Jennifer Gross

When workforce development is practiced without true advocacy—and without looking through a trauma-informed lens—we risk re-traumatizing the very people we’re trying to serve. If we aren’t using the right assessments—ones that go deeper than surface-level skills or just pushing someone toward “a job” instead of considering calling, readiness, and stability—we end up placing people in situations that can do more harm than good. People will often take whatever is put in front of them, not...

Unemployment has a way of shrinking time and stretching doubt. Days feel long. Silence feels loud. And even the most confident, capable individuals can start to question who they are when the title, routine, and paycheck are gone. In the waiting, it’s easy to believe that life is on pause and that your value is suspended until someone else says "yes". But the waiting isn’t empty. And you are not invisible in it. The waiting reveals what work can’t always show..... When you’re employed, your...

In workforce readiness, we talk a lot about preparation - resumes, interview skills, punctuality, communication, and professionalism. These are important. But even when someone does everything right , success isn’t guaranteed if one critical factor is overlooked: role alignment . Many workforce challenges are not the result of a “bad employee” or a lack of motivation. Instead, they stem from placing the right person in the wrong role - and expecting them to perform as if fit doesn’t matter....