ADVANCEMENT Training Cohort – ADVANCEMENT Training

WHAT IS ADVANCED?

ADVANCE is a 12-week intensive professional development training program offered to African-American women in Metro Cincinnati. The program consists of a mix of training in soft skills, leadership development, financial literacy, and life skills. This program also includes a mentorship event, job fair, and speaker series.

OUR PARTNERS

Issues

The Problem

Despite all the resources available to help workers overcome the poverty barrier, the Cincinnati workforce still has economic mobility issues.
Poverty affects AfricanAmerican women in Cincinnati at high rate. A majority of the AfricanAmerican women in the Cincinnati region who are struggling to overcome poverty are single mothers who hold degrees but earn less than $15 an hour.

Issues

Fixing the poverty issue in Cincinnati should begin with providing more resources to African-American women

Income of Cincinnati graduates

Of those with a college degree, Black females are far more likely to earn less than $15 an hour (32%) when compared to White females/males and Black males (an average of 11%)

REALIZING THE POTENTIAL OF AN EQUITABLE ECONOMY Centering Black Women’s Upward Mobility in the Cincinnati Region Report, April 2021

My Story

Renika J. Smiley is the founder of Generation NOW Cincinnati Network. Her mission was to launch Generation NOW to host professional development events for diverse young professionals.

Renika was a child from the working class herself. She and her brother were raised by a single Black mother who held 3 degrees. Renika’s father died from kidney failure when she was 15 years old. Renika is one of 8 children of her father’s and the second child of her mom’s.

After living in poverty with everyone in the house working to make the rent every month, Renika had the passion to develop a workforce division of Generation NOW to lift up other young professionals to achieve economic mobility.

Advance Training Cohort Launch is in Loving Memory of Wanda Easterling

Advance Training Cohort Program is dedicated to Wanda Easterling’s memory. Wanda Easterling is the mother of Empower GENNOW Network’s founder and chief executive officer, Renika J. Smiley. Wanda is a founding board member of Empower GENNOW Network, and she gave her daughter Renika the initial $1,000 to launch the organization back in 2014. When Renika created the program Advance, she dedicated it to African American women like her mother Wanda, a single mother with a bachelor’s and master’s degree who struggled for years to achieve career advancement. Wanda, who was just diagnosed with Pancreatic Liver Cancer, passed away abruptly on October 29, 2022, from the cancer. Wanda cherished her employment as Housing Director at Talbert House, where she worked with veterans and individuals battling mental illness and substance abuse. Renika inherited her enthusiasm for community service from her parents.

In the Media

New local program helping break barriers to success for minority women

New initiative aims to close the wealth gap in Cincinnati

Program Outline

Generation NOW Cincinnati Network’s Solution:

Launch ADVANCE! Workforce pilot program to provide resources to African-American women, with the goal of these women breaking down barriers to achieve upper mobility in Metro Cincinnati.

Program Metrics:
Network connections made
Job opportunities
Promotion due to skills advancement or skills enhancement
Creating a woman of color ecosystem to provide continued empowerment and support for black women

Section 1: Identify Your Career

Section 2: Thriving In Your Career

Section 3: Overcoming Workplace Barriers to Continue to Grow

Section 4: Career Advancement Next Steps

Cohort 1 Graduates

Advance Program Instructor

Nichole Sims

Bold Career Consulting (BCC) - CEO

Background

Nichole Sims brings 22 years of corporate recruiting experience along with 6 years of teaching at the collegiate level. She will draw on those experiences to develop a customized, interactive course. As a Black female who spent 27 years with an industry leader, she has experienced many challenges and triumphs in her career. She relates to and empathizes with her audience, which enables her to provide real, implementable lessons and solutions.