Improving Re-entry Programs to Expand Employment Opportunities | FUSE

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In Los Angeles County, a statewide ballot measure that downgraded certain property and drug crimes from felonies to misdemeanors enabled thousands of people to be released from jail. To help successfully integrate this population back into the workforce, the Department of Workforce Development, Aging and Community Services enlisted FUSE Executive Fellow Alex-Handrah Aimé to prime the pipeline to employment by engaging with businesses and by working to reduce the stigma associated with “justice-involved” individuals.

Alex-Handrah, in collaboration with another FUSE Executive Fellow, launched a multimedia campaign that included a video and print media designed to change perceptions about justice-involved individuals, and to underscore the business benefits of being a “fair chance” employer. Elements of the campaign have been adopted by the county as a training tool for relevant human resource, legal, and workforce development staff. Alex-Handrah also spearheaded a pilot program that will place 100 justice-involved youth in two-month, subsidized private-sector internships. She brought together a group of county stakeholders to identify opportunities to deliver services for workforce training. These initiatives improved collaboration between agencies, bolstered relationships with the private sector, and helped elevate reentry as a priority issue across L.A county.

ALEX-HANDRAH AIMÉ (2017-18) has spent more than 15 years in corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, private equity, and management consulting, with a focus on emerging markets. Immediately prior to FUSE, she served as managing director and partner and head of the South African office of Emerging Capital Partners (ECP), one of the largest Africa-focused private equity firms with more than $2.6 billion raised over 18 years of investing across the continent. At ECP, Alex-Handrah sourced, structured, negotiated, led, and managed more than $300 million in equity and debt investments in telecommunications, education, food retailing, and financial services across south, east, and west Africa. Alex-Handrah earned a B.A. from Harvard, a J.D. from Stanford Law School, and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Alex-Handrah Aimé

2017-2018 | Los Angeles County - Workforce Development, Aging and Community Services

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