Six years ago, I got a chance to work with a leader in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). We were in a group workshop talking about the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI), which measures cross cultural agility on a scale from…

Margit Altstadt had been working in the department of health in Champaign, Illinois for several years until she was laid off at the age of 62. “It was hard to find a job at that age,” she said, but that…

Steve Deon worked as a supervisor for two residential buildings in Minnesota, overseeing the maintenance and cleaning staff. He enjoyed his work, but when he was diagnosed with cancer, he moved to Illinois to be closer to family. “I had…

When Keith Tody began looking for employment at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic he attended a fair at Truman College on Chicago’s north side. There, he met Elliott Esparza from National Able Network (Able), who told Keith about IT…

Jeremy Leeper had always wanted to obtain his Commercial Drivers License (CDL), but he was afraid that some past issues with the law would prevent him from achieving that goal. “Like most human beings I have a somewhat rocky background,”…

Steven Scholtes had always dreamed of working in the information technology (IT) industry, but for years he worked in the retail and restaurant industries to get by. That didn’t last. “I had a job dishwashing and cooking in a restaurant,…

Masgelah Sullivan came to National Able Network seeking to positively change her employment situation. She had been pursuing her education with the goal of a stable career for many years, but something about this time, when she connected with National…

Liz Combs had always worked in factories. But when the economy crashed in the 2008 financial crisis she was forced to look elsewhere for employment. She bounced around a few jobs – working for Toyota and the 2010 census –…

Trina Tyler worked as a Client Services Executive for nearly 25 years when she was laid off in 2017. “For the last three years it was going well, and suddenly they laid off executives. That was very hard,” she said….

Julie Parker was in a difficult position in September 2019. She was just laid off from her job in Omaha’s healthcare industry and her confidence was at an all-time low. She felt discouraged about her job search because she is…