About Us
J. Alssid Associates consults with forward-thinking education, workforce, and business leaders who aspire to spearhead transformative initiatives to shape the future of work and learning. In our work with clients, we bring a unique combination of strategic vision and practical implementation to address their needs. Our client engagements range from accelerated strategic assessments to multi-year strategy and implementation initiatives.
Julian L. Alssid
Partner
J. Alssid Associates is led by Julian L. Alssid, a nationally recognized strategist who has been at the leading edge of education and workforce development for over 35 years. Having held various leadership positions. Julian advises C-suite leaders who seek to optimize their organizations as workforce entities for transformational impact. Leveraging his expertise across education, workforce, and economic development, Julian has led groundbreaking efforts that have profoundly shaped the field. Prior to forming J. Alssid Associates, Julian served as Vice President of Workforce Partnerships at the Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI), where he partnered with Governor Gina Raimondo, her leadership team, and industry leaders to align CCRI’s offerings with the economic and workforce development priorities of the state. Julian transformed CCRI’s workforce operation into a key driver of workforce and economic development in the region, serving over 25,000 students annually. At Southern New Hampshire University, Julian helped design College for America (CfA), a groundbreaking competency-based education model. Drawing on his extensive network, Julian built partnerships with over 100 innovative corporate leaders that led to the establishment of CfA as a proof of concept for competency- and skills-based approaches to sourcing and training talent. Prior to SNHU, Julian led Workforce Strategy Center for over 15 years where he significantly influenced workforce policy and practice across over 23 states and the federal government. He is known for building and popularizing the career pathways framework. On a practitioner level, Julian established the workforce development arm of the Partnership for New York City, a nonprofit membership organization consisting of a select group of business leaders and employers from corporate, investment, and entrepreneurial firms. Julian engaged those leaders and their organizations in major partnerships with New York’s K-12 and postsecondary systems. He also developed an acclaimed small business management training program that presaged the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses initiative at LaGuardia Community College. As advisor to New York City's Mayor, Julian also staffed the blue ribbon commission that established the High School Institute for Law and Social Justice, one of the nation's first high school career academy models. Julian also served as an Adjunct Lecturer at LaGuardia Community College, and as a teacher at City-As-School, one of the nation’s leading experiential learning model for high school students. Julian speaks and writes extensively on crafting effective workforce systems. He co-hosts Work Forces, a podcast exploring the future of work and learning. Julian has a bachelor's degree from Boston University, graduating magna cum laude with distinction.
Kaitlin LeMoine
Partner
Kaitlin LeMoine has dedicated her career to designing innovative learning models that reach new learner populations. She is passionate about creating programs that bridge the connection between academic content, the workplace, and lifelong skill development and guiding other leaders through that design process. Drawing on nearly 20 years of experience in the higher education, non-profit, K-12, and workforce development sectors, Kaitlin works with leaders and practitioners across academic, business, and intermediary partners to bring new programs to life. She also brings particular expertise to developing scalable, practical approaches to program design that align educational requirements and employer needs. Kaitlin is a thought leader at the nexus of education and industry, drawing upon her applied experience in her writing, and co-hosting the Work Forces podcast, which features innovators at the cutting edge of the future of work and learning. Prior to becoming Partner at J. Alssid Associates, Kaitlin served as Director of Learning Solutions at Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU). During her eight years at SNHU, she was a founding member of the College for America curriculum team and designed courses for competency-based, project-based, online degree programs. As part of these design efforts, she interfaced with SNHU’s workforce partners to create content, competencies, and program structures to effectively meet their needs. Kaitlin also promoted the use of competencies and competency-based learning through presentations at regional and national conferences, including Educause and the Online Learning Consortium. Through her work within SNHU’s Workforce Partnerships division, Kaitlin built and sustained strong relationships with the university’s external and employer partners by determining their learning solution needs and taking a user-focused, iterative approach to meeting those needs. Prior to joining SNHU, Kaitlin oversaw the design and implementation of programming at a Boston-based non-profit organization committed to helping students and their families navigate the college access and financial aid processes at nine program sites in the greater Boston area. She also designed and taught independent research and service-learning courses at a high-performing charter school in Cambridge, MA. Along with her various professional experiences, Kaitlin earned a B.A. with honors from Brown University and an M.Ed. from Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Michael Moretti
Senior Advisor
Michael Moretti brings new products, programs, and services to market for higher ed, K-12, and workforce in order to expand access to education for diverse learner populations. He is committed to designing innovative solutions to close achievement and opportunity gaps for individuals experiencing the greatest fragmentation in our economic, educational, and social systems. With a multidisciplinary perspective and a user-focused approach to problem-solving, Michael is adept at collaborating with diverse teams, exploring new opportunities, and delivering outcomes that meet user needs and business goals. Michael's career spans over twenty years in the K-12, higher education, educational technology, workforce, and non-profit sectors. Most recently, he worked in Southern New Hampshire University’s Office of Product and Program Innovation on a large-scale greenfield project to build SNHU's next generation educational platform. Prior to this work, Michael partnered with high schools and non-profit organizations to pioneer the hybrid-college program model, which combined the personalized support, barrier resolution, and community connections of a campus experience with the flexibility and affordability of competency-based, online learning. He also piloted SNHU’s first learn-and-work ecosystem in New Orleans, LA, which connected learners to education and career opportunities through seamless, stackable pathways from high school to postsecondary, at little to no cost for learners. Prior to joining SNHU, Michael created and facilitated innovative project-based, service-learning programming and STEM curricula at a charter school in Cambridge, MA. He also led outdoor-based, learn-and-work experiences for youth and operationalized a new line of business for an international education non-profit organization. Michael has a Bachelor of Science from the University of Vermont and a Secondary Education Teaching Certification from Providence College.
Mala Thakur
Senior Advisor
Mala Thakur brings over 25 years of experience working on the alignment and implementation of workforce and education policy, systems, and practice. She specializes in comprehensive, multi-sector approaches to helping youth and adults prepare for careers at a family-sustaining wage, and in identifying ways to scale approaches that work. Mala has held numerous leadership roles at the local, state, and national level. Most recently, she served as Director of Workforce Development and Mobility at Results For America, where she led a fellowship program for state and local government teams working on job quality and evidence-based funding strategies. Prior to this role, she served as Senior Program Director at MDC, an organization working to advance economic mobility and equity across the American South. Mala served on the Executive Management team and directed economic mobility and talent development initiatives focused on workforce development, postsecondary attainment, and human services. Previously, she served as the founding Executive Director of the Children’s Opportunity Fund at the Greater Washington Community Foundation, a public/private partnership supporting innovation and investment in the well‐being of children, youth, and families. From 2006- 2014, Mala served as the Executive Director of the National Youth Employment Coalition in Washington, DC where she led efforts to develop federal policy and preserve investment for youth programs in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunities Act of 2014 and related legislation. Mala has testified and conducted briefings on workforce development and education issues before members of Congress as well as federal, state, and local elected officials. She also has served in several advisory roles, including the National Assessment of Career and Technical Education Independent Advisory Panel to Congress and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Forward Promise Initiative Advisory Board. Mala currently serves as Vice Chair on the Board of Directors of the National Human Services Assembly. Mala has written and presented extensively on workforce development and education reform strategies. In 2013, she was a keynote speaker at Secretary of State John Kerry’s Forum on Youth Employment, a seminar for representatives of the European Union in Brussels, Belgium. Mala has an M.A. in education from New York University and a B.A. in political science from the University of California, Berkeley.