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Daniel Adame is an ocean export and logistics specialist with more than 20 years of experience. He began his career at a company that valued his expertise so much he stayed on for 17 years! Being part of the company…

The Covid-19 pandemic prompted massive societal changes, from a volatile economy, to lower income inequality, to wider acceptance of hybrid work.   Hybrid work is an arrangement where employees split their work between the office and their homes. Common schedules might…

When Darren Stokes graduated from high school in Chicago, he immediately and eagerly joined the workforce. In almost every job he held, Darren’s motivation and ambition were easily recognized, and he quickly worked his way up to managerial roles. But…

When people hear the phrase “workforce development” they tend to have a vague understanding of what it means, and they have almost no impression of workforce development agencies. But organizations like National Able Network and other workforce agencies serve an…

When Benjamin Raya Rico was 15 years old, he and his family moved from Michoacán, Mexico to Chicago. Benjamin recalls being full of hope and determination and guided by the pursuit of a better life. The memory of this major…

Women’s Equality Day, celebrated on August 26th, is widely known as the day to honor the certification of the Nineteenth Amendment allowing women the right to vote which was signed in 1920 by U.S. Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby. A…

Alfred Davis-Shih graduated college in 2010. He quickly pursued his passion at the time working on the production side of TV commercials, short-form documentaries, news stories, and more. However, in 2014, Alfred decided to pursue a different passion: data analytics….

In the first half of 2023, news headlines sounded like canaries in the economic coal mine: Key Indicator Puts the Chance of Recession at 100%, The US has a 100% chance of tipping into recession within 12 months, and so…

James “Jim” Lewis had always been able to find employment. At the age of 12, he got his first job in construction. “I would show up that day for work, they would give me a work order and by the…

When we started on this journey four years ago, I had no idea where the journey would take us. After reviewing the results of our first equity survey, I remember talking to my colleague, Autumn, about what we would do…

In a hurricane, or any natural disaster, people who can evacuate, do. People who can’t have no choice but to face the impending unknown. These people are then looked down upon and criticized with comments like, “why didn’t you listen…

Idalia Andrade pursued a degree in liberal arts, but after graduating she felt burnt out from the education industry and started a new career path in hospitality. The change reenergized Idalia because she likes to help people and she enjoyed…