Capalino at SOMOS 2023
Capalino joined forces with The New York Black Women’s Political Club and The Young Latinos to host the “Let’s Get to Work!” brunch for 150+ people at SOMOS 2023 in San Juan, Puerto Rico, focusing on cross-cultural workforce development. We hosted more than a dozen city and state elected officials, nonprofit executives and industry leaders across several panels, discussing job readiness and the labor market facing young people in New York City.
Capalino Principal Karina Jimenez and BWPC leader Paurcha Edwards MC’d the event, which covered conversations on: How can we bring together government resources, nonprofit organizations, private companies and industry leaders to ensure a talent pipeline that reflects the diversity of New York City communities? What does a forward-thinking workforce look like, and how can we transform our dialogues into action?
We were thrilled to host the following speakers:
Welcome Remarks
- Councilmember Althea Stevens
- Assemblymember Catalina Cruz
- Ashley Meza, Lt Governor Delgado’s Office
- Councilmember Nantasha Williams
Panel 1: Programs, Bills & Initiatives at the City and State Levels
- Raysa Rodriguez, Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies
- Councilmember Amanda Farias
- Assemblymember Stefani Zinerman
Panel 2: Social Capital
- Assemblymember Chantel Jackson
- Wayne Ho, Chinese-American Planning Council
- Jamilah Edwards, DC37
Downstate Outreach Director for Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado, Ashley Meza, spoke about her own experience transitioning from public school student to college student to member of the workforce:
“We need to look at the whole student, not just the score they receive on their test. It’s not up to just our educators to solve this problem, it has to be all of us chipping in: government working with business partners, our nonprofits, our service organizations. It has to be a collective.”
Ashley Meza, Downstate Outreach Director, Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado
Capalino has served many clients in the realm of workforce development and social impact:
- For Fair Futures, Capalino helped build a coalition of over 100 nonprofits, child welfare agencies, foundations, advocates and young people to raise its profile and secure $22 million.
- For FWD.us, Capalino helped pass state legislation that guarantees a safe and healthy workplace for essential workers, many of whom are immigrants.
- For Governors Ball, Capalino helped develop numerous workforce development initiatives as well as invited 50 local vendors to participate in the festival. In one year alone, the Governors Ball created 316 jobs and generated almost $40 million in economic benefits for New York City.
