Held annually, the National Association of Workforce Development Professionals (NAWDP) 2013 Conference, Putting America to Work, was held May 19 – 22, in Minneapolis, MN. According to the NAWDP post-conference webpage, “Over 90 breakout workshops, three plenary, two super sessions and two deep dive sessions were featured.” KRA Corporation, the only Gold-Level Sponsor, was extremely active in Conference activities, with the largest representation from any one single organization: more than 25 corporate- and program-level executives, managers, and staff…from California to Connecticut.
Featured on the webpage…http://www.nawdp.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Annual_Conference/…is the video produced by Joseph Seymour, KRA Corporation Trainer & Subject Matter Expert, KRA/CTWorks One-Stop Centers in Hartford. The heading reads” Many thanks to Joseph Seymour for the video featured at Opening Session.” Seymour also designed and conducted one of the workshops, Presentation Skills for Workforce Development Professionals, which provided valuable tips and techniques for putting the “power” back into PowerPoint presentations. Note: Link might open in a second window. Click on “Conferences and Training”, and then “Annual Conference”.
The webpage also states, “Twitterfeed a Success! Attendees sharpen their tweeting skills by communicating key points and lessons learned in the workshops. Congratulations to the following attendees who won the Twitterfeed prizes! Second Place: Maxine Suka from KRA Corporation… Third Place: Diana Wong from the San Diego Metro Region Career Center.” Suka is the KRA Corporation Program Manager for the multi-site San Diego Metro Region One-Stop Career Center Program, and Wong is the KRA Training Account Coordinator. In addition, with Juliana Castillo, KRA Social Media Coordinator & Trainer, Wong co-presented a workshop on Case Management: Staff, Clients and LinkedIn? Oh My!, an innovative approach to case management using the number one social-media networking Internet site for businesses and professionals.
The webpage also features a “THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS…Gold Level Sponsorship…KRA – Developing Workers. Strengthening Communities.” And, it should be noted that on the “Get Recognized” page of the website, two of the four annual NAWDP honors were awarded to KRA Corporation employees. At the Conference’s Advancing the Profession Awards Ceremony, Tiffany Haynes, Instructor, KRA/VIEW Program, Norfolk, VA, accepted the Jodi Spiegel Enhancement of Customer Service Award, and Beth McCabe, CWDP, KRA Coordinator of Staff Development and Core Services, KRA/CTWorks, received the Professional Development Award.
Also, McCabe, with Julie Watson, Director of Program Operations, Capital Workforce Partners (North Central CT WIB and KRA/CTWorks client) and Kellie O’Donnell, Senior Public Service Librarian and Manager of Job and Career Services, Hartford Public Library (KRA/CTWorks partner) co-presented Location, Location, Location: Meet Customers Where They Are, representing a new cutting-edge, national model on delivering workforce services in collaborative relationships with local library systems.
Don Scott, Chair of the NAWDP Board of Directors and Senior Vice President for KRA Workforce Operations, concluded, “On behalf of KRA, I want to thank NAWDP for its acknowledgment of our contributions to the success of the 2013 Annual Conference. KRA is proud to b a long-standing member and supporter of NAWDP’s mission as the national voice for our profession, effectively meeting the professional development needs of our membership. Kim Staley, our Vice President and Director of Client Services, just this month was re-elected to the Board as the Director for the state of Connecticut, and together we will continue to advocate for NAWDP in advancing the goals, objectives, and interests of its members, as well as the entire workforce development industry.”
