The Stride Center recently announced the hiring of two new staff members, Ms. Suba Sriram and Mr. Lance Dennis, to the student services / professional development team. The Stride Center’s mission is to empower adults facing barriers to employment to achieve economic self-sufficiency in urban communities through technical training and certification. Along with technical skills, the Stride Center training offers professional development /communications skills, job search skills, leadership, and life skills. Ms. Sriram and Mr. Dennis are directly responsible for this important component of job placement and workplace success.

“We are excited to be able to welcome both Lance and Suba to the Stride Center and expand our services to our students through their expertise and contributions,” shared Barrie Hathaway, Executive Director. “Our employer partnerships and graduate student job placements are vital components of what we do and we think we have added the right people at just the right time to do a great job for us.”

Mr. Lance Dennis has over 20 years experience in workforce development, program development and management. Mr. Dennis comes to the Stride Center with a strong background in working with a diverse population with barriers to employment and has worked for local and national organizations. Prior to joining the Stride Center, Mr. Dennis worked as the manager of national programs for the UC Berkeley National Writing Project, the program director at the Prescott-Joseph Center for Community Enhancement, Inc and the Workforce Development manager at the Allen Temple Housing & Economic Development Corp. Mr. Dennis has a proven track record in employment and business development; employer relations; innovative and effective techniques in community outreach and collaboration. He is highly skilled in building and maintaining strong relationships and fostering cross-agency partnerships. Mr. Dennis is a native New Yorker who has focused his career in the non-profit sector and believes the work and goal of any organization must be geared toward the self- sufficiency of the individual. Mr. Dennis received his BA in Business Communications from Denver University, Business College.

Ms. Suba Sriram joins the Stride Center with five years of experience in the international non-profit industry. Ms. Sriram worked at Villgro Innovations Foundation, a social venture capital firm in Chennai, Tamil Nadu where she anchored the Talent Development Program (funded by The Rockefeller Foundation) and recruited over 200 staff members in two years; established and managed human resources functions; and designed and implemented the Villgro Fellowship Program. Prior to her time with Villgro Innovations Foundation, Ms. Sriram participated in several government-funded projects in India, where she helped start several rural industries and micro-enterprises. She is passionate about working with the Stride Center in helping students to achieve their potential. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Bakthavatsalam Memorial College for women, University Of Madras and three Masters degrees in Masters of Business Administration (HR) from Pondicherry University; Masters in Philosophy – Public Affairs, and Social Work Community Development from University of Madras.

Dear Friends of the Stride Center,
A great way to ensure your place in the job market and earn a higher salary is to earn advanced technical certifications! There is plenty of room for Stride graduates to enroll from any location, even those in Sacramento!

We are enrolling for the following courses:

MICROSOFT CERTIFIED TECHNOLOGY SPECIALIST

Organization/Company: Microsoft
Certification: Microsoft Certification: MCTS (Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist)
Required Exams: (1)
Exam 1: MCTS: Windows 7 – Configuration Exam: 70-680
Class Hours: Hybrid Online / in class
Class Dates: March 31, 2012 – June 20, 2012
Mandatory Orientation Saturday, March 31, 2012, 1pm-4pm
Mandatory Class meeting dates – TBA

The MCTS Course is designed for individuals who are seeking an IT position in Desktop Support.  By earning this certification, you can prove your ability to successfully implement, build on, troubleshoot, and debug Windows 7 Operating Systems. The MCTS is a Microsoft Certification which is recognized worldwide.

Scope of Course:
Lecture (40%)
Labs (50%)
Test Preparation (10%)

Measured Skills:
This exam measures your ability to accomplish the technical tasks listed below. The percentages indicate the relative weight of each major topic area on the exam.
Installing, Upgrading & Migrating to Windows 7 (14%)
Deploying Windows (13%)
Configuring Hardware & Applications (14%)
Configuring Network Connectivity (14%)
Configuring Access to Resources (13%)
Configuring Mobile Computing (10%)
Monitoring & Maintaining Systems that run W7 (11%)
Configuring Backup & Recovery Options (11%)
Total Course Skills (100%)

The MCTS Course will be held at The Stride Center Broadway Headquarters in Downtown Oakland.  This course may be tech-enhanced which means that portion of the work load may be online. Students will be required and expected to conduct some lab work outside the outlined class hours. Open lab hours will be announced in class.

SERVER +

Organization/Company: CompTiA
Certification: Server+
Required Exams: 1
Exam: SK0-003
Class Hours: Hybrid Online / in class
Class Dates: March 31, 2012 – June 20, 2012

Mandatory Orientation: Saturday March 31, 2012, 10:00am – 12:00pm Mandatory Class meeting dates – TBA

This test will certify that the successful candidate has the knowledge and skills required to build, maintain, troubleshoot and support server hardware and software technologies. The successful candidate will be able to identify environmental issues; understand and comply with disaster recovery and physical / software security procedures; be familiar with industry terminology and concepts; understand server roles / specializations and interaction within the overall computing environment.

Scope of Course:
Online and in Person Attendance (10%)
Labs/Projects (20%)
Quizzes (20%)
Threaded Participation (15%)
Test Preparation (10%)
Final Exam (25%)

Measured Skills:
This exam measures your ability to accomplish the technical tasks listed below. The percentages indicate the relative weight of each major topic area on the exam.
System Hardware (21%)
Software (19%)
Storage (14%)
IT Environment (11%)
Disaster Recovery (11%)
Troubleshooting (24%)
Total Course Work (100%)

The Server + Course will be offered as a hybrid / Online course. Those who complete the course are expected to take and pass the SK0-003 industry certification exam which is recognized industry wide as well as worldwide as an industry neutral certificate.

We hope to see all of you soon!

For questions regarding enrollment…
Please contact Stanley Wade, Enrollment Coordinator
E-mail: Stan@stridecenter.org
Phone:510-860-9347

“We are fortunate to continue to add to our Board those members who can contribute to the vision, the mission and the growth of our many endeavors. Near the end of 2011 we shared with you that we added Ms. Williams and Mr. Nordlinger. We welcome another addition with Ms. Korde coming onboard who brings her unique expertise and contributions,” shared Barrie Hathaway, Executive Director of The Stride Center.

The Stride Center extends a warm welcome to Soumya Korde. Ms.Korde is currently a consultant with The Bridgespan Group in San Francisco. Bridgespan Group is a nonprofit advisor and resource for mission-driven organizations and philanthropists. Bridgespan collaborates with social sector leaders to help scale impact, build leadership, advance philanthropic effectiveness and accelerate learning.  Ms. Korde has worked on a range of engagements spanning education, community improvement, cross-sector collaboration, and public health. Ms. Korde supports clients in many aspects of their work including strategic clarity, program design, organizational redesign, and implementation. She is also involved in advancing Bridgespan’s research on how an organization can develop a robust pipeline of emerging leaders to fill senior leadership roles. Prior to Bridgespan, Soumya was a manager in Morgan Stanley’s business improvement group where she assisted business units across the firm scale and grow effectively.  Ms. Korde has a BS in International Political Economy from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management where she was President of the Net Impact Chapter.

The Stride Center joined with the leadership of the United Way of the Bay Area and the Contra Costa Employment and Human Services (CCEHS) division to celebrate Halloween day at an event to announce the grand opening of SparkPoint East Contra Costa in Bay Point.  The CCEHS Department has invested $200,000 in the new center and leads its day-to-day operations at the Ambrose Community Center.  SparkPoint Centers are one-stop, financial-education centers that offer a full range of services to help families and individuals get out of poverty and achieve long-term financial stability.  The new center in Bay Point is one of eight SparkPoints that United Way and its partners have opened in the Bay Area over the last three years.

“The Stride Center is at its best when we work in collaboration with key partners to help people achieve financial stability.  This SparkPoint offers a full range of services under one roof to fight poverty in each local community.  We are excited to bring our considerable and thoughtful skills and processes to this effort,” said Barrie Hathaway, Executive Director of The Stride Center.

SparkPoint East Contra Costa brings together the following partners to serve clients: Bay Area Legal Aid, Brighter Beginnings, Center for Human Development, Contra Costa Employment

The Stride Center prepares students for professional, well-rounded careers in the information Communication technology field. Coming from all around the Bay Area, students learn new skills allowing them to achieve their goals of finding well paying, vibrant new careers. The Stride Center’s career training program surrounds participants with a comprehensive array of resources and an award winning curriculum, ensuring that graduates can compete and thrive in their new career.

What is IC3?
IC3 (pronounced; i-see-three) is the abbreviation of the Internet and Computing Core Certification.” The IC3 is a certification program which is designed to teach individuals the digital literacy skills associated with basic computer and Internet use.

Bridge your digital divide with IC3 certification, to acquire 21^st century workforce skills. This instructor lead, hands-on class covers a broad range of computing knowledge and skills that proves competency in computing fundamentals: hardware, software and using an operating system, key applications, word processing and spreadsheet functions  and PowerPoint presentations living online, networks and the internet, email and the impact of computing on society.  IC3 is a worldwide, internationally recognized certification, endorsed by Microsoft – that teaches real skills for use in today’s digital world.

When?
The Stride center is offering IC3 Training and Certification:
At our Oakland location: Classes start on March 12^th  Mon – Thurs (12:00PM to 4:00PM)
At our San Pablo location: Classes start on March 12^th Mon – Thurs (1:00PM to 5:00PM)

Where?
(2) locations:
- Broadway/Oakland classroom location:  1212 Broadway, Suite 400, Oakland, CA 94612
- San Pablo classroom Location:  2300 El Portal Drive San Pablo, CA 94806

Get more information:
Feel free to contact us and speak with our enrollent team about this training opportunity: stan@stridecenter.org, 510/234-1300 ext. 105 or 510/860-3947.

If you are interested in our Advanced Courses we are also offering:
MCTS Windows 7 Certification Course
At our Broadway/Oakland location: Classes start on April 2^nd Mon – Tues (6:00PM to 10:00PM)

Server Certification Course
At our Broadway/Oakland location: Classes start on March 31^st (Hours by arrangement)

On Monday, November 7, 2011, Executive Director Barrie Hathaway and staff members from The Stride Center were recognized as one of six Richmond area nonprofit organizations to be selected to receive a share of $1 million in grants from Chevron as part of the company’s California Partnership Program, an initiative that invests in education and economic development in California. The grants will help boost local Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Education, prepare residents for technical jobs in Richmond and the surrounding communities and invest in other nonprofits.

“We are grateful for to be selected as one of the Grantees by Chevron,” said Barrie.  “Our partnership with Chevron extends beyond our jobs training and preparedness.  This generous grant funds the expansion of our social venture business, ReliaTech, increasing our capacity to provide zero landfill electronics recycling and refurbishing services, help small businesses grow through use of technology, broaden ReliaTech’s Neighborhood Technology Center services and create green jobs in the City of Richmond,  This turns out to be a win-win-WIN for The Stride Center, Chevron and the City of Richmond.”

As shared in the Chevron press release:

“Our contributions are designed to help people and businesses thrive,” said Nigel Hearne, general manager of Chevron’s Richmond Refinery. “When business and nonprofits work together we can ensure better education and jobs for the next generation and a better future for all of our communities.

According to California’s Employment Development Department, Richmond’s unemployment rate is 16.9 percent, considerably higher than the country’s overall rate of 9.1 percent. Chevron has selected specific nonprofit organizations that help address the unemployment rate by preparing residents for today’s jobs and preparing youth for the technical jobs of the future.”

EmpowerNet California is an active collaboration of successful organizations, dedicated to helping underserved communities through IT workforce development. Founded to support California communities crossing the digital divide, EmpowerNet offers:

• a web toolkit and resource sharing
• consulting
• EmpowerNet Academy for local organizers

The EmpowerNet Collaborative is funded by CETF (California Emerging Technology Fund).

The Stride Center is a social venture nonprofit empowering economic self-sufficiency for individuals and communities in the San Francisco Bay Area.  We are harnessing the power of technology to help men, women and families on the road to self-sufficiency and independence.

The Stride Center prepares students for professional, well-rounded careers in the information technology field. Coming from all around the Bay Area, students learn new skills allowing them to achieve their goals of finding well paying, vibrant new careers.  The Stride Center’s career training program surrounds participants with a comprehensive array of resources and an award winning curriculum, ensuring that graduates can compete and thrive in their new career.

The Stride Center operates a technology consulting business, ReliaTech.
ReliaTech generates jobs and internships for graduates and students, revenue to sustain  the mission and brings affordable, local technology solutions to the community.