CWI Labs Announces New Board Members, Further Building Momentum on Innovative Initiatives
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CWI Labs Announces New Board Members
Further Building Momentum on Innovative Initiatives
Board Members from M&T Bank, Amazon, Congressional Black Caucus Foundation and Changing the Narrative
Silver Spring, MD– CWI Labs is pleased to announce recent appointments of Charles “Chuck” Martin, Polly Allen, Donna Fisher-Lewis, and Janine Vanderburg to its Board of Directors.
CWI Labs’ mission is to innovate and incubate projects and provide thought leadership to change the narrative about the future of work. Most recently, in September of this year, CWI Labs along with its sister organization the Center for Workforce Inclusion, hosted a national Equity Summit at the National Press Club in Washington, DC bringing forth leaders across the nation to discuss the future work.
“The way Americans work has changed dramatically and permanently,” said Angela Beddoe, Publisher & Editor-in-Chief of HERLIFE Magazine-New York and Co-Founder & Principal of G-Force Consulting, and CWI Labs Board Chair. “And by 2025, 25% of our workforce will be 50 or older. CWI Labs’ mission is to find and create solutions to this important nexus so that marginalized adults can become an important part of workforce solutions. Our recently announced Digital Competency Program which will train 30,000 people is an example of our efforts,” explained Beddoe. “ Yet, in general, the ways most people think about our workforce development systems have remained largely unchanged. As our momentum continues to bring to light this dynamic, I am pleased we expanded our board of directors because the need for innovative, inclusive workforce development programs has never been higher.”
The new members appointed to the CWI Labs Board of Directors are:
Charles “Chuck” Martin – Mr. Martin, as the Senior Vice President, Regional Community Reinvestment Officer at M&T Bank, develops relationships between M&T Bank and the community that will help the bank drive successful solutions for under-served communities, their residents and business enterprises. He also serves on the corporate contributions committees of the regional bank and coordinates the bank’s community-oriented activities. Mr. Martin has a wealth of experience in a variety of positions in banking, and has worked as a residential mortgage loan officer, branch manager, middle market relationship manager and small business relationship manager serving a broad range of industries, including manufacturing, service, wholesale, construction and church/non-profit
Polly Allen – Ms. Allen is the Principal Product Manager for Technical, Alexa AI and Web Information at Amazon. She has spent nearly 20 years developing software, building and leading software teams, and leading cross-functional science and engineering teams at the intersection of product management and machine learning. Her expertise is focused on natural language use cases, such as search and discovery, natural language understanding, and generation. She is passionate about diversity, equity and inclusion in technology and empowering historically underrepresented people to understand, leverage, and participate in the field.
Donna Fisher-Lewis – Donna Fisher-Lewis serves as the Senior Vice President at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Inc. (CBCF). She provides strategic leadership for fundraising efforts around CBCF initiatives; sets direction and goals for planned giving programs; and oversees fundraising development and expansion, and portfolio management of current and prospective donors. With more than 20 years of experience in major gift development, annual fund management, corporate sponsorship, grant writing, and planned giving, Mrs. Fisher-Lewis’ background includes leadership roles at nonprofits that focus on the arts, education, human services, housing, and the community.
Janine Vanderburg – Ms. Vanderburg is in her encore career as the Director of Changing the Narrative, a campaign started in 2018 to change the way people think, talk, and act about aging and ageism. Ms. Vanderburg advocates for evidence-based approaches and innovative campaigns to address ageism wherever it appears to create more age-inclusive workplaces, communities, and society. A longtime community activist, Ms. Vanderburg’s many accomplishment include launching the Age-Friendly Workplace Initiative to make businesses more aware of the benefits of intergenerational workplaces; leading On the Same Page, a campaign to encourage intergenerational conversations about ageism; and serving two terms on the Denver Commission on Aging, where she facilitated a strategic planning process to help Denver become an age-friendly community. In 2018, Ms. Vanderburg was awarded the Mayor’s Diversity and Inclusion award for her advocacy for older adults in Denver.
The new appointments to the Board will join the following Board members: Angela Beddoe (Board Chair), Barbara Kaufmann (Board Secretary/Treasurer), William “Bill” Good, Bert J. Hash, Jr., and Mitchell Milner. To learn more about CWI Lab’s Board of Directors, visit cwilabs.org/about/leadership/.
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About CWI Labs: CWI Labs is a nonprofit innovation hub dedicated to workforce inclusion and bringing together thought-leaders, policymakers, and practitioners to transform workforce development programs. CWI Labs inspires equitable workforce practices so all job seekers can thrive in the ever-changing world of work. For more information visit cwilabs.org
About CWI: The Center for Workforce Inclusion (CWI) is the only national nonprofit organization dedicated exclusively to the workforce needs of low-income adults over age 50. CWI empowers older job seekers to attain in-demand skills, overcome barriers to employment, and secure employment. Since our founding in 1962, we have helped nearly half-a-million older adults secure employment with more than 5,000 employers that run the gamut from hospitality, office administration and social services to transportation, education and aging services. For more information visit centerforworkforceinclusion.org.
Media contact:
Rita Santelli
202-340-5246
rsantelli@worforceinclusion.org
