From left to right: Angelynn Avé (Regional Coordinator, Northwest Programs), Rachel Lupole (Director, Career Advice), Juanita Kamhoot (SEIU Local 49 Executive Board Member and Performance Improvement Advisor, Kaiser Permanente), Kristy Spencer (Medical Assistant, Kaiser Permanente), and Zenaida Ehrlich (Regional Coordinator, Northwest Programs).

The Education Fund worked with SEIU Local 49 and our Northwest stakeholders to support the Future Ready Oregon 2022 bill signed by Governor Kate Brown on April 5, 2022. Local 49 invited members of the Education Fund’s staff and a couple of learners to attend the signing of the bill.

The Future Ready Oregon Bill is a comprehensive $200 million package of investments to give people the education, training, and resources they need to get into good-paying careers. The package particularly focuses on connecting Oregon’s workers with good-paying career paths in technology, manufacturing, and healthcare. These key sectors provide short-term pathways to meaningful employment, higher earning potential, and opportunities for economic mobility.

Governor Brown specifically thanked SEIU Local 49 and SEIU Local 503 for all their efforts to support frontline healthcare workers and emphasized their support of education and training partnerships. We are extremely proud to have been a part of this monumental bill and we look forward to providing educational opportunities to more eligible learners in the Northwest.

Members of The Education Fund’s staff recently traveled to Portland to connect with our partners from InsideTrack. The Education Fund began working with InsideTrack in 2019 to provide success coaching to support the career advice team. The initial partnership went so well that it soon evolved to working with InsideTrack on a few different areas including coaching, consulting, organizational development and department training.

From left to right: Josh TenHaken-Riedel (InsideTrack), Shawn Walker Hardeman, Rachel Lupole, Deanna Hatter, Angelynn Avé, Mabel Meza, Charmaine Chong, Ann Werbach (InsideTrack), Phoenix Lockett

The Education Fund is intentional with our outreach and recruitment efforts to make sure eligible union members know what we have to offer, and to learn how to best support members’ career and education goals. The Education Fund team believes the healthcare workforce should be just as diverse as the communities it serves, and our programs and services are available to all who are eligible.

Due to InsideTrack’s ability to collect and report on participant progress and outcomes, the Education Fund has learned a few key best practices that ensure we are able to tell the story of the organization’s impact and success. With this partnership, the Education Fund has been able to offer crisis support to all participants, which has been extremely valuable during the pandemic. We have also worked diligently to move our career counselors to the front-end of services to fully support learners to understand how the Ed Fund’s programs and services can support their career and educational goals.

This is just the beginning of an amazing partnership that will continue to grow and provide valuable knowledge and support to all eligible members.