New Ways to Work

What People Are Saying

Dr. Carl Wong, Superintendent
Sonoma County Office of Education
Sonoma County, California

After assuming the post of Superintendent of the Sonoma County Office of Education, Dr. Carl Wong observed within his agency that departments were quite separate from one another and in many cases were organized around different sets of goals.

As Superintendent in the City of Petaluma before assuming the county post, Wong had successfully worked within the All Youth–One System framework—a collaborative system for serving youth pioneered by New Ways to Work. In his new position, Wong again relied on this framework for bringing the agencies under his leadership together to solve problems for the youth in Sonoma County. The results have been astounding.

Within the last two years, Dr. Wong completely restructured major divisions in concert with New Ways’ All Youth–One System model: Academic Support, Youth Development, Workforce and Career Preparation, and Youth Leadership. “It appears that people are now using a common language,” he says. “Traditional services are now being delivered in a way that people understand the relationship between their different departments.”

The approach has also changed the way Dr. Wong’s office serves the local districts he oversees. “We coordinate 40 different school districts within Sonoma County, each with their own boards and sets of priorities. The All Youth–One System model helps us promote and support individual districts to align themselves so there’s more consistency countywide. This comes at a time when the state is valuing accountability. Our approach is perfectly integrated with this, and we’re building consensus for a countywide, shared vision.”

“New Ways was able to develop an approach that enables people to value all of the different components that serve youth in the community. It’s a wonderful connecting tool. I recommend New Ways highly.”

Sue Burge, Executive Director
School-to-Career, Inc.
New Orleans, Louisiana

As Executive Director of School-to-Career, Inc., a regional partnership dedicated to facilitating the relationship between industry and education in the Greater New Orleans, LA region, Sue Burge was seeking greater access to successful models and strategies outside her state.

Burge’s organization is a founding member of the Intermediary Network (INet), a national network managed by New Ways to Work to create a dialogue around creating systems that serve youth. As a result, she often confers with colleagues from Massachusetts to Texas and California. “The fact that we can network with people across the country and learn from what they do is awesome,” she says.

“We’ve evolved from being just about school-to-work,” she says. “Now we help eight different school districts create small learning communities in large high schools and have launched a new small high schools initiative. “It’s an idea I attribute directly to my work with the INet and New Ways to Work and the collaborative work we do together. It’s one of the most rewarding organizations I’ve ever been a part of.”

The staff at New Ways is among those with whom Burge consults most often. "The staff is incredibly organized. Details are never left undone. They are extremely valuable partners. Since working with New Ways to Work, I’ve personally grown in leadership capacity,” says Burge. “The process Steve Trippe uses to build a focus in his organization is amazing. I’ve incorporated much of it into my role as executive director of School-to-Career, Inc.”

Valerie Lathern, Youth Services Manager
Southeast Los Angeles County Workforce Investment Board
Community Youth Core Program
Los Angeles, California

When Valerie Lathern began work as Youth Services Manager of the Southeast Los Angeles Workforce Investment Board, she saw a department utilizing an inneffective approach to implementing workforce development initiatives.

Soon after starting in her position, Lathern began a relationship with New Ways to Work through the Youth Council Institute (YCi), which supports and strengthens California’s 50 Youth Councils. Managed and developed by New Ways to Work and California Workforce Association on behalf of the California Workforce Investment Board, YCi has helped local Youth Councils bring together academic excellence, youth development and support, career preparation, and youth leadership for the community.

Using what she’s learned, she has been able to dramatically shift the way her agency serves youth in her community. She now has the tools, support, and connections to make real change happen. “YCi has a wonderful way of breaking down the larger goal of youth services and youth development into easily understood increments that can easily be implemented into direct program services.”

“For years academia has focused on academia. Nonprofits were focused on their missions. We were focused on our way of doing things, yet All Youth–One System, which was developed by New Ways, promotes serving all youth through a centralized system. This assures that any student who walks through any agency’s doors won’t slip through the cracks. It makes it easy, understandable, and fun.”
“I feel as if I’ve reconnected with the reason I wanted to do this work in the first place,” says Lathern. “Without New Ways, we wouldn’t have come as far as we have.”

Neil Sullivan, Executive Director
Boston Private Industry Council
Boston, Massachusetts

Bridging the needs of private industry with those of the youth development field often requires the involvement of a third-party intermediary to help define the shared objectives that can bring parties together.

As Boston’s workforce board and school-to-work intermediary, the Boston Private Industry Council plays a critical role in bringing together employers and educators. It is led by Neil Sullivan, a highly respected national figure who also chairs the Intermediary Network.

“New Ways has been essential in defining the role and value of an intermediary,” says Sullivan. The Intermediary Network, supported by New Ways to Work, promotes and strengthens intermediaries and has publicized the increasingly important role of the intermediary efforts in education and workforce development.

One of the most critical elements of the Intermediary Network is that it provides a forum for national level experts to influence one another. “The whole concept of the Intermediary Network is professional development on a peer model—bringing together various practitioners to improve what they do,” says Sullivan.

“We wouldn’t be pursuing employers in the same way if not for what I’ve learned through the Intermediary Network. We’ve been able to attract more jobs and internships from major employers, and the quality of the jobs is much higher.”

“New Ways to Work deserves a great deal of credit for defining intermediary work and setting standards for intermediary organizations. Steve Trippe is a very smart and strategic player. He’s able to identify good things happening around the country. I think very highly of New Ways.”