From left: Janna King (SEIU-UHW), Isis Orellana (California Workforce Association), Adam Peck (California Workforce Association), Melissa Gurule (JVS alum), Gabriella Jimenez (JVS), Lisa Countryman-Quiroz (JVS), Denise Thomas (JVS alum), Abby Snay (CA Labor & Workforce Development Agency), and Terrie Ridgeway-Olmos (SEIU-UHW) at the NSC Skills Summit in February.
The National Skills Coalition (NSC) selected two JVS alums for the second cohort of the Voices for Skills Leadership Council, a group of nine current and former participants of career-focused training programs who advocate for stronger workforce and education policies. The new cohort includes Denise Thomas, 2014 EXCEL alum and 2023 JVS Alumni Achievement Award recipient, and Melissa Gurule, 2022 Foundations in Dental Assisting and 2023 Registered Dental Assistant graduate.
Denise and Melissa were chosen for their experience with workforce training programs, their commitment to improving education and training systems, and their interest in developing their skills on the national stage through meetings with policymakers, lobbyists, and other workforce system leaders.
When NSC Director of Worker and Student Voices Michael Richardson first met Denise in 2022 for a short-term project to lobby policymakers to continue Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) funding into the next fiscal year, he was impressed with her willingness to share her story to advocate for stronger workforce policies.
“Michael told me, ‘Your story is your superpower,’” Denise recalls. “That really stuck with me; I knew it was important for people in Washington to hear from people in my shoes.”
Since then, Denise has worked with Michael and the NSC on several speaking engagements with policymakers and their staff while excelling in her role with UCSF as a Payroll Analyst II. Denise says her career in medical administration has opened the door not only for opportunities like the NSC council, but also for her to spend more time with her family and plan for the future.
“I eventually want to start my own nonprofit to help people who are in positions I was once in,” Denise shares. “I think the council will give me a lot of good exposure so I can start on that dream.”
After completing two dental training programs with JVS, Melissa was able to secure a higher wage that gave her more flexibility in her day-to-day life. Melissa learned about the NSC council through a JVS staff member who referred her to the program after recognizing her impressive ability to share her story and connect with broad audiences.
“My purpose in life has always been to make an impact and advocate for those who haven’t had the same opportunities as I have,” Melissa says. “Learning from policy leaders and advocates about how to create real change is so valuable to me. I’m excited to carry on their legacy for the younger generation.”
Denise and Melissa joined policy and workforce experts at the NSC Skills Summit in Washington, D.C. in February. (Photos courtesy Melissa Gurule)
