As an organization that values professional development and upskilling workers, EmployIndy recently sent six of its own to the National Association of Workforce Boards’ (NAWB) “The Forum” conference in Washington, D.C.  

According to the association’s website, it “represents and advocates for the nation's over 550 Workforce Development Boards,” of which EmployIndy is one of twelve across the state of Indiana. Workforce development boards are federally funded entities that are tasked with supporting employment pipelines across multiple industries. As a registered 501c3, EmployIndy adds a concerted focus and emphasis on making strategic investments to promote equity and remove barriers to quality employment for underserved and underrepresented residents. 

This year’s conference theme was “The Modern Workforce: Leading by Example. Led by Purpose” and featured sessions that ranged topically from engaging businesses, apprenticeship programs, Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) strategies, social services and mental health, digital skills, using data effectively, and workforce storytelling.  

“Any workforce development professional would benefit from attending NAWB,” said EmployIndy’s Development Director, Robin Kildall. “It gives its attendees a broad look at the way workforce boards are set up across the country.”  

Two of Kildall’s colleagues, Tracy Murphy (Director of Business Partnerships) and Kristen Barry (Senior Director of Research and Strategy), presented at a well-attended session on “Cultivating Seamless Pathways Through Community Collaboration and Advocacy.” The discussion outlined what such a pathway might look like: from industry demand to student voice and class offerings with an eye toward career pathways and combined with wrap-around support services and a conducive policy environment.  

The presentation offered an opportunity for the EmployIndy duo to talk about Talent Bound, an EmployIndy led program that connects Indy youth and young adults to companies and industries with talent needs for career education and work-based learning opportunities.  

Murphy and Barry also emphasized EmployIndy’s recent role in putting together the Accelerate Ed “Blueprint for Cybersecurity” pilot. The program includes voices and players from government, the private sector, local nonprofits, and educational institutions all vying to produce the win-win of creating opportunity for under-represented youth to fill legitimate talent gaps in tech.  

One EmployIndy partner in particular, TechPoint, has been bringing attention to this challenge with its ongoing Mission41K initiative, which encourages skills-based hiring as a method for diversifying tech workplaces and growing the Indiana tech workforce as a whole.   

Problem-solving at this magnitude and level of collaboration is what workforce development is all about. If you would like to learn more about an EmployIndy led program or initiative, or you’re interested in collaborating with EmployIndy in the workforce development space, reach out to our Business Partnerships team at businesspartnerships@nullemployindy.org or visit https://employindy.org/business-partnerships to learn more. 

EmployIndy remains saddened by the passing of Dr. Mechelle Polter, Senior Director of its Talent Bound program—which she largely created—on Wednesday, March 22^nd. To add to the shock of such an unexpected loss, Mechelle (she preferred for people to not call her Dr. Polter) had been in a Microsoft Teams meeting with many of her teammates that very day, before she experienced unexpected health complications in her home.

In the shock and grief of the next few days, and as stories got told about cats and birthday parties and wine tastings and Mechelle’s humor and love for plants and the fortitude it takes to complete a Ph.D. over six years while also mothering and working full-time, one thing was clear: there was no shortage of people who would line up to talk about their interactions with, and affection for, Mechelle.

“What can I not say about Mechelle?” Associate Director of Talent Bound, Matt Simpson, said. “She was my mentor, my friend, my go-to for everything work-based learning, for family and faith and life in general. She was knowledgeable about so many things and so humble. We had some similarities in life’s hardships, and I saw how she had overcome those challenges while never forgetting where she came from.”

As Talent Bound Manager Tressie Kaufman recalled evenings spent wandering through art galleries on “First Fridays” with Mechelle, she noted that even when Mechelle was away from work, she still loved to brainstorm about and set goals for Talent Bound. But that doesn’t mean Mechelle cared only about work, and she had a way of making the people around her feel seen. “She knew a lot of people,” Kaufman observed, “and I’ll never forget how valued she made me feel when she introduced me to some of those people.” Kaufman also added that one of Mechelle’s favorite questions was “How can I help?”

Mechelle loved her work but also loved to play, as seen here at the Talent Bound team's 2022 holiday outing.

Coworkers outside of Mechelle’s Talent Bound team also noticed her efforts to make others feel welcome, through her seat on EmployIndy’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) Affinity Group.  In this role, Mechelle was faithful and wholehearted in her participation as the group planned events, created spaces, and set goals for how to make EmployIndy an organization where all people feel they belong.

And it wasn’t only Mechelle’s colleagues at EmployIndy who were affected by her mission-oriented approach to life and work.  Mechelle has served since 2019—the same year EmployIndy hired her—on the Area 31 Career Center Executive Leadership Council. “She was committed to researching best practices and doing everything she could to advance opportunities for young people,” the center’s Director, Dr. Patrick Biggerstaff, said.

Sarah Koontz, from Horizon Education Alliance, interacted with Mechelle on the Indiana Community of Practice for Modern Youth Apprenticeships and agreed with Biggerstaff’s sentiment: “She was a quiet leader with a passion for helping students.” Noel Ginsburg from CareerWise USA added that “Her spirit will endure within this movement over the years and generations to come. We are endlessly grateful for her warmth, dedication, expertise, and countless other qualities she possessed and shared with all of us.”

Mechelle worked tirelessly to launch the Modern Apprenticeship program, alongside our team and partners at Ascend Indiana. “Mechelle was an incredible partner, thinker, leader, and friend to so many in the Indianapolis community. She believed deeply in opening doors to opportunity for young people and was a key thought leader and partner as we started the Modern Apprenticeship program,” said Stephanie Bothun, VP and co-founder of Ascend Indiana. “The Ascend Indiana team was constantly inspired by her work ethic and dedication to youth apprenticeship despite the many challenges that came our way. Our organization and our community are fundamentally better off because of everything Mechelle accomplished. We will miss her dearly.” 

Fashion was among Mechelle’s many eclectic interests, so perhaps it’s not a surprise that she was aware of Pattern. The local magazine initially launched Stitchworks—a 501c3 in downtown Indianapolis that provides sewing training and certification to urban high school students—just before the pandemic shutdowns in March of 2020. The program had to pause almost immediately, but not for long, because Eskenazi Health needed 5,000 gowns, and quickly. One hundred fashion designers and hobbyists were hired for the task, and the partnership began to attract media attention.

This is where Mechelle got involved, in the fall of 2020. There was then, and still is now—like in many industries—a shortage of workers with the needed skillset. To hear Pattern Executive Director, Polina Osherov, tell it, Mechelle reached out through a website contact form. The two have met several times since then, including as recently as three weeks ago, to plan out and implement a Registered Apprenticeship program for sewers. “If it weren’t for Mechelle,” Polina said, “we would still be trying to figure this out three years later.” She described Mechelle’s loss as “a huge blow.”

Mechelle was amongst the inaugural members of the U.S. Department of Labor's Apprenticeship Ambassador Initiative to visit the White House last year.

The loss of Dr. Mechelle Polter is a huge blow, for her family and for EmployIndy, and for Indianapolis as a whole. May stories of her life continue to be told, even as they remind us of the gap the loss of Mechelle leaves behind.

A visitation will be held at Indiana Funeral Care on Allisonville Road on Friday, April 7, beginning at 4:00 p.m. with a funeral service to follow at 6:30.

Though eligibility criteria and application processes are still being formed, EmployIndy, alongside Mechelle’s family, will create the Dr. Mechelle Polter Memorial Scholarship fund. Interested parties can donate here. Her legacy to Indianapolis will be further recognized through the inaugural Youth Apprenticeship Employer award at this year’s Mayor’s Celebration of Diversity, renaming it the Dr. Mechelle Polter Youth Apprenticeship Employer of the Year award.

Indianapolis – March 1, 2023 – This morning, Mayor Joe Hogsett, EmployIndy, and partners kicked off the summer hiring season by announcing the 2023 edition of the Project Indy summer jobs initiative at the Skateland roller skate rink. Project Indy is currently offering over 2,700 available positions from 108 local employers on its online platform at projectindy.net, which makes applying for jobs easier than ever.

“For decades, Skateland has been a bedrock westside institution, and we are glad to welcome it into the Project Indy family of employers,” said Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett. “Since 2016, Project Indy has been an accessible route to high-quality employment for thousands of young residents.”

Project Indy was launched in 2016 by Mayor Hogsett alongside EmployIndy, the Greater Indianapolis Progress Committee (GIPC), and the Marion County Commission on Youth (MCCOY). Since its launch, Project Indy has empowered nearly 15,000 young adults in Marion County by providing work experiences that build their employability skills and allow them to explore new career fields. During that time, nearly 300 employers have posted open positions on the portal.

Through Project Indy’s virtual platform that utilizes text messaging to recruit and onboard job seekers, youth ages 16-24 can get started by simply texting “Project Indy” to 317-659-9657. This easy-to-use online platform is a location-based tool that works to connect youth to nearby opportunities and includes an enhanced tool to filter by interest. Once registered, job seekers can easily apply to any of the hundreds of open positions by providing a few pieces of basic information.

By hiring in-school and out-of-school youth throughout Marion County, local employers can provide valuable job opportunities, soft-skill development, and job-readiness training. Additionally, the program offers employers, such as new Project Indy partner Skateland, the opportunity to create a talent pipeline for their business or industry and play an important role in training the future workforce.

“The majority of our staff are teenagers, still in school. Hiring them is an important part of their growth and helps them as they enter the workforce,” said Rodney Williams, General Manager at Skateland. “We’re always looking to hire new young people who we can train and we feel Project Indy is going to benefit us a lot in that effort.”

EmployIndy, which administers Project Indy, will continue promoting the virtual platform through face-to-face recruiting at Indianapolis-area high schools, targeted social media campaigns, and presence at local youth hiring fairs. In 2022, over 2,000 young people in Indianapolis were connected to job opportunities through Project Indy.

“Project Indy is one of many initiatives within EmployIndy that ensures both young adults and employers are prepared for the changing needs of today’s economy,” said EmployIndy President & CEO, Marie Mackintosh. “Through the online portal, young adults from all backgrounds have access to local employers. This helps them not only gain valuable work experience and develop their soft-skills but also works to build a stronger talent pipeline in Marion County.”

In 2018, EmployIndy, in partnership with Mayor Joe Hogsett's office and the Indy Chamber, launched Job Ready Indy, an online employability skills program focused on providing the soft skills needed to succeed in the workplace. When an individual completes one of the online courses, a Job Ready Indy badge will appear on their Project Indy profile – notifying an interested employer that they are deemed by EmployIndy and the Indy Chamber as someone who demonstrates the “job-ready” skills important to the workplace.

Employers interested in hiring youth can sign up to be a Project Indy partner here.

A toolkit with social media assets and other materials is available here.

To speak with a young adult who has benefited from Project Indy, please reach out to Austin Jenness at ajenness@nullemployindy.org or by calling (317) 605-2742.