By Justin Collins, Senior Director, Programs, WPTI

At WPTI we’ve been reflecting on an important question: How can we deliver learning and professional development that helps workforce practitioners not only build new skills, but put them into practice to better serve jobseekers in a rapidly changing labor market?

One answer has been a new approach to professional development: WPTI’s Learning Labs.

Learning Labs are intensive, in-person, cohort-based experiences that bring together teams of workforce professionals to build knowledge, learn from peers, and develop practical strategies they can take back to their organizations. Rather than one-time trainings, Learning Labs create space for deeper learning, collaboration, and action around some of the most pressing issues facing the workforce field.

By Sherazade Langlade, CEO of WPTI

Trying to keep up with AI right now can feel like a full-time job.

Every week brings a new tool, a new capability, a new prediction about which jobs will disappear, and new warnings about what could go wrong, like the one recently issued by a former Anthropic researcher, who warned that AI capabilities may be accelerating faster than our ability to reliably control increasingly powerful systems. 

Meanwhile, staff are experimenting, often on their own. Leaders are being pushed to develop policies, invest in tools, prepare their teams, and anticipate changes to the labor market, all while the technology itself keeps moving.

The pressure to “get AI right” can make it harder to figure out what your organization actually needs to do next.

"Blake has been so much more than a Board member. She has been a trusted advisor, connector, and steadfast champion of WPTI for more than 13 years. Her belief in strengthening organizations, her deep relationships and experience across the workforce field, and her generous leadership as Board Chair, Interim CEO, and Board member have left an indelible mark on WPTI. We are incredibly grateful for her years of service and friendship," reflected WPTI Board Chair Maya Washington.

We are delighted to welcome Marci Hunn to the WPTI Board of Directors! Marci brings more than 25 years of leadership across philanthropy, workforce development, government, and the nonprofit sector. Throughout her career, she has helped strengthen workforce systems, build cross-sector partnerships, and expand economic opportunity for communities across the country.

This July marks the 63rd anniversary of New York City’s Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP), one of the nation’s largest youth employment initiatives. Each year, SYEP provides more than 100,000 young New Yorkers between the ages of 14 and 24 with six-week paid internships that help them gain workplace experience, build professional skills, and explore future careers.

“We are excited to welcome Alyson Krause and David Fischer to the WPTI Board. Their experience and perspectives will be invaluable as we continue to strengthen our impact and advance workforce development,” said Board Chair Maya Washington.

Avenues for Justice is a New York City-based non-profit organization that runs an alternative to incarceration program for court-involved and at-risk youth, ages 16- 24. In 2023, Shantel Brooks, a job developer at Avenues for Justice, launched HIRE Up, an internship program that gives participants job experience, a paycheck, and the opportunity to build their resumes. In a recent conversation with WPTI, Shantel talked about the program and its impressive results.

By Sherazade Langlade, CEO

As 2026 gets underway, many of us in the workforce development space are hopeful that Mayor Mamdani’s administration will invest in building a stronger workforce development system to provide more New Yorkers with opportunities for economic mobility. This is an especially urgent need today, when lower- and middle-income families across New York and the country feel more squeezed than ever.