Can you believe the final episode of season two is already here? Don’t worry – we will be back just after Labor Day, but to close this season out, we wanted to recap the tremendous leaders I interviewed this season who embody the theme of “Stepping Up”. The past year+ has been an emotional and uniquely challenging year, from racial inequity to the new workforce trends affecting women and wages.

In this episode, Lisa Bly-Jones, Ed.D. speaks with the Social Equity Committee of Keller Williams Realty Signature in Illinois and Wisconsin. This rock-star team making equity strides in the real estate industry consists of Toni VanderHayden, Nastasia ‘Staci’ Brown, Joey Krutza, and Bryant Chandler.

Lisa Bly-Jones, Ed.D. speaks with Sharon Bush, the Executive Director of Grand Victoria Foundation, only the second person to lead the Foundation in its 20-year industry. She has over 20 years of nonprofit and business experience.

In this episode, Dr. Lisa Bly-Jones speaks with Fred DeLaRosa, General Manager of Embassy Suites Rockford, about the hospitality industry before and amid the pandemic, how Embassy Suites remains competitive with lodging options like Airbnb, and insight into his own career pathway and motivation. Fred has over 20 years of experience in the industry and with the Embassy Suites brand, serving various roles throughout his career.

In this episode, Lisa M. Bly-Jones, Ed.D. speaks with Illinois State Representative for the 68th District, Dave Vella, who was recently elected to serve after narrowly winning “in a district (he) wasn’t really supposed to win”, as he put it.

In this special episode, Lisa M. Bly-Jones, Ed.D. speaks with Dick Rundall of Eliminate Racism 815, a non-profit organization in the Rockford, Illinois area devoted to eliminating racism through education, advocacy, and partnerships. Through the interview, Dr. Bly-Jones learns more about Eliminate Racism 815: their mission, their accomplishments, and how our two organizations can partner together to make change to the economic mobility in our community.

In the conclusion of our two-part series, Lisa M. Bly-Jones, Ed.D. speaks with four of The Workforce Connection’s women Board of Directors members, all of which have earned a key spot as a leader for their organization. Featuring interviews with Pamela Lopez-Fettes of Growth Dimensions, Suzanne Fisher of OSF Healthcare, Michelle Cassaro of the Chicago-Rockford International Airport, and Karen Brown of Highland Community College, these incredible and empowering women share their pieces of wisdom – in a general sense and what they would share with aspiring female leaders.

In this first of two-part series, Lisa M. Bly-Jones, Ed.D. speaks with three of The Workforce Connection’s women Board of Directors members, all of which have earned a key spot as a leader for their organization. These incredible and empowering women share their pieces of wisdom – in a general sense and what they would share with aspiring female leaders.

In this episode, Lisa Bly-Jones, Ed.D. speaks with Sara Dorner, President of Rockford United Labor AFL-CIO. She is the first woman President in the organization’s 66 year history. In addition to being the President of Rockford United Labor AFL-CIO, Sara is a labor representative with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

In this episode, Dr. Bly-Jones shares clips from “Building a Business Case for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” – an employer forum we hosted featuring speaker Dr. Sean Bailey. Mentioning her vision when applying for the grant for the employer forum series, Dr. Bly-Jones ties her vision with a poem from Lisa Nichols titled “The Dream Pt. 2”.

To kick off this second season, Lisa curates the most striking words of wisdom from conversations last season. While she loved all of the interviews, she selected workforce wisdom clips that resonated with her the most, and further stressed the need to show up and step as bold leaders in 2021.

In this short episode, Lisa reflects on the challenges 2020 has presented us all, what gives her hope for the next year, and a moment of giving thanks. And while we are closing out for the year, be sure to keep an eye out for our return in 2021 on February 3rd!

In this episode of the Workforce Wisdom podcast, Dr. Bly-Jones is speaking with Lisa Medellin. Lisa serves as Director of Programs for Healthcare Georgia Foundation and is a member of the Executive Leadership Team at the Foundation. She oversees the Foundation’s strategic grant making programs, management of program staff, and programmatic partnerships for the foundation.

October is Manufacturing Month, so in this episode of the Workforce Wisdom podcast, Dr. Bly-Jones is speaking with Andy Bittman, General Manager for IMA Automation North America, who has been with the company since 2017.

Andy has been involved in product development and manufacturing tests and assembly equipment development, including class 3 medical devices, aerospace products, and industrial products for the past 25 years. He has a Business of Science and Electrical Engineering degree from Marquette University and a Master of Business Administration degree from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.

In this episode, Dr. Bly-Jones is speaking with Terry Roche, President of Northern Precision Plastics, which is located in Belvidere, Illinois, approximately 30 minutes northwest of Chicago. Mr. Roche is an operationally focused executive who has led mid-sized industrial manufacturing companies as large as $125 million in revenue. He earned his B.S. degree in Industrial Engineering, cum laude, from Texas ANM University, and his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. During Manufacturing month, we hear from Terry about his day-to-day and what he loves about his industry.

Ms. Aranda-Suh leads the National Latino Education Institute (formerly Spanish Coalition for Jobs, Inc.) as its Executive Director since 2008. The National Latino Education Institute (NLEI) is a nonprofit and nationally accredited. The organization started in the mid-60s and incorporated in Chicago in 1972. NLEI’s mission is to advance our community’s economic independence through market and results-driven education, training, employment and advocacy.

In this episode, Dr. Bly-Jones is speaking with Amanda M. Sink, Board Strategic Initiatives Manager for The Workforce Connection and Editor/Producer of Workforce Wisdom. In honor of Workforce Development, it seemed most appropriate to close out September with a poignant discussion on the world of workforce from the lenses of professionals with various experience.

In this episode, Dr. Bly-Jones is speaking with Dr. Paige Niehaus, the Executive Vice Chancellor and Chief Innovation Office at Wayne County Community College District in Detroit Michigan.

Dr Niehaus is a passionate leader with 29 years of community college experience. Prior to her current role, she was the Director for Workforce Development at Joliet Junior College in Joliet, Illinois. As the Chief Innovation Officer and Executive Director of the Design Center of WCCCD, she has a leadership role in growing the district’s innovation and entrepreneurial capacity.

In this episode, Dr. Bly-Jones is speaking with Cathy Cornelius, Board Assistant for The Workforce Connection board. The two speak about leadership and the ability to lead from any position in the organization.

As the Board Assistant, Cathy works with Elected Officials from three counties, a Mayor, Executives from the business community, college Presidents, other government leaders, as well as the Executive Director of The Workforce Connection. 

In this episode, Dr. Lisa Bly-Jones is interviewing Dan White, Board Fiscal Manager at The Workforce Connection. Dan has over 25 years of accounting experience, on top of 20 years of IT experience. Using his analytical skills and critical thinking, Dan was able to transition the board staff – within less than a week – to being fully functional in a remote capacity.

In this week’s episode, Dr. Bly-Jones is interviewing Scott Bloomquist, the Regional Superintendent for Boone and Winnebago counties in Illinois. Scott has over 20 years leadership experience and began his leadership development in college when he founded and served as President of the the local chapter of FCA at Concordia University in St. Paul Minnesota.

Karin M. Norington-Reaves is a lifelong public servant with more than 25 years of experience in education, law, advocacy, community, and workforce development. In 2012, Karin became the founding Chief Executive Officer of the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership (The Partnership) upon her appointment by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle.

In this episode, Dr. Bly-Jones is speaking with Amanda Cage, Chief Executive Officer for National Fund for Workforce Solutions (NFWS). NFWS is a national network promoting economic opportunity and prosperous communities through investment and innovation. Based in Washington D.C., the National Fund partners with philanthropy, employers, workers, public and private community organizations, and more than 30 regional collaboratives to invest in skills, improve systems, and generate good jobs.

Bob Lanter, Executive Director of the California Workforce Association, is a leader in workforce strategy and the implementation of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act for the state of California. Bob has worked almost two decades in the public sector and non-profit industry, with experience in the field of workforce development and job training. He has held various positions in local workforce investment systems from case manager to the Executive Director of the Contra Costa County Workforce Board. He gained national/federal experience working for the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration as a Federal Project Officer.

In this episode, Dr. Bly-Jones is joined by Dr. Rena Cotsones, Associate Vice President of Outreach, Engagement and Regional Development for Northern Illinois University (NIU). In her role, Rena works with regional partners to create and implement collaborative approaches to advancing education, economic development, workforce development, and innovation initiatives in northern Illinois and Chicagoland. 

Dr. Bly-Jones and Dr. Cotsones discuss working in higher education, the benefits and methods of effective collaboration, and how Rena made her steps to her current position, modeling after her father. 

In this episode, Dr. Bly-Jones is joined by Roberta (Bobbie) Holzwarth, Attorney at HolmstromKennedy, and serves as the Chair of the firm’s Employment & Labor Group. Bobbie represents employers in various employment and labor matters, including: counseling in complex ADA, EEO, FMLA and other workplace matters, sexual harassment investigations and training, negotiation of collective bargaining agreements, preparation of employment and no-compete agreements, and the preparation and review of employee handbooks and personnel policies. Bobbie also represents employers and employee welfare benefit plans in connection with employee benefit matters.

In this episode, Dr. Bly-Jones is joined by State Representative Maurice West to discuss his rise in politics, public access to technology, and much more. Rep. West is serving his first term representing the 67th House District in Rockford, IL. and lives by the motto of “serving the bold and the vibrant”.

In this episode, Dr. Bly-Jones is joined by Danielle Angileri, Executive Director of the Northern Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) of Northern Illinois. NAMI is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness. Danielle discusses the care-giving stresses, the rising levels of domestic violence, NAMI’s mission, and the affect loneliness has on one’s self.

In this episode, Dr. Bly-Jones is joined by Mayor Thomas McNamara. Elected in 2017, Mayor McNamara serves Rockford, Illinois and got his start as a politician serving as alderman of Rockford’s 3rd ward. Throughout the episode, McNamara shares his insights into government, leading through crisis, wisdom he received from his father – former Mayor of Rockford, Illinois – and the value of the people around you.

In this episode, Dr. Bly-Jones is joined by President and CEO of the National Association of Workforce Board (NAWB), Ron Painter. As leaders in workforce development, the two discuss the value of workforce boards, the survival of small businesses amid a pandemic, and ongoing conversations on The Hill.

In this episode, Dr. Lisa Bly-Jones is joined by Ed Wood, Vice President of Human Resources for Berner Food and Beverage, to discuss his workforce sector: food processing manufacturing.

Ed discusses the many ways HR keeps employees top of the mind, the way his sector is responding amid COVID-19, and of course, his piece of workforce wisdom.

In this episode, Melinda Mack, Executive Director for New York’s Workforce Association (NYATEP) joins to discuss the elements pertinent to workforce and business strategy during COVID, the future of the workforce and the potential positive impacts on low-wage earning workers.

You will hear the epitome of workforce wisdom, as Melinda dives right into some of the most provoking words of advice she has received and offers as a professional leader in her field.