Restaurant Opportunities Center-Michigan and National High Road discussed programs that they have within their own organizations that are centered around lifting worker voice.
April 2022
Improving Job Quality, Workplace Culture, and Talent Pipelines
Speakers: Tom Strong - Director of Employer Activation, National Fund for Workforce Solutions; Jan Karazim - Program Manager, Workforce Intelligence Network
This convening explored what characterizes job quality and positive workplace culture and the role this plays in job success and career advancement. The National Fund for Workforce Solutions shared a human-centered framework for designing jobs that support the success of both workers and employers, and the Workforce Intelligence Network shared insights on talent pipeline issues in the healthcare sector and innovative approaches to credentialing and promoting greater equity in healthcare.
October 2021
Hearing from Detroit Workers and Jobseekers and Learning About Improving Educational Attainment and Job Quality
Speakers: Aron Castlin, Lavell Sanders, Harriette Brown, Cynthia McCreary, and Chondae Mathis - Detroit workers and jobseekers; Christi Taylor - Director, Programs and Employer Partnerships, Detroit Regional Chamber; Jennie Weissbourd - Associate Director, Workforce Strategies Initiative, Economic Opportunities Program, Aspen Institute; Yoorie Chang - Research Assistant, Workforce Strategies Initiative, Economic Opportunities Program, Aspen Institute
Prior to this convening, EELAC staff had been conducting focus groups with Detroit workers and jobseekers. For this session, panelists were brought in from these focus groups to share their experiences, stories, and barriers to employment with EELAC members to better align the collaborative’s projects with their needs moving forward. EELAC members also received presentations about Detroit Drives Degrees and about how to strengthen job quality.
August 2021
Promoting Economic Mobility in Detroit
Speakers: Greg Wright - Fellow, Global Economy and Development Program, Brookings Institute; Ian Seyal - Senior Project Manager and Research Analyst, Workforce of the Future Initiative, Brookings Institute
Two speakers from the Brookings Institute presented data and tracking information on the economies of major cities across the U.S. and globally, with a focus on projections for Detroit. They also discussed the tools used to create these metrics.
June 2021
Structuring the Work of EELAC Using Driver Diagrams
Speakers: Patricia Bowie - Managing Director for Innovation and Design, Population Change Institute; Efren Aguilar - Director of Strategy and Development, UCLA Center for Healthier Children, Families & Communities
This convening’s speakers presented on the importance of structuring EELAC’s work in order to meet its goals and achieve population outcomes, how to plan and measure this process, and a tool called Driver Diagrams that can be used to plan and track progress in the work of collective impact collaboratives.
April 2021
COVID-19 and the U.S. and Detroit Economies
Speakers: Melissa Sheldon - Director of Data and Workforce Projects, Workforce Intelligence Network; Betsy Stevenson - Professor of Public Policy and Economics at the U-M; Don Jones - Associate Director, New Economy Initiative; and Charity Dean - President and Chief Executive Officer, Metro-Detroit Black Business Alliance
EELAC members received presentations focused on the impact of COVID-19 on the U.S. economy, and more specifically, the Detroit economy.
October 2020
The Detroiters Bill of Rights and the Detroit Regional Talent Compact
Speakers: Raquel Castaneda Lopez - City Councilwoman, Detroit District 6; Tawana Petty - Data Justice Director, Detroit Community Technology Project; Greg Handel - Vice President, Education and Talent, Detroit Regional Chamber; Melanie D’Evelyn - Director of Detroit Drives Degrees, Detroit Regional Chamber
The first portion of this convening was a presentation on The Detroiters Bill of Rights given by Councilwoman Raquel Castaneda Lopez and Tawana Petty. The panelists discussed how over 50 organizations got together and developed a resolution that is now being voted on and will be placed on the ballot by the following year. During the second portion of the meeting, Greg Handel and Melanie D’Evelyn discussed the Detroit Regional Chambers’ Detroit Regional Talent Compact, a data-based, community-driven strategic plan to achieve two regional goals by 2030: increase postsecondary attainment to 60% and reduce the educational equity gap by half.
June 2020
Identifying and Dismantling Anti-Racism within our Own Work and Organizations
Speakers: Tristan Taylor - Founder, Detroit Will Breathe; Charity Dean - Director of Civil Rights Inclusion and Opportunity for the City of Detroit; Alicia Renee Farris - Senior National Deputy Director, Restaurant Opportunities Center; Daicia Price - Clinical Assistant Professor, U-M School of Social Work
This convening took place amidst anti-racism protests occurring in the City. It centered on a conversation with the leader of the protests and founder of Detroit Will Breathe, Tristan Taylor, City Official, Charity Dean, and head of the Restaurant Opportunities Center, Alicia Renee Farris. The discussion was on the systems, structures, and practices that the speakers felt needed to change and what their asks were of the institutional leaders present in the convening to help make this change happen. The second portion of the convening was a workshop facilitated by UM-SSW faculty Daicia Price on white supremacy culture and dismantling anti-racist policies in our institutions.
April 2020
Barriers and Facilitators to Employment Equity from a Strengths-based Approach
Speakers: Jeannine LaPrad - Senior Fellow, Corporation for a Skilled Workforce; Patrick Cooney - Assistant Director, Detroit Partnership on Economic Mobility, Poverty Solutions at U-M; Afton Branche - Strategic Projects Manager, Detroit Partnership on Economic Mobility, Poverty Solutions at U-M; Karley Thurston - Senior Research Analyst, Workforce Intelligence Network
This convening’s speakers co-created a presentation on barriers and facilitators to employment equity based on labor market and jobs data as well as resident perceptions. They also presented current data on unemployment caused by COVID-19 and led a discussion on an equity-based framework for recovery.
