As Workforce Development Manager, Melody is responsible for creating, advancing, and strengthening partnerships with regional leaders to provide training and career development opportunities to those in our community who are unemployed or underemployed. Through this important work, she aims to create more employment opportunities for those in our community and help PWSA strengthen its talent pipeline.

Tell us about your professional history. For the past eight years, I’ve worked in workforce development and talent acquisition. I was responsible for supporting the needs of business and industry by creating training options that upskilled the workforce to support employees in their development.

Tell us about PWSA’s new partnership with Landforce PGH. This recently established partnership will connect crew members in Landforce’s workforce training program to job shadowing opportunities with PWSA Utility Workers in the field. This exposure will support crew members in understanding the day-to-day responsibilities of our Utility Workers while also looking at how their obtained skills could be productively put to use in the workforce and community.

What made you decide to join PWSA? Firstly, I’m passionate about workforce development and saw this as an opportunity to put my background to work in an industry that impacts an essential sector of humanity: water. Secondly, because of the people. I was familiar with three members of the PWSA team before starting and felt confident that the workplace culture was one where I could contribute and thrive. Lastly, PWSA has a reputation for competitive benefits and pay.

What sort of impact do you hope to have at PWSA and in our community? My goal is to create an assortment of workforce development opportunities that upskill PWSA employees while also creating PWSA career opportunities for diverse candidates and helping to build our talent pipeline. Additionally, I hope to help the organization further improve their workforce culture by tracking our diversity and inclusion metrics to ensure that PWSA is a place where everyone feels they can reach their potential.

What’s an interesting fact about you? I recently became an author. My book, SPICES: Six Essential Ingredients for Financial Prosperity, focuses on building foundational financial literacy concepts.