Board of Directors Profile

Ashley Collins has been with Capital Workforce Partners – the North Central Connecticut Workforce Development Board as a Retention Specialist for the Best Chance Program since 2016. The Best Chance program is a training program for justice-involved individuals providing free training, job placement assistance and supports to maintain their personal and professional goals. As a Retention Specialist, Ashley assists participants work readiness skills including mock interview, resume & cover letter writing as well as job search assistance. She is also responsible for recruitment and networking with other agencies for potential training and workshop opportunities and has created a sexual harassment workshop specifically for Best Chance. Ashley manages individual cases and provides support throughout the training process and often for a year or more after the students complete the program. She works closely with ConnectiCOSH to recruit trainees for the various training programs that we have presented and has been a valuable resource for possible funding sources. Ashley has a degree in Graphics Design, however her passion has been working with underrepresented individuals whose lives have been disproportionately impacted by mental health, substance abuse issues, socio-economic disparities as well as environmental injustice. Prior to her current role, she has worked with a variety of populations including those with mental health, substance abuse and at-risk youth for over 15 years. Ashley also currently serves as a Board Member for a Hartford based Sumer Camp for at-risk youth within the capital city.