WHO WE ARE

Our Approach

Voice

  • A trusted, non-partisan voice called on by state leaders, elected officials, the Federal Reserve, and Congress to communicate the needs and value of the workforce system
  • Advocacy and direct lobbying on Federal and State workforce issues with elected officials and the business community
  • Federal & State E-Alerts that take complex legislative or budget issues, and digest them for easy analysis
  • Policy calls and webinars to keep members up-to-date on political and budgetary issues
  • National policy coordination with fellow State Associations, National Skills Coalition and leading think tanks

Knowledge

  • The latest news via the bi-weekly Workforce Buzz, reaching thousands of subscribers
  • Captivating conversations with experts and workforce influencers on The Future Works podcast
  • Building the technical skills and competencies of workforce providers through Level Up NY
    training initiatives, which provide low-cost, high quality competency building
  • Member networking and learning through annual statewide conferences and regional happy hours
  • Greg Newton Leadership Fellowship to grow emerging leaders
  • Customized training, Federal WIOA technical assistance and consulting services

Progress

  • Annually produce training for 30 professionals to be effective advocates influencing the Federal, State and New York City policymakers. Over 200 alumni of the NYATEP Workforce Policy and Advocacy Academy.
  • Provide Annual State of Workforce Report, bringing together cutting-edge labor market analysis and workforce intelligence to inform the direction of workforce development across New York State.
  • Annual investment in pilot projects to produce an evidence base for the field. Past projects have included apprenticeship, economic and workforce development alignment and place-based workforce collaboratives.
  • Produce state of the art reports 

Statement of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Access, and Belonging

NYATEP believes that all people, regardless of individual characteristics and attributes, are welcomed to be their authentic selves, to have equal access, and feel acceptance.

We are a people centered organization that believes that transformative systems change is possible by connecting people with the power they have and elevating the voices of all workers.


Definitions:
As a committee we have agreed that we want to focus on creating an organizational environment and a workforce system that fosters Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility, & Belonging. This means:

DIVERSITY: Represents the many traits that differentiate individuals and groups from each other. Some of these characteristics include: age, ethnicity, gender and gender identity, sexual orientation, language, national origin, physical ability, race, religion or religious activities, veteran status, socio economic, political beliefs and other ideologies.

EQUITY: Understanding the diverse attributes and needs of individuals and providing access to the necessary resources for success. Identify and eliminate unfair biases, stereotypes or barriers that may limit full participation and engagement.

INCLUSION: Acts of valuing, respecting and supporting diverse individuals and perspectives, and enabling their full participation in a community. Involve and empower all people. Recognize the worth of all individuals and ensure they feel welcome. Inclusion requires us to constantly assess who is left out and who is not represented.

ACCESSIBILITY: Focuses on the seen and unseen to ensure that individuals who have differing abilities are not left out. Design systems that optimize and value accessibility. Meet people where they are and provide the tools, structure, access for someone to achieve their goals without hitting an unnecessary barrier.

BELONGING: Everyone comes as their authentic selves. Individuals feel accepted and included.

Our Members 

NYATEP’s primary audience are dues-paying members and their partners, which include the State’s 33 local workforce development boards who oversee and coordinate over $300M of federal workforce funding, the State and City community college systems, literacy providers, community-based organizations, local governments, labor unions, economic development agencies, and career and technical education providers, among others. Collectively, our membership through their educational, employment training and social supportive services impact the lives of over one million New Yorkers who are predominantly Black, Indigenous, and People of Color.

Board of Directors 2021-2022

Brian Williams

President

Executive Director,
Capital Region Workforce Development Board

Sylvie Nelson

Executive Vice President
Executive Director, North Country Workforce Development Board (Saranac Lake)

Denise Zieske

Second Executive Vice President
Director of Workforce Development, the State University of New York (Statewide)

Joseph Dragone

Treasurer
Director of Special Projects & Strategic Partnerships, Capital Region BOCES

Role Currently Vacant

Past President

Jessica Centeno

At-Large Member
New York State Executive Deputy Director, Center for Employment Opportunities (Statewide)

Alice Savino

At-Large Member
Executive Director, Herkimer, Madison and Oneida Workforce Board and Chenango, Delaware, Otsego Workforce Board (Utica)

Amanda Karch

Capital Region Representative
Executive Director for Continuing Education, Training, and Workforce
Development at Columbia-Greene Community College

Katie Geise

Western NY Regional Representative
Executive Director, Chautauqua Workforce Board (Jamestown)

Louise McLoughlin

Hudson Valley Regional Representative
Executive Director, Dutchess County Workforce Board (Poughkeepsie)

Paula Bailey

New York City Regional 
Representative 

Executive Vice President, Grant Associates (NYC)

Patricia Malone

Long Island
Regional
Representative

SUNY Stonybrook, Associate Vice President for Professional Education and Assistant Provost for Engaged Learning, School of Professional Development (Stonybrook)

Role Currently Vacant

Mid-state Regional 
Representative


Michele Armani

North Country Regional Representative
Ready4Real Education Outreach Consultant at ETS, Inc.

Michael De Vito, Jr.

Partner Representative
Executive Director of External Affairs, NYCID

Aimee E. Durfee

Regional Representative (Central/MidState)
Director of Workforce Innovation at CenterState Corporation for Economic Opportunity

Dr. Simone Rodriguez

Partner Representative

Vice President for Workforce Development, Continuing Education and Strategic Partnerships at Kingsborough Community College

Karen Kwandrans

Partner Representative
Executive Director of the Levesque Institute for Civic Engagement at Niagara University

What does it take to be a NYATEP Board Member?

NYATEP Staff

Therese Daly

Interim Executive Director

Megan Farry

Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships and Communications

Molly Tocin

Chief of Staff and Corporate Development

Joelle Monaco

Director of LevelUp Professional Development and Training

Adrienne Ceneviva

Training and Events Coordinator

Let's get connected! Click here for more information.