Dana Breen is Head of Customer Success at Onramp. She has been with Onramp for almost three years, building opportunities for underrepresented groups in technology. Prior to joining Onramp, she worked for several tech startups and coding boot camps in admissions, people ops, and as an instructor. She has a whole other life as a former dance instructor, yoga teacher, and massage therapist. These activities have now taken the role of hobbies rather than jobs. She lives in Asheville, NC with her Husky Inu dog and Siamese cat. She loves enjoying great food, craft beer, and natural beauty in Asheville.

Stacey Butler has been with CVS Health since June 6, 1988. Stacey started as an assistant manager trainee in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Stacey’s career path advanced in many roles, including assistant manager, store manager, and training store manager in the Washington DC/Metro area.

Stacey joined the Workforce Initiatives team as a Workforce Innovation & Talent Center manager and has advanced to a Sr. Manager supporting programs & training at the local, state, and national levels and overseeing six states with a team of 3 direct reports. Stacey also leads Workforce Initiatives Youth Council supporting youth opportunities on a national level.

Chika Chukwuekem is currently an HR manager at CyberSOC Africa. She is passionate, driven, and committed to driving talent optimization within organizations. This is often done with active use of people analytics, employee engagement initiatives and trainings. She has established herself as a specialist in driving learning in organizations with the following experiences:

• Managed the CyberSOC Academy which focuses on attracting future talents who are passionate about cybersecurity and receive the necessary training to become Cybersecurity Analysts
• Managed the School of Banking Excellence for Access Bank (Tier 1 Bank in Nigeria/Africa), which focuses on training and development of entry-level trainees to be high performing employees upon resumption

She loves adventure and when she is not working, she is reading books, watching movies or food channels, and engaging her friends in constructive conversations. She lives in Lagos, Nigeria, with her family and fiancé.

Kristie is a first-generation college graduate dedicated to economic mobility. Her work seeks to solve one question: how can we create economic justice? She has developed and implemented workforce and educational programs that address local community and business needs. These programs have been adopted as national best practices. Examples of her work at Commonwealth Edison, The Fry Foundation, The University of Chicago, and Cara Chicago include:

• Co-designed and launched UChicago Local, the University of Chicago’s live, buy, and hire local initiative. This program spurred the launch of World Business Chicago’s Anchors for a Strong Economy (CASE) and several national university programs.
• Co-launched the Civic Leadership Academy, an interdisciplinary executive education program specifically designed to support nonprofit and government leaders in solving some of Chicago’s toughest social challenges while advancing their careers.
• Spearheaded UChicago’s first career ladder, apprenticeship, and vocational training programming in partnership with workforce agencies and the medical center.
• Managed a grant portfolio of $1.5 million for workforce programs and co-developed the first racial equity grant portfolio
• Supports the expansion of ComEd’s workforce development programs, including job training in project management, green trades, and infrastructure jobs.

She serves on the Board of Directors for Love, Unity and Values Institute, a violence prevention and job training organization, and The Plant Chicago, an organization that is dedicated to creating equitable circular economies.

Lori Coppa is one of three Early Career Development Managers for The Hartford’s Performance Enablement Group. She supports our company’s Registered Apprentice Program, onboarding efforts and career development for leaders and individual contributors. She has had an enjoyable career path in the Insurance Industry over the last 30+ years, including leadership, auditing, training, and P & C claims handling. She is excited to work with various community colleges across the country to enhance Hartford’s Apprenticeship and Internship Program.

Currently, Lon lives in Seymour, CT with her husband Steve, and her son Cameron, who will be graduating from the University of Connecticut in May. She enjoys yoga, running, and binge-watching Netflix.

Mia Crabbe is the workforce leadership and development program manager at Hypertherm. She has over 20 years of experience in the human resources field. In her role at Hypertherm, Mia guides and develops associates’ professional and personal growth. Presently, she is finishing her PhD in organizational leadership at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology.

Clare Cruz is the Talent Acquisition Manager with Smart & Final. In her role, she is a global administrator of the company’s applicant tracking system. This means supporting their 250+ stores, Supply Chain and Store Support Center with recruiting and administering their background and drug screening compliance. In addition, she is a sponsor for their Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee. In 2022, she will be celebrating 20 years with Smart & Final.

Clare works and lives in Southern California and enjoys spending time with her boyfriend, parents, five siblings, and 22 nieces and nephews. They love good food, family time, laughing, and making memories!

Crystal Davidson is the Vice President of iBuild, leading the development of strategic business solutions that address the workforce needs of employers within the Florida region. Crystal leads her team in creating innovative strategies to garner greater levels of commitment from industry leaders in designing formalized pathways for the next generation of trade and industry professionals. She is an executive-level trainer, educator, and information architect who works with business leaders, government officials, and education experts to develop training programs in a variety of incumbencies with an emphasis on apprenticeship development.

She has spent two decades bridging the gap between performance in public education and meeting the instructional and training needs of the business community. Crystal is a subject matter expert who employs innovative strategies for designing and developing curricula and ensuring that students are successful in achieving the desired learning outcomes that lead to gainful and productive employment.

Presently, Crystal is working to create, implement, and manage apprenticeship training for industry partners and reentry programs for justice-involved citizens, complete with job training and placement upon graduation. Additionally, she is considered a subject matter expert in the following areas:

• vocational training curriculum development
• apprenticeship program development
• securing program implementation funding sources
• workforce planning and development across public and private sectors

JFF’s commitment to transforming the American workforce and educational systems is a primary tool in the quest to create equitable access to pathways for economic advancement for all. In her words, “Much of my work has been purposed to ensure that people on the margins of life have a chance to empower themselves through hard work, education, and training; there is a powerful synergistic relationship with my personal mission and the mission of JFF.”

Crystal is a wife and the mother of three beautiful daughters that inspire her to continue to strive for greatness every day.

David Dillon currently serves as the Senior Program Manager of Cognizant’s Pre-Employment Programs. Prior to Cognizant, he spent over ten years in the education, non-profit, and philanthropy sectors. Throughout his career, David worked with a wide range of stakeholders committed to training and upskilling untapped talent for high-quality jobs, internships, and scholarships.

Before joining Cognizant, David oversaw tech employer partnerships at the City University of New York (CUNY). He coordinated the launch of the New York Jobs CEO Council micro-credentials—a 27-member company consortium committed to hiring 100,000 low-income New Yorkers by 2030. David also wrote a 50-page report, sponsored by the NYC Economic Development Corporation, detailing CUNY’s ability to meet the Cybersecurity and Data Science talent needs required by NYC employers.

Previous to CUNY, David worked in support of Secretary Hillary Clinton’s Job One commitment portfolio, Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s NYC Service initiative, and the launch of Stephen A. Schwarzman’s global scholarship, Schwarzman Scholars.

Ryan Foote is a Director of Employer Partnerships at Forage, helping large organizations ensure young people develop a better understanding of the unique opportunities they have to offer. Ryan helps create bespoke virtual job simulations in partnership with Fortune 500 brands. Foragers complete tasks at an individual firm for a specific job, helping to demystify the work at that organization. His skills are in internships, virtual internships, early talent recruitment, and employer branding. Ryan is attracted to Talent of Tomorrow because there is a massive opportunity to connect “nontraditional” talent with opportunities and the fellowship can help build and maintain that bridge between candidates and employers.

Ryan is an adventurer. He loves to travel, cook, exercise the mind and body, and considers himself a lifelong personal and professional learner.

Bronagh Friel has worked at Google for 11 years and is Grow with Google’s Workforce Development Lead, focusing largely on the Google Career Certificates as well as specific initiatives and programming for veterans and military families. Grow with Google is an initiative to create economic opportunities for all Americans by helping people across the United States grow their skills, careers, and businesses through free tools, training, and events. Since launching in 2017, they have trained more than seven million Americans on digital skills.

In her current role with Best Buy's Social Impact team, Jackiez is a program designer and postsecondary strategist for their national network of Best Buy Teen Tech Center out-of-school time programs. Jackiez completed her bachelor's degree at Truman State University, and completed graduate work and research experiences at Tufts University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Jackiez is now based in Tulsa, OK where she was one of the original members of Tulsa Remote. Her passions include voter advocacy, animal welfare, and helping others get connected to opportunities in Tulsa. This includes serving as the 2023 chair for TYPROS (Tulsa's Young Professionals), one of the largest and leading young professionals networks in the country. She also is the founder of a small public art initiative focused on elevating economic development opportunities for aspiring business owners in Tulsa called "Regenerate | Reimagine."

For fun, Jackiez loves hanging out at her neighborhood honky-tonk, volunteering, and video games.

Lauren Gumbel is a dedicated advocate and innovative leader disrupting systemic inequity in workforce development. Seeing the opportunity gap as a special educator in Chicago led me to college, career, and postsecondary training program management work and then into Talent Acquisition. She manages internships and pre-apprenticeships for an energy company with a focus on building partnerships with diverse community-based organizations. She lives in Milwaukee with her fiancé and cat, and is counting down to warmer lake-swimming days!

Josh Hamilton is currently an HR Manager with Knauf Insulation. He has been in this role for one year but has worked in HR for over 12 years, mostly within manufacturing. His professional mission is to develop the professional skills and abilities of the teams and communities he supports. Josh lives in Shepherdstown, WV, with his spouse and five-year-old son, who keeps him busy anytime he’s not at work.

Melanie Kramer is a Senior Manager of Workforce Initiatives at CVS Health. In her role, she is responsible for developing strategic partnerships at the local, state, and national levels to create workforce, education, and health care programs with the objective of creating non-traditional talent pipelines of individuals who are representative of the communities where they live and work. She has a background in higher education, workforce development, and military program management. She lives in San Diego, CA and enjoys music, cooking, yoga, and spending time with her spouse and 4-year-old twin boys.

Jim Laury is one of three Early Career Development Managers for The Hartford’s Performance Enablement Group. He supports the company’s Registered Apprentice Program, onboarding efforts and career development for leaders and individual contributors. His journey as an insurance claims professional began in Workers' Compensation and, over time expanded to include medical cost containment programs and administration. From 2005 until 2014, he was a department-level Director in Group Benefit Claims. In 2013, he joined our learning organization with a focus on leadership development and analytics.

Jim and his wife Judi call East Syracuse, New York home, along with their daughter Bianca (on temporary assignment in Clarksville, TN) and son Armand.

Bethany Lighthall is Talent Management Leader at Novelis for the North American region. She leads learning and development initiatives for the 17 Novelis facilities in the United States and Canada. Bethany manages the technical and leadership learning and development needs at Novelis. Bethany excels at building and maintaining strategic internal and external partnerships. Her skills are program design and development, as well as culture and employee engagement. In her words, “I want to join Talent of Tomorrow because JFF is at the forefront of the latest workforce trends. I am excited for the opportunity to deepen my understanding of CTEs through such knowledgeable and talented faculty. The opportunity to network with peers and best practice share talent initiatives is extremely valuable.”

Bethany is a new parent who is enjoying the challenges and rewards of being a working mom! She loves spending time with family and traveling.

Megan Lipset is a people operations specialist at NeuroFlow, a mental health technology startup. In her role, she leads recruitment and helps to build out the people department. Megan’s work focuses on building a well-run and efficient recruiting process from sourcing to close. In her role thus far, she has helped drive the hiring of exceptional candidates during rapid growth (35 percent growth in FTE count since summer—65 to 89 today) and established the foundation and best practices for everything related to recruitment. She is focused on supporting the organization in finding diverse talent pipelines and giving candidates the best possible experience through the process. Megan is SHRM-CP certified. In her free time, she loves to read, spend time with her pup named Noodles, and travel to new places with her fiancé.

Andrew Marcotte is an HR Manager at Blain’s Farm & Fleet, a specialty discount retailer with 43 locations throughout Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, and Michigan. In this role, Andrew supports the company’s demand planning function and automotive service teams across all locations. This enterprise role allows for a strategic partnership with management teams to deliver tactical HR support on all HR processes, programs, and practices.

Andrew graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from Olivet Nazarene University in May 2016 and earned his SHRM-SCP in 2020.

Andrew currently serves as the President of Black Hawk Human Resource Association (BHRA), while also participating in SHRM's National Young Professionals Advisory Council (YPAC) and serving as a board member of the Southwest Wisconsin Workforce Development Board.Bio Here

Paula Noland has spent the last 28 years at Hyster-Yale Group located in Berea, KY, working in the Human Resources Department. They manufacture the Hyster & Yale forklifts. She lives in Richmond, KY, with her husband of 37 years. They have one daughter who is 25 years old.

She received her bachelor’s degree in business management from Midway University. She enjoys reading, cooking, and playing the piano.

Duane has been with CVS Health since February 2, 1997. Duane started as a Store Manager in the Canton, Ohio market. Duane’s career path advanced in many roles, including store manager and training store manager in the Canton and Massillon, Ohio market. Duane joined the Workforce Initiatives team as a Workforce Innovation & Talent Center manager in April 2012 and has advanced to a Sr. Manager supporting programs & training at the local, state, and national levels and overseeing eight markets with a team of 4 direct reports. Duane also is on the WITC COE and leads the Workforce Initiatives Abilities in Abundance Council, supporting people with disabilities on a national level.

Ellysa Smith is the human resources director at Carolina Small Business Development Fund (CSBDF). In this role, she works with organizations as a Curator Engagement Lightkeeper of Exquisite Beings to develop workforce engagement culture. Prior to joining CSBDF, Ellysa has grown in her human resources career landing roles with well-known nonprofits including Phoenix House, Quality Services for the Autism Community, The New York Academy of Sciences, and Teach for All. She also dabbled in other industries including hospitality and education. Ellysa holds a bachelor’s of science in general science with a philosophy minor and an executive education certificate in nonprofit leadership from Fordham University. She also holds a master of science degree in human resource management and development with an honors distinction from New York University School of Professional Studies. Today she provides infrastructure to small nonprofits that promotes diversity within the small business community for marginalized groups. In her career, Ellysa balances her secular work with her servant volunteer leadership, engaging as a diversity, equity, and inclusion expert with her local Raleigh Metro SHRM chapter and as a NextGen Leader Junior Board member at Lime Connect. She is a first-generation American graduate.

Tadd Wamester is Director of Partnership Development at Voxy EnGen. He builds bridges to careers for New Americans while developing diverse talent pipelines for growth sector employers through upskilling and incumbent worker training programs. He has 15 years of experience in immigrant & refugee workforce development, economic inclusion & educational programs. EnGen has partnered with hundreds of different organizations and employers across the U.S. to build blended programs that support their learners & employees with developing the digital literacy and English skills they need to succeed in their job, connect with technical training, and achieve career advancement. EnGen is rapidly growing our team and is actively seeking new strategies to connect with diverse talent pools to fill a variety of new roles and functions.

Tadd earned his M.A. in Business Education from NYU, and a B.A. in Economics, from Northwestern University.

Dena Wilkinson is the Central Region HR Business Partner for Stotz Equipment. She specializes in talent acquisition for 25% of Stotz’s dealerships, talent management for 550+ employees, and developing a company-wide service technician apprenticeship and mentoring program. Dena partners with regional, store, and department managers to develop relationships with schools and students. These partnerships have resulted in hiring 20 student apprentices and continue to deliver a skilled and diverse talent pipeline. Dena received a master of arts in human resources from Ottawa University and holds an SHRM-CP certification.

Whenever she has a free weekend, you will find Dena touring the small towns of Arizona.