Posts by Marcie Dingle

Under the auspices of the DC Workforce Investment Council, Office of Mayor Muriel Bowser, KRA operates Career Coach DC (CCDC), expanding the capacity of the DC public-workforce system to connect residents—affected by the economic downturn following the COVID-19 pandemic—with educational, training, employment, and other services to progress in their careers. The CCDC linchpin, the Community of Practice (CoP), supports Career Coaches, and other DC workforce-development (WD) practitioners, to share  concerns, challenges, and interests, deepening their knowledge through ongoing interactions. Pivotal CoP components include the Career Coach Connection (CCC) and the Career Coach Boot Camp (CCBC):  CCC hosts in-person and virtual professional-development sessions,
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On Monday, June 19, 2023, KRA employees topped off their 3-day weekend, or enjoyed a special day of celebration, with families and friends to honor Juneteenth, a Federal Holiday in the U.S. that commemorates the emancipation of enslaved African Americans. “Juneteenth”, a combination of “June” and “nineteenth”, reflects June 19, 1865, when Major General Gordon Granger issued an order, enforcing the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 in Texas, freeing all remaining slaves. Juneteenth was observed annually in various parts of the country for 150+ years—commonly celebrating history, literature, music, and other traditional mainstays of African-American culture through church-centered community gatherings. On
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  Melody Daniel, Program Director, with KRA since 2015, and Gina Brotherton Mayo, Career Readiness Facilitator, in her 5th year with the company, will co-present  Victory in the Valley: Maximizing Career Success While Navigating Real-life Trials, Traumas, and Tragedies at CWA WORKCON: CLARITY THROUGH ACTION!  May 31 – June 2, 2023. Melody reports, “Through a roundtable discussion, we will examine the role resilience plays in our career accomplishments as Workforce Development Professionals. We will achieve insight and clarity, dissect the essential building blocks of resilience, and discuss navigating the highs and lows of our personal lives, while maintaining motivation, focus,
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The movement for a national Asian American and Pacific Islander holiday, celebrating the contributions and influence of Asian Americans and Pacific Islander Americans to the history, culture, and achievements of the U.S., began in the late ‘70s with Jeanie Jew, a fourth generation Chinese American who was instrumental in the acknowledgment of the Asian American and Pacific Islander experience. Since its founding in 1981, KRA has embraced and practiced DEIBA principles, and is fortunate that two of our Asian American employees are willing to share with us a bit about their experiences, and their families’ journeys. We’ve chosen to highlight these
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For 15 years, Vanessa E. Atterbeary, Esq., KRA Corporate Counsel, and as a Maryland General Assembly Delegate is Chair of the Ways and Means Committee, has been receiving newsworthy attention in KRA Latest News, The Baltimore Sun, and most recently, The Daily Record, which chose Vanessa as one of Maryland’s Top 100 Women of 2023 that recognizes high-achieving women making an impact through their leadership, community service and mentoring. Last night, at The Lyric Baltimore Performing Arts Center, hundreds of well-wishers gathered for the Awards Celebration to honor Vanessa and the other incredibly accomplished women. The KRA Family is extremely proud of
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The National Association of Job Training Assistance—dedicated to the development of government and non-government workforce-services professionals—will convene its 39th Annual National Conference, May 1- 5, 2023, in Chicago. According to its website, “NAJA has a dynamic line up…to ensure a successful conference.”  Included in that line up is  KRA Dynamic Duo, Zaskia Ruiz, Executive Vice President, Administration & Finance, and Joseph L. Seymour,  Managing Director, Operational Excellence, and 1st VP, Southeastern Training Association. With KRA since 2017, Zaskia leads the Accounting & Finance, People & Culture, and Communications Departments, but still makes time to share her 20 years’ experience through
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On March 31, 2023, President Biden proclaimed April 2023 as National Second Chance Month and called for the observance of the month with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities. As a national leader in workforce development, KRA has been an advocate for the success of our returning citizens for decades, collaborating with local workforce agencies to deliver effective and compassionate services. Many KRA jobseeker-customers face multiple barriers to sustainable employment.  Therefore, KRA’s workforce programs strives to ameliorate a plethora of obstacles, e.g. educational and job-skills deficiencies, lack of adequate employment history, homelessness, et al—in addition to former incarceration. Recently, our KRA
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