Luther Jackson
Program Manager
NOVAworks
Santa Clara, CA USA
“There’s great value in going into the first day at a new job and being scared. That’s where the learning really happens.”
Videos
By Roadtrip NationLuther Jackson
Milestones
My road in life has taken me all over.
I earned my bachelor’s degree in history and then started my career as a newspaper reporter.
While working as a reporter, I also volunteered for our union, the Newspaper Guild of Detroit.
When I eventually left journalism, I decided to work full-time for the Newspaper Guild of Detroit as an assistant administrative officer.
I did that for five years and then moved to California to work as an executive officer for the San Jose Newspaper Guild.
A friend of mine from the labor movement encouraged me to join the NOVAworks board—this gave me a good understanding of workforce issues while I continued to work for the union.
When I left my union job, I met with the NOVAworks director to discuss some of my ideas—she didn’t have the staff at the time to bring those ideas to fruition but she did offer me a job.
I’ve been working as a program manager for NOVAworks since then!
Keep following my journey
Education
High School
Bachelor
History
University of Pennsylvania
History
University of Pennsylvania
Career
Program Manager
I work to figure out how people can best connect to work in a changing economy.
Career Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Non-Profit Organizations
Business
Helping People
Day to Day
One of the great things about my job is that there are no typical days. On any given day, I might be meeting with community leaders seeking better jobs for residents, or meeting with a tech employer seeking to hire diverse talent, or writing a research report about changing job skills, or even producing a video about job and educational opportunities for work building electric and self-driving cars.
Advice for Getting Started
Here's the first step for college students
I followed an unusual path, moving from history to journalism to labor union administration to workforce development. For a workforce development career, I would select a path that builds communication skills, includes some exposure to labor economics, and, for some jobs, includes a counseling component.
Hurdles
The Noise I Shed
From Myself:
"I'm an introvert, so I'm just not good at talking to and networking with people."
