ASHTABULA - Greater Ashtabula Chamber of Commerce, Growth Partnership for Ashtabula County, LEADERship Ashtabula County and SHRM of Ashtabula County have partnered with Cleveland-based TeamNEO to provide a community event at no charge on Thursday, November 30th to share news regarding workforce trends and initiatives to help bring new initiatives and to strengthen partnerships to assist in the development of Ashtabula’s employers and workforce.
At 5:30 PM, Thursday, November 30th, at Darkroom Brewery, Bishara Addison, “Director of Workforce Innovation at the Fund for Our Economic Future, will highlight leading talent development initiatives in support of the Fund’s agenda to achieve equitable economic growth. Bishara’s work and presentation focuses on convening and aligning regional and national partners to support innovative solutions related to labor market participation and job quality.
There will be appetizers available for those who attend, and drinks will be made available for
purchase.
About the Speaker:
Bishara Addison
Bishara Addison’s initiative portfolio spans numerous sectors and workforce entry points, including a hospitality recovery effort in Cuyahoga County, shaping a regional blueprint for increasing opportunities for Black and Brown workers in tech jobs, and testing interventions to strengthen workplaces. She also serves as the Northeast Ohio site director for the National Fund for Workforce Solutions. Collectively, these efforts aim to dismantle systemic racial exclusion from family-sustaining work, produce actionable data to drive decision-making and ultimately contribute to a body of evidence in the field of workforce for systems change.
Prior to joining the Fund in 2021, Bishara managed the policy and advocacy agenda for
Towards Employment, was a policy fellow and project manager for the Cleveland Metropolitan
School District, and before that was engaged in a statewide advocacy effort to shape policies
around collateral sanctions.
In 2022, Bishara was appointed to complete the term as State Representative for Ohio House
District 9 when it became vacant, and through this role, she worked to raise awareness and engage stakeholders on maternal health, education, workforce development, and economic
development issues outside of her time at the Fund. She is currently appointed to the Adult
Drug and Mental Health Services Board of Cuyahoga County, serves as a member of the Cleveland Foundation’s African American Philanthropy Committee, the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency Community Advisory Council and the Cuyahoga County Executive Transition Team.
Bishara earned her B.A. degree in Political Science from The George Washington University in
2010 and a Masters in Policy Management from Georgetown University in 2020 through the
National Urban Fellowship.”