State of Our Workforce

Unpacked: Building a Stronger Future for Birmingham

What does it take to build a local economy where workers, entrepreneurs, small businesses, and communities can all thrive? In this episode of State of Our Workforce:

Inside the Shifting the Childcare Industry Initiative (Part 2)

Creating a stronger childcare system doesn't happen through one program or one organization. It requires communities willing to work together, test new approaches, and le

Inside the Shifting the Childcare Industry Initiative (Part 1)

When people talk about fixing childcare, the conversation often centers on affordability for families or access to available seats. Those challenges are real, but they on

Unpacked: Rethinking Childcare Through the People Who Know It Best

Childcare is essential infrastructure for workers, families, and local economies. Too often, people who make it possible are left out of the conversations shaping the fut

Building an Economy Where Workers Thrive

Too often, workforce conversations focus on skills, training, and hiring. But workers need more than a job to succeed. For many workers, the biggest barriers to career su

Unpacked: Empowering Bay Area Workers

The Bay Area’s workforce faces both historic inequities and new challenges—from climate risks to rising job precarity. How can philanthropy move beyond distant grantmakin

How Do We Shift Work Forward?

2026 is shaping up to be a defining year for the field of workforce development. We’re launching new programs. We have the SHIFT Conference coming up in Albuquerque this

BONUS! The Story Behind the Stories feat. Michelle Wilson and Henry Danner

In this special bonus episode, State of Our Workforce producer Josh Enoch sits down with Michelle Wilson and Henry Danner, hosts of State of Our Workforce and Unpacked, t

Episode 46.5 - Unpacked: Middle-Wage Jobs and New York City's Affordability Agenda feat. Judith Smith, Lauren Melodia, and Audrey Jenkins

New York City’s affordability crisis is reshaping the conversation about work, wages, and economic mobility. But what would it take to ensure more New Yorkers can access

Episode 46: Finding Joy, Peace, and the Expert Within feat. Peter Godard and Mona Khan

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

Episode 45.5 - Unpacked: Building Systems That Work for Immigrant Workers: Lessons From Boston feat. Andre Green

In Massachusetts, new public investments are expanding access to English language learning for immigrants. But as Andre Green, Executive Director of SkillWorks argues, mo

Episode 45: Making Data Work for You feat. Joel Simon

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 accurat

Episode 44.5 - Unpacked: What Happens When a Program Ends? From Pilot Projects to Enduring Practices feat. Aleece Smith and Carrie Felton

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 p

Episode 44: How We Can Build an Equitable Workforce feat. Michelle Rafferty, Melissa Johnson, and Tameshia Bridges Mansfield

Workforce development is at a critical inflection point. Economic shifts, technological change, and evolving employer needs are reshaping the labor market, while long-sta

Episode 43.5 - Unpacked: Profit, Participation, & People: Rethinking Workforce Engagement feat. Ale Mendoza

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

Episode 43: From Paychecks to Profits: How Employee Ownership Drives Equity feat. Rachel Merfalen, Krisi Schell, and Tom Strong

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 wor

Episode 42.5 - Unpacked: Centering Workers, Strengthening Businesses feat. Bonny Yeager and Bishara Addison

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

Episode 42: The System Isn’t Broken. It Was Built This Way. feat. Marjorie Parker

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 childca

Episode 41.5 - Unpacked: Breaking the Chains in Chicago feat. Matthew Bruce, Dr. Clinton Boyd, Jr., and Richard Wallace

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

Episode 41: People Are the Only Path feat. Chike Aguh

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