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 President
J. Alssid Associates is led by Julian L. Alssid, a nationally recognized strategist who has been at the leading edge of education and workforce strategy for over 35 years. Over the past two years, he helped to launch Unmudl, a skills-to-jobs marketplace, where he established partnerships between employers and a network of innovative community colleges. Julian developed the flagship initiative for Unmudl, a partnership with Amazon that is helping Amazon to source 1,000 skilled technicians annually. Julian previously served as Vice President of Workforce Partnerships at the Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI), where he transformed CCRI’s workforce operation into a key driver of workforce and economic development in the region, serving over 25,000 students annually. Key partners included Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo and leading employers including General Dynamics Electric Boat, CVS Health, Infosys, and Amgen. Prior to his role with CCRI, Julian helped to design and establish College for America at Southern New Hampshire University, a groundbreaking competency-based education model. Julian was instrumental in building CfA’s B2B model through partnerships with over 100 leading employers including Anthem, Gap, and Partners HealthCare. Between 1998 and 2013, Julian founded and led Workforce Strategy Center where he advised over 23 states, the federal government, and numerous foundations on workforce policy. He has also held senior positions in education and workforce development at the Partnership for New York City, LaGuardia Community College, and the Office of the Mayor of New York City. Julian has authored major studies on workforce strategy, and his views on engaging employers and creating effective workforce development systems have received extensive attention in national and local media. He speaks and writes regularly on the need for policy and educational reform in the field. Julian has a bachelor's degree from Boston University, graduating magna cum laude with distinction.
Kaitlin LeMoine
Partner
Kaitlin LeMoine is a leader in educational program design and development. She is passionate about creating new learning models that bridge the connection between academic content, the workplace, and lifelong skill development. Kaitlin draws on nearly 20 years of experience designing in-person, online, synchronous, and asynchronous courses and programs in the K-12, non-profit, higher education, and workforce development sectors. Along with her deep experience developing custom college-level courses and programs aligned to educational requirements and employer needs, she brings particular expertise to building and sustaining cross-sector partnerships, and managing project phases and related outputs. Kaitlin’s recent consulting engagements have included custom course design for an educational technology company partnering with a Fortune 100 technology company and an organizational assessment and recommendations for potential workforce impact for a community college. Prior to consulting, Kaitlin worked at Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) for 8 years, where she was a founding member of SNHU’s College for America curriculum team and designed content for competency-based, project-based online degree programs. She also managed multiple stages of program design for degree, certificate, and training development, while collaborating with stakeholders across the university. As part of these development efforts, she interfaced with SNHU’s workforce partners to create content, competencies, and program structures to effectively meet their needs. Prior to joining SNHU, Kaitlin led programming at a Boston-based non-profit organization committed to helping students and their families access and afford higher education. 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, she 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.