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© National Fund for Workforce Solutions 2025
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State of Our Workforce is your front-row seat to the movement transforming workforce systems across the country. This podcast explores how we build an equitable future where all workers have what they need to thrive, race does not dictate career success, and every job is a good job.
Through two series—our monthly deep-dive interviews with national thought leaders, and our ground-level conversations from communities putting equity into action—we bring you bold ideas, real stories, and practical strategies from changemakers reshaping what work looks like in America.
From policy shifts to grassroots innovation, this is where workforce transformation comes alive—Nationally Powered, Locally Driven.
Tune in to State of Our Workforce and be part of the movement shaping the future of work.
57 Episodes
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As another year of rapid change and workplace demands comes to a close, we’re taking a different kind of pause. In this episode, guests Peter Godard and Mona Khan of the Social Identity Coaching Lab invite us into a grounded, reflective conversation about what it means to cultivate joy, peace, and presence at work — not as a luxury, but as a necessary condition for people to thrive. We explore why attending to workplace culture is a catalyst for meaningful change, how to release old patterns to make room for the new, and what it looks like to trust the expert within ourselves. This is an episode designed to meet anyone who works where they are. Not with another to-do list, but with space. With breath. With the reminder that sustaining systems change and advancing equity requires tending to our own humanity. Settle in. Take a moment. This is your pause.Liberation Toolkit: https://www.socidlab.com/liberation-toolkit
In Massachusetts, new public investments are expanding access to English language learning for immigrants. But as Andre Green, Executive Director of SkillWorks argues, money alone won’t fix the system. To truly support immigrant workers, we need coordinated systems that recognize language access as a key pillar of equity and economic mobility. In this episode, we unpack what it takes to build those systems. Andre joins us to talk about how SkillWorks is reimagining English language learning as workforce infrastructure, and why centering immigrants’ experiences is essential to building a more equitable economy.Commonwealth Beacon: Funding Was the Start – Now We Need To Build Out Systems To Help Our Immigrant Workforce Learn EnglishAdvancing Workforce Equity in Boston: A Blueprint for Action
In today’s economy, data drives decisions. From how employers hire, to how training programs are designed, to how policymakers invest in communities. When data is accurate, comprehensive, and trusted, it helps align resources, reveal opportunities, and strengthen entire systems. In this episode, we’re joined by Joel Simon, Director of Workforce Innovation at the Burning Glass Institute to explore what makes workforce data effective and equitable. We discuss how strong data ecosystems drive better outcomes, and what it takes to build one that truly serves workers, businesses, and communities.
What happens when a grant-funded experiment turns into a lasting way of working? In Louisville, a creative idea to better reach rural jobseekers became much more than a pilot. Born out of the Human-Centered Workforce Services project, their approach was shaped through empathy interviews and co-designed with community members. It worked so well, that even after the project ended, the team at KentuckianaWorks is keeping it going. We’re joined by Aleece Smith, Director of Employer Programs at KentuckianaWorks, and Carrie Felton, Director of Worker Success at the National Fund to unpack how human-centered design is helping Louisville build stronger connections to rural communities. We’ll dig into why listening and adapting to the people you serve can spark deeper, longer-lasting change in workforce systems.Career Navigation Journey Maps: https://nationalfund.org/explore/career-navigation/
Workforce development is at a critical inflection point. Economic shifts, technological change, and evolving employer needs are reshaping the labor market, while long-standing inequities continue to hold many workers back. In this episode, we take a wide-angle view of the field: Where are the greatest opportunities? What systemic challenges still demand urgent action? And how can we strengthen equitable systems to ensure every worker can thrive? Michelle Rafferty, Chief Program Officer at the National Fund for Workforce Solutions; Melissa Johnson, Chief of Policy and State Strategies at the National Skills Coalition; and Tameshia Bridges Mansfield, Founder of Beloved Praxis Consulting, will explore what’s working, what’s not, and where the greatest opportunities for creating meaningful change lie.
Too often, workers feel disconnected from the decisions that shape their jobs and see little reward when the companies they power succeed. At Optimax Systems, things look different. In this episode, Ale’ Mendoza, Director of Human Resources at Optimax and chair of the board for the National Fund for Workforce Solutions, takes us behind the curtain to share how they are successfully engaging workers and creating a culture of transparency, trust, and shared success. Ale’ will also highlight how Optimax is equipping employees to grow their skills and shape the future of the business. Tune in for a real-world example of how engagement strategies can drive equity, innovation, and long-term success.
Too many workers spend their lives in low-wage jobs with no path to stability or growth — stuck earning just a paycheck, with little say in the workplace. But what if workers didn’t just show up to do a job — what if they owned the business itself? Employee ownership can transform workplaces, giving workers a real stake in profits, decisions, and their own futures. In this episode, we talk with Rachel Merfalen, Founder and Senior Adviser at Good Future, Krisi Schell, Executive VP of Human Resources at SRC Holdings, and Tom Strong, Director of Employer Activation at the National Fund to explore how this bold idea is becoming a practical strategy for improving workplaces and how workforce development practitioners can support it.
Historically, the restaurant industry is one of the trickiest for workforce development partnerships. It’s a low-margin, low-wage sector, where the work can be physically demanding, unpredictable, and often undervalued. But change is possible. In this episode of Unpacked, we hear from two of our Network Partners, Bonny Yeager, Senior Manager of Industry Solutions, Partner4Work in Pittsburgh and Bishara Addison, Director of Workforce Innovation, Fund for Our Economic Future in Northeast Ohio, who are helping restaurants reimagine what’s possible through our Centering Workers in Job Design initiative.Together, we explore how they’re engaging restaurant employers to co-design jobs with their employees and how this human-centered approach is improving retention, boosting worker satisfaction, and strengthening business performance. We’ll also dig into what it really takes to build trust with employers, sustain partnerships, and equip workers with the skills and information they need to take a more active role in shaping their work and their futures.
Too many people, especially young people, people of color, and those in lower-income communities, struggle to find and keep good jobs due to barriers like lack of childcare, poor transportation, and limited access to training or support. The system isn't broken. It was built this way.In this episode, we talk with Marjorie Parker, President and CEO of JobsFirstNYC, about how unfair systems, not personal choices, create and reinforce barriers that make it harder for people to succeed in the workforce. We discuss how to address those barriers by changing policies, building local partnerships, and designing workforce programs that actually meet people’s real needs. Because when we rebuild the system the right way, we don’t just help individuals, we strengthen communities, businesses, and the entire economy.Online But DisconnectedThe Dark Truth Behind Personality Test - HBO/Max
What happens when you center Black men—not as problems to be solved, but as experts in their own experience? In this episode of Unpacked, we speak with leaders behind the new report Breaking the Chains, which challenges the systemic roots of economic exclusion and highlights the ingenuity and resilience of Black men in Chicago. Guests Matthew Bruce, Dr. Clinton Boyd, Jr., and Richard Wallace join us to discuss how the lived experience of Black men in Chicago—particularly those impacted by incarceration and generational disinvestment—shapes our understanding of equity, entrepreneurship, and systemic change. We unpack their findings, spotlight resilience strategies from the community, and discuss a bold call to action for transforming not just employment systems—but wealth-building, fatherhood, and policy itself.Read the Breaking the Chains report.
What does the future of work really look like—and who is it for? In this episode, we talk with Chike Aguh, senior advisor at Harvard’s Project on Workforce, about what it takes to build a future of work that delivers not just innovation, but inclusion, equity, and economic mobility. Chike brings a rare blend of policy insight and on-the-ground experience to big questions shaping our economy: How do we ensure that every person can connect to meaningful work? What does real job quality look like in an age of AI? And how can we turn systemic into a springboard for opportunity? As we navigate an uncertain landscape, one truth remains clear—people are the only path.
The childcare industry is in crisis. In Central Iowa, like much of the country, families struggle to find affordable, reliable care, and the educators who provide that care are often overworked, underpaid, and under-supported. It’s a system that leaves everyone losing—parents without options, children without consistent caregivers, and workers without a path to stability.But what if improving job quality for childcare providers was the key to fixing it? In this episode, we sit down with Michelle Seibert, formerly of the United Way of Central Iowa to unpack how her community is approaching this challenge. By focusing on job quality—better pay, support for self-employed providers, and stronger policies—they’re working to fix childcare from the inside out. Tune in to learn what they’re trying, what’s working, and why it could be a game changer.
The childcare crisis isn’t just about affordability—it’s about job quality. With nearly half of working parents forced out of jobs due to unstable and unaffordable childcare, the ripple effects touch every part of our economy. At the same time, childcare workers—disproportionately women and people of color—struggle with low wages, high credentialing barriers, and limited support. In this episode, we’re joined by Amy O’Leary executive director of Strategies for Children, Gloria Valentin, a family childcare educator, and Stephanie LaPierre a childcare educator at Boston University Children’s Center to explore what’s really at stake and why improving job quality is key to helping both families and providers thrive.Learn more about the National Fund's childcare initiative, Shifting the Childcare Industry: Better Jobs for Better Access.Explore the National Fund's Early Childcare Worker Career Navigation Journey Map.Learn more about Strategies for Children.
Dallas is growing fast, but a shortage of skilled workers in construction is slowing down progress. What does it take to build a skilled, diverse workforce to meet the needs of this booming industry?In this episode of State of Our Workforce: Unpacked, we are joined by Catlin Hale, Director of Career Pathways at the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, to discuss how Pathways to Work’s Construction Partnership aligns training programs with industry needs. We’ll explore how that work is creating access to high-quality training and living-wage jobs, and the impact of industry partnerships on local workforce resilience.Pathways to WorkCareer Navigation Journey Maps: Black Construction WorkersAdvancing Workforce Equity in Energy and Infrastructure Jobs
In this episode, we’re digging into a powerful shift that’s gaining momentum across industries: skills-based hiring. For too long, traditional hiring practices have relied on degrees as a proxy for talent—reinforcing occupational segregation and shutting out millions of capable workers.But what if we reimagined hiring to focus on what people can do, not just where or if they went to school?Joining us on this episode is Audrey Mickahail, Senior Vice President of Private Sector and Membership Experience at Opportunity@Work. Together, we’ll explore how skills-based hiring can create more inclusive career pathways, break down systemic barriers, and help employers access a deeper, more diverse talent pool.We’ll talk about who STARs are—and why they matter. We’ll discuss some of the changes employers need to make and the systemic barriers we can begin to dismantle when we center skills in hiring and advancement.
Welcome to State of Our Workforce: Unpacked, where where we will dig deeper into the incredibly impactful work our Network Partners are doing across the country. In this inaugural episode, National Fund Network Manager, Henry Danner, will be joined by LorMona Meredith and Matt Stevens of the Hawaiʻi Workforce Funders Collaborative to explore their recent report, "From Crisis to Opportunity: Building Hawaiʻi’s Workforce Resilience." Together, we'll unpack the challenges facing Hawaiʻi's workforce and the bold, collaborative solutions needed to create a more equitable and resilient future. From policy shifts to community-driven strategies, this conversation will highlight the critical actions that can turn today’s challenges into lasting opportunities for workers and businesses across the state. From Crisis to Opportunity: Building Hawaiʻi’s Workforce Resilience A Good Job in Hawaiʻi” Framework
In this special mini-episode, we’re excited to introduce a brand-new addition to our podcast channel: State of Our Workforce: Unpacked. Michelle Wilson sits down with Henry Danner for a quick conversation about what listeners can expect from this new LinkedIn Live series.Unpacked takes the national conversations from State of Our Workforce and brings them to the ground level—spotlighting how workforce equity shows up in communities across our network. It’s where our “Nationally Powered, Locally Driven” ethos comes to life.Tune in for a behind-the-scenes look at why we created this new series, what stories we’ll be telling, and how you can be part of the conversation.
The year 2025 marks a momentous anniversary at the National Fund. It has been five years since the Advancing Workforce Equity project got off the ground, in which we dug into the root causes of inequities using deeply disaggregated data. This project was extremely impactful for the National Fund and our network partners and has been essential in our direction since then.We are joined by three key collaborators who worked on this project at that time. Vice President of Research at PolicyLink; Sarah Treuhaft, Director of Policy and Partnerships at The Institute on Race and the Political Economy at the New School; and Jonathan Osei, Workforce Development Fellow at the Project for Pride in Living.The four of us will take a journey back five years and consider what it was like to begin the difficult, messy work of equity at a time when equity was still a “dirty word.” We consider the lasting impact of our work and how we can continue to move it forward now to create a truly equitable economy where all workers, businesses, and communities are thriving.Read the Advancing Workforce Equity Reports here: https://nationalfund.org/advancing-workforce-equity-reports/
In our final episode of State of Our Workforce in 2024 we close out our series on the Anthropology of Work. We are joined by National Fund Chief Program Officer Michelle Rafferty to reflect on a year filled with milestones and progress. Michelle recounts key achievements from 2024 and shares an inspiring vision for the future of workforce equity.
On this episode of State of Our Workforce we continue our series on the Anthropology of Work. In honor of Native American Heritage Month, we explore the systemic barriers Native American workers face and the strategies needed to build a more inclusive workforce.We are excited to be joined by Natasha Hale, Project Lead for Workforce Grantmaking in Native Nations and Communities at Workforce Matters, who will share insights into the cultural, economic, and historical contexts shaping Native workforce inclusion today. Explore what it means to close the equity gap, creating pathways to opportunity and resilience for Indigenous communities across the nation.Supporting Native Workforce Development: A Guide for Funders
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