Community

The Holland Partner Group Donates $100,000 to Cypress Mandela Job Training Program

Published

6 years ago

July 6, 2018

Ray Connell of Holland Partner Group presents a check for $100,000 to Art Shanks, of the Cypress Mandela Training Center, with Greg McConnell of the Oakland Jobs Foundation.

The Holland Partner Group, one of the premier residential developers in Oakland, delivered a check for $100,000 to the Cypress Mandela job training program June 28. Cypress Mandela provides life and job skills training to a diverse group of men and women looking for the opportunity to enter the building and construction trades.

“We see the direct impacts of this program,” said Ray Connell, development director for Holland Partner Group. “We have people that have come through this program currently staffed on our projects. It’s a great testimonial to the positive and lasting effects Art Shanks and the Cypress Mandela Training program has within the community.”

Connell’s support for the Cypress Mandela program was intensified when he met an exceptional crane operator on one of Holland’s job sites who received his training at Cypress Mandela. The crane operator spoke of his experiences at Cypress Mandela and the rigorous training he underwent that prepared him for the workforce and a 20 years plus career in the construction industry.

To double down on his commitment to Oakland’s underserved community, Holland Partner Group joined the board of directors of the Oakland Jobs Foundation to help create more quality workers like the crane operator.

“I think there is a lot of opportunity for the private sector to help build the Oakland workforce. Oakland has an abundance of talented young people, they just need the training and the opportunity to get a foot in the door,” Connell said.

The Oakland Jobs Foundation was formed in 2017. Its mission is to ensure that Oakland’s marginalized populations, especially under-served people of color in Oakland’s poorest census tracks, have a chance to participate in Oakland’s emerging economy. It does that by rallying developers and other Oakland business people to aggregate funding to support job training programs.

“As we look at employment in Oakland, it is clear that people who have job skills are working, but there are too many people who don’t have the necessary skills,” explained Greg McConnell, president of the Oakland Jobs Foundation. “We are targeting this population to become part of Oakland’s future workforce…Companies like Holland Partners are exactly the kinds of companies we want in Oakland,” McConnell added. “They get it.”

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Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

Published

2 days ago

April 26, 2024

Oakland Post

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Alameda County

DA Pamela Price Stands by Mom Who Lost Son to Gun Violence in Oakland

Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018.

Published

6 days ago

April 22, 2024

Oakland Post

District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones

Publisher’s note: Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018. The photo was too small for readers to see where the women were and what they were doing. Here we show Price and Jones as they complete a walk in memory of Scott. For more information and to contribute, please contact Carol Jones at 510-978-5517 at morefoundation.help@gmail.com. Courtesy photo.

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City Government

Vallejo Welcomes Interim City Manager Beverli Marshall

At Tuesday night’s Council meeting, the Vallejo City Council appointed Beverli Marshall as the interim city manager. Her tenure in the City Manager’s Office began today, Wednesday, April 10. Mayor Robert McConnell praised Marshall’s extensive background, noting her “wide breadth of experience in many areas that will assist the City and its citizens in understanding the complexity of the many issues that must be solved” in Vallejo.

Published

6 days ago

April 22, 2024

Oakland Post

Beverli Marshall began her first day with the City on April 10. ICMA image.

Special to The Post

At Tuesday night’s Council meeting, the Vallejo City Council appointed Beverli Marshall as the interim city manager. Her tenure in the City Manager’s Office began today, Wednesday, April 10.

Mayor Robert McConnell praised Marshall’s extensive background, noting her “wide breadth of experience in many areas that will assist the City and its citizens in understanding the complexity of the many issues that must be solved” in Vallejo.

Current City Manager Michael Malone, whose official departure is slated for April 18, expressed his well wishes. “I wish the City of Vallejo and Interim City Manager Marshall all the best in moving forward on the progress we’ve made to improve service to residents.” Malone expressed his hope that the staff and Council will work closely with ICM Marshall to “ensure success and prosperity for the City.”

According to the Vallejo Sun, Malone stepped into the role of interim city manager in 2021 and became permanent in 2022. Previously, Malone served as the city’s water director and decided to retire from city service e at the end of his contract which is April 18.

“I hope the excellent work of City staff will continue for years to come in Vallejo,” he said. “However, recent developments have led me to this decision to announce my retirement.”

When Malone was appointed, Vallejo was awash in scandals involving the housing division and the police department. A third of the city’s jobs went unfilled during most of his tenure, making for a rocky road for getting things done, the Vallejo Sun reported.

At last night’s council meeting, McConnell explained the selection process, highlighting the council’s confidence in achieving positive outcomes through a collaborative effort, and said this afternoon, “The Council is confident that by working closely together, positive results will be obtained.”

While the search for a permanent city manager is ongoing, an announcement is expected in the coming months.

On behalf of the City Council, Mayor McConnell extended gratitude to the staff, citizen groups, and recruitment firm.

“The Council wishes to thank the staff, the citizens’ group, and the recruitment firm for their diligent work and careful consideration for the selection of what is possibly the most important decision a Council can make on behalf of the betterment of our City,” McConnell said.

The Vallejo Sun contributed to this report.