Jamie Bettencourt

Jamie Bettencourt is a 10-year employee of Cuesta College and is currently serving as Interim Director of Disability Support Programs and Services. He holds a Master’s in Science degree from Cal Poly in Higher Education Counseling and Student Affairs as well as a Master’s in Education and an Education Specialist Teaching Credential. In previous roles at Cuesta, Jamie was an Academic Success Coach, a charter high school site administrator and foster youth case manager.  In each of his roles, Jamie has prioritized serving a broad intersection of students as part of college-wide efforts to support and bolster student success.

Denae Boggs, MA, LMFT

Substance Use Disorder Counselor Academy Consultant

Denae has a background as a licensed marriage and family therapist. She has taught at Cuesta College since 2009. She served as the lead faculty for Addiction Studies and Human Services for seven years. The Cuesta College Addiction Treatment Studies Program offers a Certificate of Achievement and AA Degree; the program is registered with California Consortium of Addiction Programs and Professional (CCAPP) and California Association of DUI Treatment Programs (CADTP).

Gregory Burks, Ph.D.

Gregory D. Burks Sr., Ph.D. brings more than twenty-five years of diversified executive experience, specializing in Nonprofit, Community and Governmental operations. He previously held the position of Director of Workforce Development – Adult Operations for the City of Los Angeles. He was responsible for the City’s workforce development system adult operations that consist of seventeen (17) centers with the enrollment of 8,000 individuals and 200 full-time staff with an annual operating budget of $45M. He’ll apply his experience in the development and implementation of new programs and processes to continue the growth of  New Way to Work  program operation.

Manuel Chavez

Manuel is an advisor and technical assistance provider to non-profit and public entities with an emphasis in strategic planning and organizational development.

Manuel holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in American Studies, with an emphasis on the Urban Ethnic Experience, from the University of Southern California. 

After more than thirty years of employment with the City of Los Angeles, in 2015 Manuel retired as Assistant General Manager of the City’s Housing + Community Investment Department.  In that capacity he had oversight responsibility for the planning and delivery of comprehensive social and neighborhood improvement services to low-moderate income City residents and communities.  He managed Community Development Block Grant and Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) funds that supported this work and was the City’s, State recognized CSBG Executive Director.

He was the primary architect of the FamilySource System that now serves as the City’s primary provider of anti-poverty initiatives.  FamilySource is an outcome driven model and is unique in that it measures the local economic impact of the program as compared against the investment of federal funds.  FamilySource is recognized as a model both statewide and nationally.

For years, Manuel also served as the City’s Workforce Development Division Director.  In that capacity he was responsible for the planning and oversight of the WorkSource and YouthSource service delivery systems and remains a valuable workforce development resource.

Manuel also served as Executive Director of the City’s Youth Fair Chance program, managing a collaborative of co-located community based organizations, providing a comprehensive array of social services to low-income City residents.  He coordinated service delivery, managed day-to-day operations, served as development officer and incorporated the program as a 501.c.3 organization that remains in good standing.

Manuel is proficient in the application of Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award criteria in managing and improving organizational performance and has presented, on numerous occasions, at California Council for Excellence (CCE) conferences. 

Since his retirement Manuel has served as a consultant to non-profit organizations in the development of their strategic plans and scorecards, in mentoring executive staff, in developing policies and procedures and in providing general overall guidance.  He also managed the process for certifying all of the City of Los Angeles America’s Jobs Centers.

Lauri Collier

Lauri Collier is the director of the LA Opportunity Youth Collaborative. Lauri has over 20 years of experience working with vulnerable populations, and her expertise is working with child-welfare programs serving transition age youth. Previously, as vice-president of housing and operations at St. Anne’s, she worked in collaboration with DCFS Youth Development Services to bring the Transitional Housing Plus (THP+) funding stream into Los Angeles County in partnership with DCFS and licensed one of the first Transitional Housing Plus Foster Care (THP+FC) housing programs in Los Angeles County. She also served as the director of the Los Angeles Transition Age Youth Collaborative, which developed an evidence-based, trauma informed, work-force development curriculum in collaboration with Columbia University School of Social Work’s Workplace Center. She expanded the reach of work readiness curriculum by and partnering with over 15 community-based organizations, and the curriculum is currently being embedded into the public workforce system.

Shawn Evangelista

Shawn is a consultant specializing in project management, social media, graphic design, and IT support. He previously worked as a graphic designer, administrative assistant and then job developer for The RightWay Foundation, working with transition-aged foster and re-entry youth in Los Angeles County. He currently assists New Ways in providing a wide array of administrative support needed as the organization continues to grow.

Ruben Gonzales

Ruben has a 35-year career that showcases a devotion to empowering youth and advocating for underserved communities in improving the public systems that form the foundations and fail-safes for their collective wellbeing. I am particularly devoted to opportunity youth (16-24), those who have been adversely impacted by systemic economic and racial inequities or system involvement.

Much of Ruben’s work centers throughout the Los Angeles Basin, where he has served as a catalyst for collective action. He worked to form, fund, led and supported several organizations and initiatives, including the California State University System’s CSU5 Reconnecting LA Youth (ReLAY) Institute, Annenberg Foundation’s LA n’ Sync and the Los Angeles Mayor’s Office and the Economic and Workforce Development Department’s LA Performance Partnership Pilot (LAP3), Supported the development of a primary strategic goal, as part of their regional WIOA Plan, focused on opportunity youth for all seven Workforce Development Boards within Los Angeles County.

Ruben’s most recent position was as the Associate Director of the CSU5 Reconnecting Los Angeles Youth Institute (ReLAY), which is an institute led by the five California State Universities in Los Angeles County. The overall aim of the CSU5 ReLAY Institute is to create sustainable systemic change that will provide improved education, employment, housing, and health and well-being outcomes for opportunity youth (16-24) throughout the Los Angeles Basin.

Joe Herrity

Joe is an experienced leader whose practice is rooted in the hard-won credibility of a nearly 15 years of front line service, and leadership through an era of increasing rigor and operational discipline. A collective impact disciple, Joe is skilled at navigating multi-stakeholder environments and distilling complex issues down to their essential elements. Joe’s approach to the work is uniquely influenced by his upbringing and early adulthood in a small Wisconsin manufacturing town and the last 13 years in the Bay area. In Wisconsin he bore witness to the impact of de-industrialization and the resulting economic stagnation of a once thriving community, and in the Bay Area he has worked closely with communities impacted by an influx of wealth yet trapped by inaccessible opportunity.  As a result, he is focused on pathways to prosperity that connect investments and services along the life-course and across institutions and organizations. He is a firm believer in the notion of “nothing about us without us,” and is committed to forging holistic responses that authentically and meaning-fully include the voices of community-members with the most to gain or lose by the result. Joe is a proud community college graduate and holds a bachelors degree from the University of Wisconsin.

Charles Hiteshew

Charles Hiteshew has worked with underserved youth and young job seekers for his entire career. Since Fall of 2021, he has been supporting a diverse portfolio of organizations all focused on ensuring that our most underserved learners are gaining essential workforce skills and advancing within their respective pursuits. Prior to this, he served as the Executive Director of the Hire Opportunity Coalition- a national collaborative effort of some our largest corporations to provide priority entry-level job access and support to opportunity youth – those 16–24-year-olds neither in school or employed. Prior to that, Charles served as CEO for ten years at Talent Development Secondary of Johns Hopkins University’s Center for the Social Organization of Schools – one of the longest-standing, evidence-based secondary school transformation organizations in the country.

He started his career as a street counselor working with homeless and transient youth in Boston and increasingly brought services and resources into our most challenged schools in increasingly integrated and impactful ways. He has served as a principal in a rural secondary school in Kenya; a school-to-career counselor in the Boston Public Schools and then the manager of career academies at multiple schools within BPS. Hiteshew went on after grad school to serve as the first Director of Quality & Standards for Communities In Schools, the nation’s leader in wraparound services and integrated student supports. He then went on to run one of the largest Big Brothers Big Sisters affiliates in the country (Fort Worth) and helped set the stage for a successful merger with Dallas and Arlington BBBS to become by far the largest affiliate in the country.

Charles went on to serve as the founding Executive Director of the DC Public Education Partnership Fund in collaboration with the World Bank and then became the COO of America’s Promise where he helped design and spearhead the effort to raise the country’s awareness of the high school graduation crisis. It was then that he connected with Dr. Bob Balfanz when Talent Development Secondary was awarded the largest validation grant by the Federal Department of Education’s Investing In Innovation in 2009. Balfanz, under Johns Hopkins University, appointed Hiteshew the first CEO of Talent Development Secondary to serve as the lead partner of the transformative Diplomas Now initiative.

Sean Hughes

Sean Hughes has more than two decades of experience working on a broad range of public policy issues with a particular focus on children, youth, and families. As a Congressional staffer, he helped write and pass the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-351), which established the federal extended foster care and subsidized guardianship programs. Following his decade on Capitol Hill, Sean served for several years as Director of Congressional Affairs for the Child Welfare League of America before transitioning to consulting. Sean possesses significant expertise in county, state, and federal policy and government affairs, including the legislative, budgeting, and regulatory processes as well as the Congressional appropriations process. He has extensive experience developing and executing policy and funding agendas and campaigns, both within government and as an advocate. Through his Congressional service and continued federal policy engagement, client work in several states, and ongoing participation in the Aspen Institute Opportunity Youth Forum as well as the American Bar Association Commission on Youth at Risk, Sean maintains a robust network of experts and partners throughout the country.

Ari Malka, Ph.D.

Ari Malka is a Senior Research Consultant with New Ways to Work. Dr. Malka has over a decade of experience in conducting applied research, program evaluation, and leading leadership and organizational development initiatives. In addition to evaluating several large-scale programs in Los Angeles, he also teaches an MBA course at Rice University.

Early on, Dr. Malka was very involved in both academia and practice. In addition to teaching several undergraduate courses and conducting organizational research, he held formal internships at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and ExxonMobil. Dr. Malka’s early work in conducting job and training needs analyses and applied research on organizational teams has led to his unique insight into human capital practices in the private and public sectors. As a human capital consultant at PDRI, Dr. Malka worked on a variety of federal contracts relating to leadership development and assessment, employee selection, and organizational development. During this time, he collaborated closely with federal employees and leaders in various federal agencies. 

Dr. Malka received his B.S. from the University of Texas at Austin and his Ph.D. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from the University of Houston.

Rogelio Medina

Rogelio has over 20 years of experience helping youth to fulfill their potential by developing and implementing programs that directly impact both participants and their respective communities. Since 1995 Rogelio has helped hundreds of low-income students from underserved communities not only graduate from high school but enroll in post-secondary education. A great extent of this work has taken place at a College and Career Center that he helped establish in Boyle Heights where he continues to volunteer.  Rogelio received his formal education from Carleton College as a recipient of the One Voice Scholarship award and a Ford Mellon Foundation Fellowship award. Rogelio graduated pre-med with Bachelor’s Degrees in both Sociology and Anthropology in 1998.  While an undergraduate a at Carleton Rogelio worked to charter CASA Del Sol.  CASA Del Sol’s mission was to recruit and support low-income people of color to apply and graduate from elite colleges such as Carleton. As Director of Post-Secondary Education and Training Rogelio has developed curriculum and programing that emphasizes how an investment in education and training creates lifelong opportunities. Rogelio has set up and overseen key partnerships with institutions of Post-Secondary Education like California State University Los Angeles and UCLA.  By developing programs like LA CAUSA’s U.C.L.A Green Summer Intensive Transfer Experience and Cal State LA’s Youth Summit, Rogelio continues to empower youth through education and post-secondary training.  In addition to working to establish the first City of Los Angeles College Career Center in Boyle Heights Rogelio was also responsible for working to establish and direct a Green College and Career Center which garnered recognition from the White House in 2010 for its work helping to provide youth and community members with the motivation information and resources to successfully enroll in Post-Secondary Education.  Additionally, Rogelio has managed Department of Labor, HUD, DJJ, WIA and Weingart Foundation grants with great success by meeting or exceeding their respective outcomes. Rogelio’s latest projects included serving as instructional leader and founder of LA CAUSA Youthbuild Charter School and working with former student Ely Flores in helping him establish his own   Leadership High School -LEAD in Lincoln Heights. Currently Rogelio works with low-income youth and communities across Los Angeles as Director of Educational Services for Dream Scholars and consultant for New Ways to Work.

Jesse Miramontes

Jesse is a dedicated student and tutor in general education, psychology, and additional studies. Jesse is passionate about helping fellow students reach their academic goals and develop a strong foundation in various subjects. Overall, his goal as a tutor is to inspire and empower fellow students to unlock their full potential, develop a thirst for knowledge, and achieve academic success. Jesse is committed to their growth, and finds great satisfaction in witnessing their progress and accomplishments.

Eric Moore

As founder and Executive Director of Educate California, Eric Moore has developed a non-profit organization whose mission is to ensure that all California youth graduate prepared for college, careers and life after high school. Educate California exists to combat California’s more than 500:1 student-to-counselor ratio, by providing 14 – 24-year-old low-income youth, their families and organizations that empower opportunity youth with resources that historically would be provided by high school counselors.

Moore’s professional experience includes 12 years as a financial advisor with Wells Fargo Securities and American Express Financial Advisors. In 1998, Moore founded Educate California after experiencing first-hand how parental engagement helped his struggling son graduate high school, and officially transitioned from advising families on investments, retirement options, estate planning and other financial matters to helping families prepare their children for college and career opportunities.

In the community, Moore served as Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Trustees for the Phillips Graduate University and is currently Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors for Executive Service Corps of Southern California. Moore both mentors and serves on the Board of AMBITION, an entrepreneurial training program for disadvantaged youth, and has served as a Special Consultant to the California State University Chancellor’s Office.

A native of Los Angeles, Moore studied Organizational Psychology at California State University, Long Beach. His personal interests include non-profit development, do-it-yourself home projects and his 3 dogs. Moore resides in Los Angeles, California with his wife Katrice. They have two adult sons.

Farrah Parker

Branding Consultant Farrah Parker serves as one of the newest additions to the New Ways to Work team where she will help guide public relations and marketing efforts.  The Los Angeles native currently consults for international brands including the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation, the Jackie Robinson Foundation, retired NBA Champion Matt Barnes, and Grammy Award winner Anthony Hamilton to name a few. With an incredible passion for narrating powerful stories that inspire, Parker started her career with the Los Angeles Lakers public relations team during the Shaquille O’Neal/Kobe Bryant era. Alongside a dynamic team, she helped coordinate international media efforts and diverse community relations efforts that solidified the brand’s dominance across the globe. 

After experiencing multiple championship seasons with LA’s home team, Parker ventured to City Government where she worked under the leadership of Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa and Mayor Eric Garcetti to facilitate workforce and economic development efforts to improve the quality of life for marginalized populations. A graduate of the University of Southern California, Parker holds a Master of Arts degree in Communication Management and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Relations, both from the distinguished Annenberg School for Communication.                             

In addition to her wealth of public relations expertise, Parker has also been quoted as a communication expert in publications including but not limited to USA Today, The Hill, The Wall Street Journal, Fox Business News, CNN.com, The Independent, Shape Magazine, and CNBC. 

An advocate in the fight to bridge the healthcare gap, Parker narrated the audio book Chicken Soup for the Breast Cancer Survivor’s Soul. As part of her belief that higher education helps close the wage gap that plagues communities of color, Parker has also taught Interpersonal Communication at California State University, Dominguez Hills and Communication Theory at Compton College. With expertise that spans across multiple industries, she has a longstanding history of positioning clients as industry leaders through the construction of powerful messages that cultivate loyal audiences.

Heidi Peyser, MA

Heidi has been advising non-profits and government agencies about leveraging technology since 1998 and has been consulting on website development and how to effectively translate communications traditionally / historically done in PDF and print to web content since 2001. Heidi has assisted many counties, cities, towns, special districts and non profit agencies nationwide in making this transition in a manner complementary to their existing communications and stakeholder needs.

Heidi is a former foster youth. She lives in Santa Rosa, California with her wife and two teenage boys. She has undergraduate and graduate degrees in psychology and research and is fluent in front end website development languages. She currently works as a senior information architect for Planeteria Media in addition to being a technological consultant for New Ways to Work.

Laura C. Romero

Alyssa Rubal

I have two Associates degrees in the Arts of Social and Behavioral Sciences and in Psychology. Soon to follow will be a Bachelors degree in Psychology. I have training in the field of substance abuse counseling through East Los Angeles College. I have spent four years working with justice impacted individuals and I’m currently working as a consultant for the Amityworks Substance Abuse Training Academy in partnership with Amity Foundation, East Los Angeles College, and Cuesta College.

Joseph Stark

Joseph has over 20 years of experience and expertise in alternative, youth and adult education and workforce training with a focus on creating access and opportunity for historically marginalized populations in Los Angeles. He has served as a teacher, principal, and district leader. In addition, he has served in leadership roles on several local workforce boards and regional adult education consortia.

Prior to joining the New Ways to Work team, he served for six years as the Executive Director of Adult and Career Education in LAUSD overseeing all adult and career education schools, staff and apprenticeship programs, including responsibility for a division budget totaling over $155 million.

Joseph is a relational leader who engages team members in a human-centered-design approach in decision making and policy development. He is visionary, results-driven and practical with a record of effective collaboration with diverse stakeholder groups. He is a champion and practitioner of career technical education, integrated education and training, comprehensive college and career counseling strategies, apprenticeship, pre-apprenticeship and innovative approaches to continuous program improvement and professional development of adult education staff.

Under his leadership in LAUSD, year-over-year adult education enrollment increased by 20% with student outcomes well above the state average. Also under his leadership, the Division of Adult and Career Education earned the largest federal award of adult education Workforce Innovation and Opportunity (WIOA) grant funds in the history of the district.

Joseph lives in View Park, California, with his partner Laura, his son, Joseph, and two dogs named Poochie and Scrappy.

Tamika Taylor

Tamika Taylor is the Program Strategist and Business Development Consultant. She is the CEO of TaylorMade Solutions consulting firm. She leads a team known as “The Rain Makers” in securing lucrative contracts and grant awards expanding the business profiles and capacity numerous clients. Ms. Taylor is a highly regarded community development thought leader lauding 25 years of experience. She known for her ability to gain community consensus in the hardest to serve communities, evolving public agencies and private institutions. Her passion is supporting women of color in business.

 She has secured millions of dollars of contract opportunities and grant for her clients that include corporations, public agencies, Universities non-profits and small businesses.  Tamika is a true master planner creating innovative program infrastructure and program development and management systems.  She has become the chief program architect crafting proposals and launching the following programs:

Karen Vega

Karen John Vega has over 20 years of experience both in the private and public sector as an Administrator/Sr. Project Assistant.  She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with an option in Office Systems.  She started her career with the City of Los Angeles, Commission for Children, Youth & their Services and Youth Opportunity Movement.  She later transitioned to the private sector working for a well-established clothing manufacturing company as an Administrator overseeing HR/Accounting/Domestic and Oversea Productions, where she was responsible for day-to-day operations, including managing staff, handling the company’s finances, and ensuring that the office runs efficiently and smoothly.   She is truly a “one-stop shop” when it comes to office management and is always looking for ways to improve the efficiency of the office.  Currently, she works for nonprofit New Ways to Work as a Program Manager.

Helen Whitcher

Helen Whitcher is a consultant specializing in youth workforce development, non-profit administration, program design and creating career pathways.  Prior to consulting, she spent over 20 years working with YouthBuild, a youth development model for 16-24 year old young adults with significant barriers.  Her experience with YouthBuild has spanned numerous positions including Sr. Director of Field Services and Technical Assistance for YouthBuild USA, Executive Director of Palmetto Community Hope Foundation, a South Carolina Affordable Housing organization that integrated YouthBuild students into affordable housing activities, and as a consultant in South Africa and the Caribbean to support the design, implementation and sustainability of youth development programs.  She has a focus in implementation of strategies that support and facilitate the interface of workforce placements through public private partnerships.

Throughout all of this, the individual recipient has remained the focus.  An example is as  a Prime for Life Substance Use Prevention instructor, and a facilitator of the first SBIRT (Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment) initiative in a community setting, Helen’s passion has been to support young people to success by allowing them to arrive at the decisions that will positively affect their futures.  This approach is shared through training with staff, executive coaching and with the program recipients themselves.

Ms. Whitcher holds a Masters Degree in Public Affairs from McCormack Institute, University of Massachusetts, a Bachelor of Science from Temple University, and certification in substance use prevention curricula. She is a former member of the local youth council of the Trident Workforce Development Board, and still mentors young people who were a part of her early YouthBuild programs. She resides in Charleston, SC. And Los Angeles, CA.