Bridges Fall 2024 Update

Paying It Forward in the Bay Area

In 2018, when Nick Bell was a student at Oakland Technical High School, Bridges helped him land a job at the Kids’ Club of the Claremont Club & Spa, which was close to his home. Now 24, Nick (left) is an assistant manager at the Kids’ Club, and he recently hired Max, a 2024 Bridges’ participant, as a member of his team. Max (right) is on track to reach six months of employment at the Kids’ Club.

“It’s so rewarding to see former Bridges participants advance into positions with more responsibility and hire youth who come after them,” commented Lisel Brunson, the senior employment specialist with Bridges in Oakland who helped both young men get their jobs.

A Fairmont Hotel, the Claremont Club & Spa is stunning property in the East Bay with breathtaking views of San Francisco. https://www.fairmont.com/claremont-berkeley/

New homeowner, Demetrius Terrell

Kate Brown

Bridges from School to Work (Bridges) has won a $3.3 million competitive U.S. Department of Labor Workforce Pathways for Youth grant. Over three years, Bridges will provide workforce readiness programming, including soft skill development, career exploration, job readiness instruction, and work-based learning experiences that will culminate in paid, competitive employment for young adults with disabilities. For more information: US DOL Newsroom Release.

Corporate Partner Accenture

During National Disability Employment Awareness Month in October, we celebrate one of our corporate partners, Accenture, which is a global multinational professional services company. Accenture CEO Julie Sweet has served on our board of trustees since 2020, has co-chaired our annual fundraiser-gala three times, and has been instrumental in facilitating employment opportunities for 12 Bridges participants across multiple Accenture offices.

More recently, pro-bono Accenture consultants have helped Bridges develop a strategic plan that prioritizes key organizational objectives for the next three years, one of which includes increasing the number of young adults with disabilities in some of our nation’s largest cities and school districts who get jobs each year.

Accenture Information Sessions

During this past summer, Accenture professionals in Atlanta, Dallas, and New York City welcomed Bridges participants and employment specialists to their offices for information sessions, which included guided tours of collaborative workspaces that aim to spark innovation and creativity; workshops on design thinking; and product demonstrations related to AI, robotics, virtual reality, and other emerging technologies.

New York Bridges attendees during an Accenture tour

Accenture Summer Internships

Three Bridges participants in Georgia, all recent high school graduates, participated in paid summer internships at Accenture’s Atlanta Midtown office, thanks to the efforts of Courtland Russell, Atlanta market lead; Jeannie Yoon, Skills to Succeed internship program manager; and Marsha Lewis, senior manager for client relationship marketing.

Tasha Lewis (center front), an Atlanta Bridges alumna and six-year Accenture employee, helped mentor and acclimate the interns. Pictured here with Tasha are interns Ashley Baptiste (left), Radaisha Henry (right), and DeAngelo Stargell (back right), all who have since become college freshmen in Georgia and Virginia since they completed their Accenture internships.

Accenture Youth Spotlights

Velaye Gordon, who graduated from Philadelphia’s Overbrook High School in 2016, is one of two Bridges participants hired with Accenture in the City of Brotherly Love, where she worked as a location services associate. After five years with Accenture, Velaye, now 28 and a mother to a toddler, moved into a job with one of CBRE’s global pharmaceutical accounts in Philadelphia, where she has worked for more than a year as an experience reception concierge.

Greg Sodjh, also from Philadelphia, enrolled in Bridges and got his first job at a Regal Cinema while he was still a student at West Philadelphia High School. After high school, he worked for two years as a dining room attendant at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown, and while there, earned an associate degree in information technology. Greg, now 28, learned skills he has put to good use for the past six years as a full-time IT help desk specialist at Accenture.

In fall 2023, our newsletter featured another Accenture hire, Christian Sullivan of Chicago, who has held several IT roles with Accenture since 2018. His first job through Bridges was with grocer Jewel-Osco, where he worked as courtesy clerk and later a cashier. Christian, now 26, credits that cashier role with teaching him to remain calm under pressure when his Accenture colleagues get frustrated and exasperated with technology snafus.

Accenture’s commitment to inclusive hiring is a model for what’s possible when businesses and nonprofit partners unite for a common cause. Employer partnerships can break down barriers for young adults with disabilities who need help connecting to the adult workforce, realizing career aspirations, and living independent, self-determined lives. For more information on National Disability Employment Awareness Month: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/odep/initiatives/ndeam