46th Annual Membership & Business Meeting
April 7, 2021 • 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.
Please join the Providers’ Council to elect officers and directors, review the organization’s financial reports and celebrate the successes we achieved together. We appreciate your membership and encourage you to join us for this meeting and afternoon seminar.
Untapped Talent: Panel Discussion on Supporting Career Development Needs of the BIPOC and Foreign-Born Workforce
April 7, 2021 • Noon to 1:30 p.m.
This forum discussion will focus on efforts and strategies to support foreign-born and BIPOC staff’s career development in the community human service industry. The panel will include perspectives from advocates, employers and include employees. The Providers’ Council members are working with the African Bridge Network seeking ideas for pathways or other initiatives to increase leadership among foreign-born and BIPOC human services workers. Some agencies with their staff have embarked on various initiatives to support their foreign-born and BIPOC workforce. Join us to learn more about these agencies’ experiences, share your agency’s efforts and imagine together what is possible in supporting more BIPOC into leadership roles in the human service industry.
Panelists:
- Emmanuel Owusu, Executive Director, African Bridge Network
- Jule Gomes Noack, President and CEO, HMEA
- Peter Obour-Mensah, Manager, Baycove Housing Support Program
- Evans Chiyombwe, Senior Program Director, Victory Human Services
- Hillary Bradburn, Education Manager, International Institute of New England
This panel will be moderated by Pam Sampson, Chief Program Officer, Venture Community Services
If you have any questions or request special accommodations, please contact Patrick Daily at pdaily@providers.org or 508.598.9679 or Eliza Adams at eadams@providers.org or 508.598.9700.
Register here!
About our panelists:
Emmanuel Owusu is the Founder and Executive Director of African Bridge Network (ABN) and alumni of the Lenny Zakim Fund’s Transformational Leadership Program. His life purpose to help develop the potential of the African Diaspora. Prior to founding ABN, Emmanuel is an experienced Urban, Environmental and Policy Planner with more than ten years grant program management experience in urban housing, land use, land conservation, and urban tree planting.
Jule Gomes Noack is a human service nonprofit executive who has dedicated her lifetime career to social justice for those with intellectual and development disabilities, their families and the staff who support them. She is currently the President and CEO of HMEA in Franklin MA where she has held several leadership roles. As the only light skinned child born to an immigrant family from the Cape Verde Islands, Jule is one of 7 children, 5 whom were born in the Cape Verde Islands. Her lived experiences and lessons on racialization have helped to shape her keen interest in the broad topic of diversity, equity and inclusion. After graduation, Jule was employed for seven years as a Staff Psychologist with the institution at which she had completed her work-study program. She moved from that position to join HMEA, where she could work meaningfully toward the deinstitutionalization and community integration movement for people with I/DD. Under Jule’s leadership HMEA has grown in revenue and scope of services. She led the creation and expansion of the Quality, Learning, and Performance Department, which is focused on ensuring the highest level of service quality, improving staff development methods to address a diverse workforce, and measuring performance outcomes in all divisions and departments throughout the organization. She has also been the champion and driving force behind the development of HMEA’s diversity initiative, promoting a culture of inclusion and equity, supporting a resolution of respect, and insisting on a ‘No Place for Hate’ workplace.
Peter Obour-Mensah is a Mental Health Specialist by profession with extensive experience in mental health practice in both the civilian and military field. Peter is a US Army veteran, currently working with Baycove Human Services as the Program Manager for Hamilton Street GLE, a residential program for individuals living with drug addiction and mental health challenges. Peter is completing his Master’s Degree in Social Work in May, 2021. Peter also holds a Master’s degree in Regional and Economic Development Studies from the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Peter has extensive experience in international development and research including the research work on The World Development Report on Poverty and Development in 2000 funded by the World Bank and the study on the “Inventory of the Best Micro Financing Practices in Ghana” funded by IFAD. Whilst in Ghana, Peter worked as the Project Officer for Ricerca e Corperazione (an Italian International NGO) where Peter led research to identify training needs and coordinated Training Workshops for project beneficiary communities. Peter’s passion lies in sustainable development and Social Justice; serving vulnerable populations and working within the immigrant community to promote diversity and inclusion in the human service workforce in Massachusetts. Peter is a co-founder and a board member of the African Bridge Network Inc.
Mr. Evans Chiyombwe is a natural leader with over 10 years of experience in strategic planning, project management, and quality and process improvement. He holds an MBA in Healthcare Administration from Bellevue University and is affiliated with institutions such as the Harvard Business Review, Institute for HealthCare Improvement and Institute for Diversity in Healthcare Management. As the current Senior Program Director of the Adult Foster Care Division at Victory Human Services (VHS), Mr. Chiyombwe leads the strategic planning efforts for the division’s financial performance which generates over 80% of the company’s revenue. He manages diverse teams across a variety of departments to identify issues related to staffing, budgets, processes, and quality while keeping abreast of industry shifts and trends, mitigating risks and ensuring the best experience for staff and patients alike. Mr. Chiyombwe is also accredited with leading VHS in its achievement of national accreditation from the Council on Accreditation in 2019. His leadership and expertise in quality management and process improvement has helped organizations to experience both tangible and intangible benefits by promoting evidence-based practices, minimizing risk, maximizing cost effective use of resources – saving over $125,000 in labor costs, and ensuring adequate staff training and development to improve competency. Mr. Chiyombwe’s leadership, expertise and commitment to improving the lives of others is also demonstrated in his service to the community. He is the President of the Association of Zambians in North America and is the current Chairman of the Board of HopeFuse – an organization that is founded to explore and address solutions to the crippling impact of generational poverty in the lives of at-risk youth.
Hillary Bradburn is the Education Manager at the International Institute of New England in Boston. She joined the IINE in 2017. As Education Manager, she oversees the operations and streamlining of the English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and Skills Training departments. She has helped pilot two Professional Development trainings for employees of Tufts Medical Center and for residents of Revere looking to advance their careers. Prior to working at IINE, she worked at the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants in Des Moines, Iowa as the Targeted Assistance Grant Program Coordinator, providing ESOL class, Community Orientation, and case management for newly arrived refugees. She holds an MA in International Relations from the University of Indianapolis and a BA in Political Science, French, and Spanish from Indiana University.
Pam Sampson is the Chief Program Officer at Venture Community Services. She has 30 years of experience in the human services field. She currently oversees Venture’s 45+ residential and day support programs, Shared Living, Individual Supports, Health Services, and Quality Assurance.
The Providers’ Council is recognized by SHRM to offer Professional Development Credits (PDCs) for SHRM-CP® or SHRM-SCP®.
This program is valid for 1.25 PDCs for the SHRM-CP® or SHRM-SCP®. For more information about certification or recertification, please visit www.shrmcertification.org.