Dr. Alice Prince: First 100 Days as the New Executive Director of SLATE

Good morning,
Today like all days as the Executive Director of SLATE is pretty special. I write this communication as I prepare for another day at the US Conference of Mayors.

As the ray of sunshine touches my face, I am reminded how beams of sun peeked through my screen door when I was kid. My mind races down memory lane and think about pushing my bed back into the couch on a Saturday morning to prepare for company in our living room. The Saturday morning cartoons were my favorite. I think about the lavish breakfast option at this conference but I can’t wait to grab the bran-flakes and bananas. I look out my hotel door and see that I am a block away from the White House. It brings tears to my eyes and my heart trembles. I remember the beautiful view of Homer G Phillips hospital when I looked out my back door in North St. Louis as a kid. Grandma Alice, raised by nuns in an orphanage up north, migrated to Saint Louis to get trained at Homer G Phillips hospital. Homer G Phillips Hospital was the only hospital west of the Mississippi river that trained African-American doctors and nurses. I sat in the conference yesterday listening to the youth Dollar Wise campaign, the importance of banking, and youth employment. I vaguely heard my papa’s horn blowing for me to come outside. It was time to go to work. At eleven, I helped my papa Richard Walker, clean a bank overnight; St. Louis Community Credit Union. The one that sits on Forest Park and Grand. My Executive Scheduler just set up a meeting with me and the executive team of St. Louis Community Credit Union. I know I smelled his cigar. I walked down the hallway of the Hilton yesterday and saw a big banner about Police and community relations. In a moments flash, I thought about the protest outside of 1520 Market and was reminded of the agony and the distant memory of my mom being locked up at a protest to save Homer G Phillips years ago. I thought about stories I heard about my dad being an active member of the Black Panthers. My memory slowly faded because I realize I have no real memory of my dad. The only thing I vividly remember is the letter he wrote my mom from jail stating he no longer wanted to be the father of my sister and I. I saw him twice; one was when I leaned over his casket and whispered in his ear.

I have been the Executive Director for 97 working days and 143 calendar days and together we have accomplished a lot. I took sometime this morning to reflect on how far we have come. In my heart I know our work has just begun.

I am grateful for this position. It is not one day I do not wake up and thank God for this opportunity.

There is not one day I do not wake up and think how I can be a better version of me.

There is not one day I wake up and think how can our organization do more.

We have to be intentional and aggressive with our services.

• SLATE exceeded the Mayor’s Skill Up Challenge. The challenge was to skill up 500 people in 100 days. We skilled up 864 people in 100 days.
  • SLATE graduated 118 CNA students as a result of the skill up challenge.
• SLATE expanded the hours to 7am – 7pm because you can’t save a life between the hours of 9 to 5.
• SLATE hosts 4 job fairs every week.
  • Tech Tuesday
  • Hiring fair for Veterans on Tuesday
  • Workforce Wednesday
  • Professional Thursday
• SLATE graduated 12 students from the 24-hour Workforce High School.
• SLATE redesigned the front desk to make it ADA complainant.
• SLATE established 32 new Memorandum of Understanding with partners across the St. Louis area.
• SLATE is opening an office in the Circuit Attorneys Office.
• SLATE has produced a new Webcast and Podcast called Workforce STL.
• SLATE implemented a new database that counts every single client who enters the doors of the job center including the satellite offices.
• SLATE assists on average 650-800 clients a week.
• SLATE worked with the Judges to expand the Civil Liberties program.
• SLATE increased our presence on social media by 500%.
• SLATE created a new innovative way to reach job seekers through text messaging services.
• SLATE created a new innovative way to reach minority owned businesses, disadvantage owned businesses, and women owned businesses through text messaging and social media.
• SLATE has created a culture of empowerment for clients and staff using distinct messaging inside of the agency, morning motivation, and exemplary customer service standards.
• SLATE was awarded 1.1-million-dollar Youth Build Grant.
• SLATE was awarded $18,000 grant for Customer Service Excellence training and mentoring in the Youth Build Program.
• SLATE implemented a High School Internship Program.
• SLATE implemented an internship with Project Connect.
• SLATE expanded the Business Development Department to focus on youth, entry level, re-entry, tech, healthcare, construction, and professional level jobs.
• SLATE redesigned the organization and added a Director of Operations.
• SLATE created a more robust Fiscal Department and hired a new manager, assistant manager, accountant, and clerk.

I appreciate you and thank you!
You are the reason...
Your efforts do not go unnoticed! 
Your work is not in vain.