NYATEP's Member Spotlight Series: A Deep Dive with Jason Chapin of Westchester County Association (WCA)
Aug 07, 2023
This interview is the first in a new Membership Spotlight Series being conducted by Gina Onyiuke, Membership Network Coordinator.
NYATEP’s Member Spotlight Series highlights our diverse network while introducing readers to the wide variety of workforce and economic development services and programs offered throughout New York. It showcases ways in which members are making an impact and explores opportunities for adaptation to better empower people in the communities we serve.
If you would like to be interviewed and featured in an upcoming Member Spotlight, please contact Gina at [email protected].
Photo Credit: Jason Chapin
Gina: Hi Jason! I’m so pleased you could sit down with me today. Let’s start with a few questions about your background. Tell me about the organization, the mission, vision, and how you found yourself in the position you’re in today.
Jason: Sure – so, I am the Director of Workforce Development at the Westchester County Association (WCA). We’re a member-organization focused on economic development. We have over 250 members and we spend a lot of time understanding what their interests and challenges are, and how we can help them. We have a couple of different focus areas; in addition to workforce development, we focus on healthcare, housing, real estate, sustainability, and digital connectivity.
Gina: Oh wow – sounds like a great deal of work involved considering how varied those focus areas are.
Jason: Yea – and we have quite a few committees for those different areas and various initiatives that we work on. WCA is 73 years old, and it's not just a Westchester organization; it’s a regional organization.
Gina: Oh really; tell me more about that.
Jason: We have lots of members who either have headquarters in Westchester and a footprint outside Westchester, or they’re headquartered outside Westchester with a footprint in Westchester. We have members up into the Hudson Valley and on Long Island and New York City. For example, a lot of our members are members of your organization.
Gina: Right…
Jason: So, SUNY Westchester Community College is one of our big members; we do a lot of events, initiatives, and projects with them. Speaking of events, Melinda Mack was our moderator at our first Regional Workforce Summit.
Gina: Oh nice, love that!
Jason: Yea – we brought together all the stakeholders to focus on the challenges and opportunities in workforce development. I first came to the Westchester County Association back in 2016 when the organization was project manager for a $10 million workforce grant called Jobs Waiting that Westchester County got.
That grant focused on healthcare training for job seekers and filling open positions in healthcare; it covered the Hudson Valley. And so, I was brought in to be the new project manager. When that grant ended in 2019, they asked me to stay on to help them do more work in workforce development.
Gina: That’s definitely a robust history there, Jason. Now that we’ve achieved a bird’s-eye view of the organization and your path there, let’s dive into a fun question.
Considering the current point of your life, imagine you wake up every morning and there’s a theme song playing in the background – kind of like an episode in a series when the main character walks into the room. What do you imagine your anthem would be – based on your personality and the work you’re doing?
Jason: Haha – I’ll share a mantra instead, which is “do something.” We have so many opportunities, great organizations, challenges, and resources. What I’ve learned working for nonprofits, SUNY, CUNY, and in-region, is that we have a tremendous amount of assets – human assets, organizational assets, and more. The greatest challenge and opportunity is connecting all those organizations to create regional talent ecosystems.
Gina: Yes, yes – that is a valid observation.
Jason: Like NYATEP is doing – you’re trying to connect all these organizations and help them realize their full potential. And I often find a lot of times that people overlook what’s in their backyard or in their region.
Gina: True.
Photo Credit: Jason Chapin
Jason: And so, I’m always trying to connect members and non-members, especially if they have the same mission and objectives. We keep hearing about how COVID changed the workforce situation and talent dynamics, and a lot of that is starting to normalize.
What I’m finding is we still have close to a record number of organizations trying to fill an immense number of open positions. We also have education training providers that are attempting to meet the demands of employers – whether it’s filling entry-level positions or re-skilling and re-training their employees.
We also know that there are lots of barriers that job seekers are facing – whether it’s childcare, transportation, housing, and a number of other things. What I try to do – and I try to work with like-minded individuals and organizations – is be creative and innovative. I find ways to leverage and link all of the resources, and replicate models and programs that are outcome-driven and data-and-demand-driven.
Gina: Right – businesses of all sizes are still grappling to build their talent pipelines, and employees are lacking critical resources needed to rise and ultimately provide the value employers seek. What observations have you made based on these experiences?
Jason: I’ve found that those interested in being part of these kinds of collaborations and partnerships are getting ahead.
One way to go as an employer is sitting back, relying primarily on Indeed postings, and expecting resumes to come flying in and things to happen without having to do much. I think the better way to go – and what we’re working really hard on and have started to see a lot of momentum and traction doing – is as follows:
We get grants; we currently have a county grant and a state grant focused on healthcare training. We identify our education training partners, employer partners, and other partners that can fill in some of the gaps. For example, one of our members is the STEM Alliance; they’re not a healthcare training provider, but they are a tech skills training provider. That helps to meet the needs of a job seeker who may need tech skills training in order to be successful in healthcare training.
Gina: Right, makes sense.
Jason: We also work with an organization called Leadership Learning Group that provides job readiness training. We hear every day from employers that candidates are not job-ready, so we focus on making sure they have all of the soft skills that employers require.
We put together a package, and also provide stipends to help offset expenses while individuals are in training. Then we use our experience bringing employers together to do all of the recruitment and interviewing aspects of the comprehensive job training program.
We’re finding that through that process, the employers are learning more about the nonprofits and training providers. Additionally, we’re introducing them to the staff training centers so that they cannot just interview and hire our grant program graduates, but they can hire other graduates from those training providers.
They can visit the classrooms to talk about opportunities at their organization directly with the students. They can get to know the faculty and maybe suggest what they think might be helpful in terms of emphasizing certain soft skills. And they’re invited to any recruitment activities at the education training providers’ site.
So, it creates a talent pipeline that’s sustainable and incredibly cost-effective because all you have to do is build a relationship. You don’t have to build a training site or spend a lot of money advertising your job postings and so on.
Gina: That is amazing; I love how intentional you all are about leveraging the power of relationships and collaboration to propel your mission forward.
Jason: Yea – it really comes down to being strategic. So, where are we going to get the best outcomes? And how can we build relationships that will generate those outcomes?
Gina: For sure. So, considering where you are currently at the organization, what would you say is something that keeps you moving forward in this space? I know that the work you do can certainly be heavy at times; there’s just so much impact you’re trying to create with numerous moving pieces involved. What keeps you excited and committed?
Jason: Something that’s really gotten me motivated to try and do things that need to be done more, is the COVID situation. It undoubtedly forced a lot of employers to rethink the workforce. At the same time, there was a movement for more DEI.
Westchester – much like the rest of the region and state – had a very rich history in immigration and having immigrants help fill positions and contribute to regional economic development. So, what I – and a lot of our partners – have been doing is trying to identify the underrepresented populations that can help employers fill positions. This benefits the individual, their family, their community, and the region’s economic development.
For example – and this is happening in other parts of the state and country – a lot of employers see the benefits of hiring people with diverse backgrounds and circumstances (i.e., people with disabilities, people of color, older or younger individuals, and people that have been out of the workforce for long periods of time).
They rely on partners to help provide the training and skills needed to make them eligible including credentials required for some of these positions. Simultaneously, they’re very open to creating those types of pipelines because they know that it benefits their organization.
Gina: Right.
Photo Credit: Jason Chapin
Jason: And they know it can be a continuous source of talent.
Gina: 100%. Being open to historically untapped populations, recognizing the limits they face and the power in diversifying these spaces, and understanding that they have the ability to show up as long as they have access to the requisite resources needed to do so, is important.
So, I know that you’ve described the models, strategies, and processes in place as a means of moving forward. How do you define success; what does it look like?
Jason: So, I’ve talked about the models that we use when putting together collaborations and partnerships. Grants are a key part of that, as is getting support from elected officials along with local and county governments. All of that is pretty obvious. At the same time, it’s very important to be able to collect outcomes.
That way you can not only say that you're successful, you can demonstrate with actual evidence. We spend a lot of time trying to collect training and placement outcomes. Sometimes that’s challenging because some individuals are very happy to get all the benefits of the program, but once they get a job, they kind of….y’know…
Gina: Haha, go away…get pulled into work basically and lose touch perhaps…
Jason: Right – but we try to develop relationships with them. That way, they know we’re trying to help them, and are deeply appreciative of their support when we’re trying to collect the outcomes. We want to be able to tell a story with these outcomes. It’s not just being able to say that we trained 100 people and filled 85 positions.
It’s understanding what additional benefits you provided in order to help them. For example, how many people took the tech skills training? How many of them took medical assistant training versus administrative assistant training versus CNA training? Who’s doing most of the hiring? It helps us determine where we should focus future trainings so that we can have even better outcomes.
It helps us understand who benefits from job readiness training and provide information. Like United Way in our region had a partnership with Lyft – which was discontinued unfortunately – where they provided up to 30 free rides to the individuals to get to and from training, to get to interviews, and to get to work until they got their first paycheck.
Gina: That sounds amazing.
Jason: It’s just being able to identify some resources that some people are unaware of. It’s kind of like Hudson Valley 211 – great information, but a lot of people don’t know there’s lots of incentives out there.
Also, something like EITC – the Earned Income Tax Credit. Not many people know they can get free tax preparation services; tax preparers can identify tax credits that they’re eligible for that puts money back into their pockets, helps them improve their living standards, and move up the economic ladder.
What I’m trying to underscore here is making sure you can collect all the data – all the outcomes, that is – and be able to tell a story with all that information.
Gina: You’ve hit the nail on the head. As a storyteller, I can’t emphasize enough the importance of taking charge of your narrative and telling authentic stories that are powered by data-driven insights. It can make them all the more impactful. I love that success for you is having the outcomes to showcase, so that you can continue to do the work you care about.
Jason: Yea – for instance, a lot of people in the grant world think that grants are all about helping people get jobs, and that’s absolutely true. At the same time, funders want to ensure they’re getting value.
That takes us back to collecting outcomes. We know with our county grant – which was for about half a million dollars – that we’ve already helped 60 people get jobs with a combined income of $2.2 million. We already have a ROI of almost 5:1.
If you’re a taxpayer and you want to know if your money is being well spent, we can prove that. We can say that we’re helping people get jobs, good salaries with benefits, and career advancement opportunities, and that’s been benefiting their communities and the region.
Gina: So true; we definitely love to see where the money is going – that whatever we’re investing in, the return makes sense.
Let’s talk about impact, specifically in your personal life now. Is there any one person or word of advice that made an impact in your life and propelled you to make the choices you’ve made today – to become the person you are at this moment?
Jason: Yea, I’ll answer briefly. If you go back to my upbringing and a lot of my life decisions, I would give credit to my parents. They’ve always been deeply involved or very committed to communities, nonprofits, and various causes that improved the lives of people that didn’t have all the advantages of others.
Additionally, though I went to business school, I didn’t pursue a career in the business world; I wanted to use those skills to help nonprofits be more business-like. I ended up working on a campaign which introduced me to somebody who was a business consultant that did a lot of pro bono work for nonprofits.
Starting to work with those nonprofits, I realized that they were doing incredibly great work, yet were always struggling. I was interested in helping them adapt some of the business practices – whether it’s continuous improvement or utilizing performance metrics – so that they could shine a little brighter, more easily track grants, and meet their financial expenses. That way, they could continue to serve more people.
Gina: That is admirable. Not many would be eager to go the business school route, then turn around and invest that knowledge into nonprofits where sometimes returns are not as significant.
So, another question for you – is there anything in particular that you’ve read or listened to recently that has really stuck with you? This could be a book, podcast, or article.
Jason: Yea – this book right here is called “Mindset” by Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D. I think it encapsulates what differentiates the doers from non-doers. It’s all about the philosophy that there are two mindsets. There’s the fixed mindset – so if you’re a negative person, things will never work out and you’ll never reach your goal or destination in life. It’s your inability to control your own destiny.
If you have a growth mindset, you’re always focused on trying to figure out what you can do differently and better to improve your situation. It’s all about embracing or being open to all the possibilities.
I think that we all are trying to do work we enjoy and are good at. Concurrently, we want to work with people that have similar philosophies and attitudes. We always want to work around positive people who can get things done, and this book underscores how important it is to have a growth mindset.
Gina: Thanks for the book recommendation, Jason. I am a big proponent of having a growth mindset as it can leave people feeling more empowered and committed to engaging with the process of progression, owning their story, and evolving as needed.
There are undoubtedly external hindrances that play a major role in a person’s trajectory. Recognizing how our unconscious and conscious thoughts can impact our perception of the world and ability to show up is critical, too.
Speaking of setbacks, have you personally experienced any challenges that you managed to overcome?
Jason: The challenge that I face – and probably many others do – is questioning whether I am realizing my full potential. Do I have to be honest with myself and say I need more help with certain skills in order to be more effective and impactful? Sometimes I wonder if I need to reorganize and reallocate my time and energy so that I’m getting as much accomplished as possible.
We all have our deficiencies, strengths, and weaknesses. It’s just being able to face some of our weaknesses, and saying what do I do about that? What can I change that would turn that weakness into a strength? I’m always trying to self-evaluate and figure out what I could do better and how to connect with others that can help.
Gina: That’s great – definitely something I can connect with you on. One of the biggest questions in life is, am I fulfilling my potential? Am I on a path aligned with my purpose and working intentionally on it?
I love that you are unafraid to ask these questions as they can be fairly scary, especially if you find yourself comparing your path to another’s timeline. Reflecting is where we find lessons and can grow further. I also like that you’re open to asking for help. I always say, we can often go further faster collectively as opposed to alone.
Considering we’re discussing purposes, what do your future goals and aspirations look like?
Jason: I like how NYATEP spotlights organizations and the work they do. I know there are other organizations that do similar things. I would love to see more entities spotlight the various positive things happening around us – whether it’s individuals helping others or organizations that are doing amazing work.
Doing so accomplishes a few things; it recognizes, reinvigorates, and re-energizes people doing this work so they can continue doing great work. It also helps the organizations making that possible, attract support. Whether that’s dollars, volunteers, or other types of assistance, this allows them to continue pushing their mission forward.
It also counters the negativity that a lot of us are sometimes drowning in. We always hear from individuals and outlets that problems are getting worse, situations aren’t being addressed, and we’re going backwards.
I’m an optimist and there are a lot of optimists out there. We just have to put a little more energy into letting these people – the optimists and those working to get things done – know that they’re not alone. Their work is important, and it’s helping and inspiring others to get involved and make a difference, too.
Gina: That is certainly something I’m hoping NYATEP’s Member Spotlight Series will do. We’re all about supporting and connecting others – spotlighting their goals, missions, pain points, hopes, and dreams, & in doing so, bridge the gap between us all.
Are there any collaborations or connections you are especially interested in?
Jason: There are some major foundations – leaders in workforce development. Some are corporate foundations that are really committed to workforce development; others are private foundations. I used to work for an organization that got grants from some of those organizations.
I spend a lot of time working on grants and trying to adapt our grant-seeking strategies. It would be incredibly exciting to get a large grant from a large organization; this would allow us to build on our foundation of successful grants and take us to the next level.
I am going to continue working on that. Being able to do something at a higher level we haven’t been able to reach yet, would be so rewarding.
Gina: Many of our members can connect with that sentiment and goal. Final question, Jason – what is a fun fact about yourself that people probably don't know about you?
Jason: A couple years ago, I partnered with two other guys to create a documentary based on my father’s life in music and commitment to trying to end hunger. My father was Harry Chapin, and the documentary is called “Harry Chapin: When in Doubt, Do Something.” And so, I am a documentarian. I have made one documentary which I never expected to do; I am very grateful I had that opportunity and was able to cross the finish line.
Gina: Wow, that’s incredible. And now, I have more questions; we’ll have to set up another meeting to chat more. Thank you so much for answering these questions, Jason; it’s been a pleasure!
