Damon Lew
UCSF University-Community Partnerships Program recently welcomed Damon Lew in his new role as workforce development coordinator.
Lew comes to UCSF with a strong leadership background in workforce development and placement. He most recently held a position as employment services lead for Community Vocational Enterprise (CVE), a San Francisco-based job placement agency, where he coordinated an employment services program that witnessed an increase in job placement numbers by 400 percent during his tenure.
Bringing a proven track record of success in establishing partnerships between employers and community-based organizations, Lew will be working closely with the University-Community Partnerships Council, which was formed in 2006 to improve the health of San Francisco residents through mutually beneficial relationships between community-based organizations and UCSF.
Lew's work will focus on the Southeast Sector of San Francisco and beyond, to foster relationships that support workforce development initiatives between UCSF faculty, staff, students and community-based organizations.
"In working here, I'll have the chance to create opportunities for a larger group," Lew says. "There's tremendous opportunity for people to gain access and develop a career ladder here at UCSF and I'm excited to be a part of that."
Specific goals of the council are educational outreach, service learning, economic and workforce development, research and evaluation, and grants.
One of Lew's first charges will be to reconvene UCSF's Employer Days, a quarterly event that connects UCSF department heads and staffing representatives with job seekers working with community-based organizations.
Elba Sanchez, director of University-Community Partnerships Program, says that Lew is well-suited to lead the economic development initiative, a program of the University-Community Partnerships Program. "What struck the interviewing committee about Damon was his ability to model for us the type of preparation and job readiness that he as workforce development coordinator expects of the clients he has served. Damon has a tremendous ability to relate to people very quickly. He came in with thorough knowledge and research about our programs and was able to connect with each person at the table."
A native of Iowa, Lew received a bachelor of arts degree from UC Davis and has continued honing his skills through leadership training programs and affiliation with employment training organizations.
The UCSF University-Community Partnerships Council and program, part of the office of Community and Governmental Relations, are under the leadership of Barbara French, associate vice chancellor for University Relations, who is an ex-officio member of the council.
Related Links:
UCSF Forms University-Community Partnerships CouncilUCSF Today, May 26, 2006
