Consulting firm specializing in community, economic, and workforce development policy and strategy for public sector, nonprofit, and private sector clients. Focusing on U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development regulatory compliance.

Responsible for coordination of all education, training, and employment programs to generate new opportunities for advancement and success in education and careers for all refugee and immigrant clients. Develop new rigorous models of distance learning which account for low-literacy and low-technology student needs while elevating language and digital literacy skills. Coordinate services with case management staff to design solutions to overcome educational and employment barriers. Responsible for partnership development by identifying, maintaining, and building new relationships with key partners in the greater Providence area.

Oversaw the creation, coordination, and administration of all agency workforce development initiatives, including planning, implementing, organizing, and staffing of innovative workforce and training programs and partnerships to facilitate the employment of refugee and immigrant clients. Conducted research of growing industries for partnership development with employers and training programs. Enhanced and elevated the impact of all employment services related to intake, assessment, skill building, job development, placement, retention, and career planning services.

Spearheaded the creation of the Office of Economic Opportunity. Restructured, consolidated, and aligned all city workforce development initiatives, resulting in a myriad of new programs and services. Was responsible for the strategic visioning, development, management, implementation, and administration of comprehensive employment services, skills training, workforce development, entrepreneurship supports, and youth programs targeting low-income persons and economically distressed neighborhoods to support economic growth, improve quality of life, and strengthen communities and neighborhoods, through the lens of inclusion and racial equity.

Responsible for the management and strategic visioning of the City's Division of Community Development, within the Department of Economic Development. Oversaw the implementation and administration of all community development and housing programs in the Division, including Community Development Block Grants, Emergency Solutions Grants, Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS, HOME, Neighborhood Stabilization Program, Home Repair Loans, Down Payment Assistance, and Lead Repair Loans.

Primary liaison between Mayor Taveras and the City Council. Attended and tracked all activities and followed progress of key items in the City Council, Council Committees, and Boards and Commissions. Worked with the Council’s Chief of Staff and the City Clerk to identify sponsors, drafted language of ordinances and resolutions with the Law Department, and introduced and shepherded legislation supported by the Mayor through the City Council.Assisted in the development of new City policy and procedures with a primary focus on economic development, tax stabilization agreements, local and minority procurement, and housing policy; worked to develop collaborative and integrated shared data systems; developed protocols to overcome systemic challenges that inhibit the transmission of cross-departmental information; and created new, sustainable partnerships between the City and the local colleges and universities that engage students and faculty in data-driven research and creative problem-solving of urban and social issues to help inform City decision-making.

New Leaders Council (NLC) works to train and promote the progressive political entrepreneurs of tomorrow — trendsetters, elected officials and civically-engaged leaders in business and industry who will shape the future landscape.NLC recruits young men and women from outside traditional power structures and equips them with the skills necessary to be civic leaders in their communities and workplaces.The mission is realized primarily through the NLC Institute; the nation’s premiere political entrepreneurship training program that is building teams of outstanding young professionals in cities across the country.NLC graduates are an ever-expanding corps of diverse, new progressive leaders who are rising to the top of their respective fields. NLC is creating an exciting network of individuals, highly-skilled in working together across sectors to improve the progressive infrastructure and ensure strong democracy, social justice, and equal opportunity.

Analyze local economic conditions and workforce readiness to determine industry clusters with the highest potential for market opportunities to facilitate business growth, job creation, and wealth generation for local residents.Evaluate how large community-based institutions such as hospitals, universities, and arts and culture venues can contribute added economic benefit to local areas by bolstering their roles as purchasers, employers, workforce developers, cluster anchors, infrastructure builders, service providers, and real estate developers through alignment with a broader economic development agenda.Advise and consult with policymakers, businesses, and community leaders about economic development strategies to promote vibrant urban marketplaces built upon local assets unique to individual regions and neighborhoods.Conduct research and data analysis of the critical factors for economic growth in urban environments to inform public officials about the best practices that deliver the most significant impact and identify the necessary services to actualize economic development goals.

Formulate an economic development plan for the City of Worcester by undertaking four-part strategic assessment of the local economy to understand its strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for leveraging additional economic development through a baseline analysis, development agenda, strategic focus on key areas, and detailed research and analysis.Identify key industries, clusters, and occupational groups critical for economic development goals, including profiling the manufacturing sector, the arts, cultural, and nonprofit sector, and the downtown areas to discover major opportunities and challenges to growth.Refine and propose final economic development strategy based on critical review of the city's current economic conditions and priorities by undertaking focused research and planning in key areas to understand the problems and opportunities, assess the existing resources and programs within key areas, and identify needs, obstacles, resources gaps and other factors that shape effective strategies to achieve economic development goals.

Conducted thorough skills gap analysis between Providence's labor force and current and projected employment opportunities by researching and analyzing education, skill, and literacy levels of Providence workers and appraised employer demand for labor in Rhode Island.Reviewed and deconstructed current workforce development and job training system in Rhode Island to understand how providers deliver training services to Providence residents and identify the challenges to the efficient delivery of training services due to funding constraints and misalignment, operational and programmatic inefficiencies, or support service limitations.Developed comprehensive actionable list of recommendations and implementation procedures to modify the current workforce development system in order to improve service delivery, achieve better employment outcomes for Providence residents, and better engage low-income and low-literacy populations in job training programs to facilitate employment.

Analyzed community land trust funding models for best practices and adapted model for commercial property redevelopment in New Orleans.Evaluated land use patterns, zoning regulations, lease and property rates, and alternative development projects to determine targeted redevelopment zone to best leverage financing for maximum impact.Calculated financing strategies for three scenarios of building and land acquisition, property redevelopment, and leasing or sale using numerous debt and equity sources available to Crescent City Community Land Trust and Broad Community Connections.

Created and executed issue advocacy campaigns through community organizing, citizen engagement in the political process, and empowerment and leadership training.Organized educational events and facilitated coalition building through partnership formation with allied community-based organizations to coordinate activities for mutual goal attainment.Liaised with elected officials and government employees to recommend and influence legislation, and mobilized voter turnout for political candidates.Facilitated biweekly organizational membership meetings of up to 50 persons, focused organizational energy and capacity through guided action, and mediated interpersonal conflict among members.

Edited state’s largest progressive news and opinion blog and managed daily editorial content of multiple contributors. Researched, analyzed, and deconstructed local, state, and national news items.Developed policy and fiscal impact analyses of local ordinances and state legislation.

Managed daily operations of studio workflow and oversaw accounting, finances, and marketing strategies for company with $450,000 in annual revenue.Created and executed business plan focusing on maintaining long-term client relations.