WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Chairman / International Union of Bricklayers & Allied Craftworkers
Job Titles:
- CFO
- Chief of Staff
- WDI As Chief Financial Officer
Allison Bashkoff joined WDI as Chief Financial Officer in 2011. She began her career at Honeywell Information Systems in Boston working in the manufacturing sector. After moving back to the Capital Region, where she was born and raised, Allison held a variety of leadership and CFO positions in both financial services and healthcare before arriving at WDI. Allison's diverse work experience in various industries for both large and small organizations, coupled with her strategic thinking, have made her an integral part of WDI's leadership team as the organization has grown. She holds a BA in Economics and Finance from Boston College and an MBA from the University at Albany.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- As Executive Director
- Executive Director / WDI
As Executive Director, Amy Desjardins is a leader and advocate for workforce development, with a career dedicated to fostering economic growth and enhancing opportunities for individuals and communities. Before joining WDI, Amy was Assistant to the President at the New York State AFL-CIO, helping implement organizational strategies using member engagement in issue advocacy. From her years working for the NYS labor movement, she has seen firsthand how labor standards can raise workers' pay, benefits, and safety on the job.
Amy joined WDI's Board of Directors and Executive Committee in 2011, where she acted as a liaison for labor to provide strategic coordination of workforce trends and opportunities across the state. As an upstate transplant from Staten Island, she resides in the Capital District with her husband and son. Amy is an avid hockey mom who enjoys spending time with her family when not fighting to help strengthen New York's workforce.
Job Titles:
- Program Staff Member
- Contract and Grant Program Manager
Job Titles:
- Child Care Scholarship Counselor
Job Titles:
- Regional Administrative Assistant
Crickett Thomas-O'Dell joined WDI in 2019 as Regional Director for the Capital Region. As of January 2022 Crickett has moved into the Statewide Pre-Apprentice Program Director position to help fulfill WDI's commitment to providing opportunities for entry-level workers from underrepresented populations to gain the foundational and technical skills that will lead towards successful apprenticeships. Prior to joining WDI Crickett oversaw daily operations of a transportation services company based in Washington, DC where she provided expertise in business development, organization administration, and structure development, along with policy and procedure creation and implementation. Crickett has spent the majority of her professional career working in education settings providing consultative services in the areas of collegiate enrollment management, the transition from print to digital learning environments, international educational travel, and STEM curriculum implementation at the high school and middle school levels nationally.
Working within a wide range of industries through meetings with unions, community-based organizations, businesses, and educational institutions, she has developed strong relationships and collaborates with a network of professionals who are dedicated to workforce development solutions with a focus on preparing youth, women and underserved communities for the workforce of today and tomorrow.
Crickett works closely with several Workforce Development Boards, Central Labor Councils, and High School Career & Technical Education Committees. She has been featured by the Capital Region Women@Work, Capital Region Chamber of Commerce Women's Business Council, is a member of the Capital Region Professional Women of Color, Capital Region Chamber of Commerce Leadership Tech Valley Class of 2021 and is often asked to be a panelist for programs focused on workforce development.
Crickett received both her undergraduate and graduate degrees from Russell Sage College and Sage Graduate School.
Job Titles:
- Regional Staff Member
- Director of Field Operations
Job Titles:
- Treasurer of the Board of Directors
Job Titles:
- Program Staff Member
- Cannabis Workforce Initiative Project Manager
David Serrano joined WDI in 2022 as the Cannabis Workforce Initiative (CWI) Project Manager. David is a veteran of the U.S. Navy, and brings over a decade of knowledge and experience in the cannabis industry.
David has worked as a consultant focused on the development of the cannabis industry, which included conducting research, developing a broad network of partners from across the industry, and participating in a range of engagements.
As WDI's CWI Project Manager, David provides leadership, education, and impactful strategies to assist communities most harmed by the prohibition of cannabis.
Job Titles:
- Accounts Payable Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Program Staff Member
- Director of Strategic Initiatives
Job Titles:
- Child Care Accounts Payable Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Regional Director
- Regional Director, North Country
Job Titles:
- Child Care Scholarship Counselor
Job Titles:
- Communications Specialist
- Program Staff Member
Job Titles:
- Child Care Accounts Payable Specialist
Job Titles:
- Regional Director
- Regional Director, Capital Region
Job Titles:
- Secretary of the Board of Directors
Job Titles:
- Program Staff Member
- Project Manager
Job Titles:
- Human Resources Specialist
Job Titles:
- Regional Director
- Regional Director, Central New York
Job Titles:
- Program Staff Member
- Research and Policy Analyst, Energy and Climate Workforce
Job Titles:
- Regional Director
- Regional Staff Member
- Regional Director, New York City
Job Titles:
- Regional Director
- Regional Staff Member
- Regional Director, Hudson Valley
Job Titles:
- Child Care Scholarship Counselor
Job Titles:
- Regional Director
- Regional Director, Western New York
Job Titles:
- Regional Director
- Regional Staff Member
- Regional Director, Long Island
Job Titles:
- Regional Director
- Regional Staff Member
- Regional Director for Rochester & Genesee
- Regional Director, Rochester and Genesee Valley
Rodric Cox-Cooper is the Regional Director for Rochester & Genesee Valley, and has over 20 years of community and workforce development experience. He believes this diverse region of the state is ready for growth and new economic opportunities for its businesses and employees, and he utilizes his extensive professional relationships in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors to communicate such opportunities to those it will benefit most.
Prior to joining WDI in 2021, Rodric served for 12 years as an executive in Rochester city government, and for 7 years as the CEO of human service organizations focused on economic self-sufficiency, employment and education for low-income and challenged populations.
He represented the City of Rochester on the Monroe County/Rochester Workforce Investment Board and Private Industry Council, and led impactful workforce development initiatives including the Basic Employability Skills Training (BEST) Program, and the youth-focused Good Grades Pay Program.
He has been recognized as one of the Rochester Business Journal's Forty Under 40 award honorees, and was the recipient of the Dr. Samuel McCree Jr. award for his efforts to improve the quality of life in Rochester. He was the recipient of the Distinguished Alumnus award from both his high school and undergraduate alma maters: McQuaid Jesuit High School (Rochester, NY) and the University of Dayton (Dayton, OH), respectively. He has served on numerous not-for-profit boards and committees, and is a graduate of the United Way African-American Leadership Development Program and Leadership Rochester.
Rodric holds a Bachelor's degree from the University of Dayton, and a Master's degree in Administration from Central Michigan University.
Job Titles:
- Samantha DeRiso, Board Member
Job Titles:
- Board Member / Building & Construction Trades Council of Greater NY
Job Titles:
- Child Care Program & Operations Manager
Job Titles:
- Accounts Payable Specialist - Operations
Job Titles:
- Administrative Assistant
- Office Manager