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Archive: November 2008 Minutes

11-19-08  Youth Council Quarterly Meeting  
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Greater New Bedford Workforce Investment Board, Inc.
Youth Council Quarterly Meeting Minutes
11/19/08
GNB Career Center

Members Present: Nelson Hockert-Lotz, Vice-Chair; Dianne Rivet, Clerk; Kathleen Castro, Nancy Feeney, Reverend David A. Lima, Elizabeth Lozano, Gregg Miliote, Joan Ann Niles, Alice Oliveira, Ronald F. Rouillard, Benita Santiago, Emily Saunders, Cynthia Wallquist, Elaine Wilcox, Gloria Williams
Members Absent: Carl Alves (called), Richard B. Colon, Lynn Donohue, John Fernandes, Chair (called); Walter Jones, Jr., Dr. Jean F. MacCormack (called), Helena S. Marques, James H. Mathes, Pamela Pollock, Ronald F. Rheaume, Donna Sachs, Dr. John J. Sbrega (called), Christine Shannon, Elaine Wilcox

Workforce Development System Staff: Bridget Alexander, Tanya Alves, Wendy Andrade, Heather Cabral, Len Coriaty, Edward Dennehy, Jean Fox, Jason Wentworth

Guests Present: Kristin Almeida, Sarah Baldo, Lee Blake, Matthew L. Cabral, Lisa Mello Frost, Florrie Reddish, Khalia Wixon

Welcome and Introductions – In the absence of the Chair, Youth Council Clerk, Dianne Rivet, opened the meeting at 3:40 p.m. and welcomed members and guests.

Approve Minutes from 8/26/08 Quarterly Meeting -- Ms. Rivet noted an error in the minutes in connection with an incorrect program reference for the site visit to UMD Project Success. Ms. Feeney made a motion to approve the minutes with the amendment. Motion seconded and carried unanimously.

Member Status Discussion/Committee Participation – It was noted that attendance was sharply up over the August meeting.

Green Jobs – Bridget Alexander discussed the recently established Southeastern Green Jobs Network, noting that representatives from UMASS, BCC, and the WIB are on the planning committee. In addition, she noted that a new website has been created, which will describe green jobs and provide a listing of employment opportunities in the field. It will eventually list the variety and type of jobs in the field and the relevant credentials, as well as college degree and certification programs, employers, and other salient information. She encouraged Youth Council members with an interest in, and/or a connection to green jobs, contact the WIB. Referring to Chair Fernandes’ desire to establish a Green Subcommittee, Ms. Alexander observed that participation of Youth Council members on the network would enhance the Network’s standing and avoid possible redundancies.

Ms. Alexander detailed her history with green jobs in her role as the WIB’s Development Director, informing the meeting of the recent $40,000 Southeastern Environmental Education Alliance grant award for a weatherization program that will train at-risk youth in the class room and in the field, with excellent job placement outcomes anticipated. She stressed the need for collaboration across the board, noting that both the WIB’s LiteracyWorks Entrepreneur and the Youth Council Director are participating in the Green Jobs Initiative as part of an overall job creation, educational attainment, and economic development agenda.

(Vice-Chair Hockert-Lotz joined the meeting.)

In addition, February 12, 2009 has been set by the Network for a Green Jobs Conference, venue to be determined. Any interested Council members were invited to become part of the process. Mr. Dennehy suggested that a member of the Council serve on the planning committee along with Ms. Alexander and Ms. Fox. A motion was made by Ms. Feeney and seconded by Ms. Wallquist to name Gloria Williams as Youth Council liaison to the planning committee. The vote was unanimously passed.

P21 Status Report and RFP Update -- Ms. Fox referred Council Members to the Director’s Report for details on P21, Connecting Activities, and procurement efforts. P21 funding is likely to be cut after March, but New Directions, through the WIB, has requested a no-cost extension. The decision is pending. The Shared Youth Vision initiative may be extended until June 2009. As a result, additional meetings are anticipated. A proposal was recently submitted to the U.S. DOL for a parenting teens grant that seeks to provide a number of “bump up” services for young parents. The effort is a collaboration of the New Bedford Public Schools Parenting Teens Program, New Directions Southcoast, Inc., and the WIB, a required partner. The focus across all programs continues to be increasing summer job opportunities, developing and operating programs that address the needs of the target populations, case coordination, support services, outreach, awareness building, a revamped referral system, and co-enrollment options.

It was noted that DOL has issued an SGA for Youth Build. Ms. Williams indicated that she intends to convene a meeting next week to determine whether or not her organization will pursue the funding. Of major concern is the requirement that successful outcomes be in the form of jobs. Given the current economic climate, and the recent decline in teen hiring in general, she is not confident that New Bedford can produce the outcomes. However, Ms. Fox offered assistance should Ms. Williams decide to proceed.

Discussion ensued relative to the type of support that could be provided to Youth Build in the RFP process. Ms. Williams confirmed that the program is moving away from full home construction as a result of the currently housing market and “going green” with weatherization programs, energy audits, and retro-fits.

The majority of Youth Council members agreed to provide, at a minimum, letters of support. Ms. Williams will contact Ms. Fox in the next couple of weeks to discuss a course of action. In addition, with the young members of the Mayor’s Youth Council at the table for the “Youth Speaks” portion of the meeting, Ms. Williams was given an opportunity to describe the Youth Build program to the students. She congratulated them for being in school, therefore not in need of Youth Build or similar out-of-school programs.

Stay In School Employer Initiative – Mr. Hockert-Lotz reminded the Council that this initiative was previously approved by both the Youth Council and by the WIB. It was “back burnered” because of the transition at the school department, with Mr. Longo departing and Dr. Bonner taking the reins. Enough time has elapsed, stated Mr. Hockert-Lotz, that it is now time to revisit the initiative, with a mid-January launch date anticipated.

He briefly described the program, noting that employers would receive some training and serve as another loop back to the school. “Employers become another point of intervention,” he stated. The youth sign an agreement requiring them to reach out to their liaison if they encounter difficulties relating to education. The only costs incurred for operating this initiative would stem from the production of a decal -- which businesses would post in their windows indicating participation in the Stay in School Initiative – as well as some costs associated with training, poster development and production, and photocopying. Most of these costs are minimal costs to businesses and could be funded out of pocket, noted Mr. Hockert-Lotz.

Before officially launching the program, Mr. Hockert-Lotz noted that Roy Nascimento of the Chamber wanted to notify his Board. He has been contacted in connection with this notification. The School Department would oversee the program, and the Mayor fully endorses it.

Ms. Feeney suggested that the Initiative be presented at the December School Committee meeting. She agreed to make those arrangements, and reminded the Youth Council that the School Committee meetings are aired over Cable, which gives the Initiative greater visibility.

Discussion ensued relative to the logo/branding of the Initiative. Ms. Andrade spoke about the youth mapping activity undertaken by New Directions, which held a logo contest and resulted in a number of interesting logos. Some Council members suggested allowing the schools to conduct a contest; other Council members expressed their belief that the initiative should be regional in scope, and not limited to New Bedford. Rev. Lima remarked on a program at the Vocational High School and stated that his son produced some successful logos as a result of his experience there. Certainly, the school should be approached to see if they would be able to provide some assistance. Ms. Feeney agreed to work with Mr. Hockert-Lotz in developing a suitable logo.

Mayor’s Youth Council – Youth Speaks -- This section of the agenda was taken out of order in the interest of time.

Elizabeth Lozano, Chair, led the discussion, starting with a brief description of the Mayor’s Youth Council (MYC) activities and functions. The MYC is a registered charitable organization that holds biweekly meetings and conducts a number of community service projects. She noted that the MYC and the MYC Executive Committee had met with Ms. Fox on several occasions to discuss issues relative to youth in the city. By consensus, the MYC believes that there are not enough productive activities for youth, many of whom end up strolling the mall or hanging around on street corners. She noted that having a citywide dance for teens was one suggestion, and one that could probably be financially doable. Transportation continues to be a problem for youth. Ms. Fox indicated that she is a member of the SRTA Advisory Board and will continue to advocate for more flexibility for youth, but that a 6 p.m. end time is universal among regional transit authorities.

Ms. Lozano also noted that the lack of available jobs for teens continues to be a problem, which is exacerbated by the fact that too many teens are not familiar with the process and requirements of a job search. Noted MYC member Emily, who holds two jobs, friends approach her and ask her to “get them a job where she works.” She thought that having some workshops for teens on resume writing and interviewing skills would be beneficial.

Emily then asked about New Directions. Ms. Andrade and Ms. Alves provided a description of the services available to youth ages 14-21, both in and out of school, including summer employment, mentoring, job training and readiness. Mr. Dennehy suggested that New Directions attend an MYC meeting in the future. Emily suggested that New Directions set up a booth during lunch time. She was confident that many students would visit the booth.

Mr. Hockert-Lotz suggested posting items of interest to youth on the city webpage. The page could link to the schools as well. Mr. Wentworth suggested setting up a FaceBook page with informational links.

Matthew Cabral of the MYC spoke about academic/educational issues. An example he gave was the use of eighth grade text books for upper classmen. The homework includes answering questions at the end of the reading assignment, rather than essays or more complex composition. He felt that the classes should be reading novels, but the English Department at NBHS has not embraced this type of curriculum. Emily advised the Council that the summer reading tends to be “classics” most students do not read. However, the first test of the school year is on the assigned summer reading. Since so many students are unprepared, they begin the year with a zero. Ms. Castro noted that NBHS has a new curriculum director who may be interested in meeting with the youth to discuss literacy.

Ms. Blake suggested that the MYC attend a school committee meeting. The first 10 minutes are committed to community input. This may be an effective forum for airing the concerns of the students. She also reminded the Council and the MYC that the College Planning Guide, produced by the Southcoast Education Compact will be on the streets in just a few weeks. In addition, the January College Goal Sunday FAFSA workshop will be conducted for the fourth consecutive year. Ms. Feeney suggested tuning into Channel 17, which airs “How to Get Your Kid to College.” This program is conducted at both NBHS and the Vocational High School. She noted that it is well worth the two hours and would be of interest to the students as well.

Discussion ensued relative to information dissemination in the schools. It was suggested that a central location in each “house” be dedicated to information resources. Mr. Vasconcelles should be able to arrange that.

Ms. Williams thanked the youth for voicing their concerns. She observed that many of the obstacles they confront are shared by out-of-school youth as well.

Mr. Miliote asked whether or not there was a student email capability so that all students could be “kept in the loop.” He was advised that there was not at present, mostly because there is no staff to oversee its development and implementation. Ms. Fox noted that there are private companies that have the capability to develop such communication programs.

Old Business -- Ms. Fox summarized a number of ongoing efforts and projects, including a re-visiting of the Dual Customer Model, as requested by Chair Fernandes. In addition, the Chair suggested the possible development of an eNewsletter to keep the Council current on activities. The Planning Committee will be meeting in December to discuss the design of an RFP that is creative, incorporates 21st century skills, and builds on present programming. There is about $25,000 available for this effort. There will also be preliminary discussion on the spring RFP exercise. Ms. Fox noted that the beginning of the year will be marked by meetings with area superintendents, with the purpose of discussing how and where the WIB might be helpful and proactive. Also, there will be some exploration on how youth can obtain high school credit for participation in a number of community based program models. The vocational school model can be employed for oversight and reporting. Finally, Ms. Fox agreed to forward monitoring reports from Mr. Tarpey. They were not available by the meeting date, but they provide a level of detail about youth programming.

Being no further business before the Council, the meeting was adjourned upon a motion made by Ms. Niles, seconded and unanimously voted.

Respectfully submitted,


Dianne Rivet
Clerk

11-12-08  Business Development Committee
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Greater New Bedford Workforce Investment Board, Inc.
Business Development Committee
Meeting Minutes
11/12/08
GNB WIB Office - Conference Room 207

Committee members in attendance: Paul Correia, Interim Chair; Derek Santos, Christopher O'Neil, Jeffrey F. Travers
Committee members absent: James Butler, David Cabral, Thomas G. Davis, Dennis Galvam, Andrew T. Guilbeault, Michelle Hantman, Lisa M. Lemieux, Roy Nascimento, Michael R. Shea, Charles Sisson (called)

WIB Member in attendance: Ed Dennehy

Workforce Development System staff attending: Bridget Alexander, Len Coriaty

Guest in attendance Rita Boudreau of Coastline Elderly

Meeting began at 7:40 AM

  1. Attendance/Introductions

  2. Approval of April, May and September Meeting Minutes
    1. Motion by Chris O’Neil
    2. Seconded by Jeff Travers

  3. Business Development Committee Survey Results:
    1. Survey Results (handout, see attached)
    2. 11 out of 15 members participated in the survey. 12 with Ed’s response.
    3. Survey results yielded no clear meeting date, day, time that worked for a majority of Committee members. Therefore, the Committee decided to hold monthly BDC meetings, alternating between the second Tuesday and second Wednesday of each month, at 7:30 AM, to be held in the WIB conference room
    4. The following Committee dates were agreed upon:
      1. Tuesday, Dec 9th
      2. Wed, Jan 14th
      3. Tuesday, Feb 10th
      4. Wednesday March 11th
      5. Tuesday, April 14th
    5. Chair Recommendations
      1. Chris O’Neil – follow-up meeting to be scheduled with Paul and Bridget.
      2. Peter DeWalt and Richard Poyant were also recommended, but they are not members of the Committee.
      3. James Butler and Paul Correia were recommended, as well.

  4. Updates
    1. Priority # 4: Objective 1c ---> Develop and Implement Workforce Initiatives Specifically Targeting Selected Populations of Workers and Job Seekers
      1. Green Jobs
        1. Weatherization Technician Training (see attached e-Newsletter article)
        2. Brownfields Training & Brownfields Redevelopment Council (BRC): The City should find out if it received funding early on in the New Year. If funded, BRC will oversee the training program. The WIB is a participating member of BRC.
        3. Green Certified: Individuals gain skills and receive certifications that crossover the green collar job industries to prepare them for year round entry-level work. Green collar job industries include solar power, wind power, wave power, green building (includes weatherization), farming, etc. Working collaboratively with UMass Dartmouth – Department of Sustainability, BCC – Center for Business and Industry, Greater New Bedford Career Center, with other organizations considering partnering on the endeavor.
      2. Older Workers – Partnering with Bristol Community College on Older Worker Program: Meeting November 18th with BCC and Coastline Elderly
      3. Prisoner Reentry (see attached e-Newsletter article)

    2. Priority #2: Objective 3a ---> Refine current Marketing Plan, make it actionable
      1. Old Plan (hand out, see attached)
      2. Preview of potential changes:
        1. Logo (should we be an acronym before people know what it stands for?/Slogan/Concept Overhaul*
          1. Derek – Marketing currently handled by a professional? No. Derek recommended a local firm à Medium Studios (medium studio.com), does marketing/design for the Z and Whaling Museum and many more local organizations.
        2. Revamp the Website*
        3. Promote quarterly meetings to public, change time of meetings to spur increased community involvement and feedback:
          1. Jeff: Seems to be the general trend to involve the community and get their input…
          2. Bridget: The other option is to have an annual community feedback meeting in addition to quarterly meetings. Keep the quarterly meetings in the mornings, as they are, and hold an evening community feedback meeting.
          3. Len: We can survey the Board regarding an annual community event. General agreement from Committee to go with annual even over holding quarterly meetings in the evenings.
          4. Bridget: Other successful/high performing Boards engage with the community by involving the community in quarterly meetings or via the annual community meeting.
          5. Jeff: Don’t businesses already know about the WIB and our meetings? Len: Yes, the one’s that want to be involved. Bridget: So, we may be missing some other businesses that would be involved if they knew more.
          6. Derek: How do we currently ask the community for its feedback? Len, Bridget, Ed, Paul: We don’t.
          7. Jeff: How are the quarterly meetings publicized now? Len: Only as required by the open meetings law.
          8. Jeff: Why not flyers to publicize the meetings…Derek agreed…this is basic…
          9. Derek: What’s the goal? To get people to come to the meeting or to change the reputation/visibility of the WIB? We should run the annual meeting on cable access…
          10. Paul – The public needs a general education on what the WIB is. Derek: Need to get over the first hurdle of visibility within/engagement with the community.
        4. Radio Time*
        5. Green Certified Website*

      *Not discussed, will continue discussion with marketing working group or at next committee meeting.

    3. Priority #1: Objective 3b ---> Develop Comprehensive Annual Fundraising Plan
      1. Preview of potential fundraising strategies:
        1. Annual 5k (also marketing)**
        2. WIB Awards Show (also marketing)**
        3. Annual Dinner & Dancing Gala w/Silent Auction (also marketing)**
        4. Major Gifts**
        5. Corporate Gifts**
        6. Donation from Website**
      2. Ed: Is the focus to find donations or identify grant opportunities? à Bridget: it’s both.
      3. Paul: It’s better to ask for funding on a specific program level. Len: Yes, that was the feed back from the Executive Committee…similar to the summer jobs drive last year.
      4. Len: Fundraising [events] is time consuming and competitive & we do get federal funding. Bridget: we will get better at private fundraising and more efficient the more we engage in fundraising…it’s worth the time and effort…
      5. Ed: Should we combine the marketing and resource development working groups? Bridget: That would make sense, considering only one person wants to be on the resource development working group.

      **Not discussed, will continue discussion with resource development working group or at next committee meeting.

    4. Priority #3: Objective 2c ---> Develop and Implement greater Coordination and Collaboration with Local Economic Development Entities and Initiatives
      1. Economic Development organizations and Town Planners to speak at Business Development Meetings (handout, see attached)
        1. Are we missing something from the towns? –
        2. Len: Is this plan once a month? Bridget: Yes, we would be inviting each town’s economic development representative to attend a meeting and give a presentation on the town’s master plan or economic development plan.
        3. Len: Or one big event – inviting them all at once? General agreement from Committee to hold one event inviting all economic development entities.
        4. Shoot for late winter…March
        5. Bridget to draft invite and come up with some dates.

    V. New Chair Recommendation: Chris O’Neil

    VI. Next Meeting: December 9th, 7:30 AM, at the WIB

    VII. Subcommittee Meetings: To Be Determined

    Meeting concluded at 8:50 AM

    Respectfully submitted,


    Bridget Alexander, Esq.
    Director of Development
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