Kathleen Culhane has been President of Nontraditional Employment for Women (NEW) since November 2104 and with NEW since 2007. Founded in 1978, NEW prepares, trains, and places women in careers in the skilled construction, utility, and maintenance trades. NEW graduates start their careers earning over $18/hour and by their third year they are earning $30/hour. NEW provides a pipeline of qualified workers to the industries that build, move, power, green, and maintain New York. NEW has placed thousands of women in careers in the construction, energy, transportation, and facilities maintenance industries. Kathleen leads the organization to meet ambitious programmatic and fundraising goals and is instrumental in the creation of many innovative programs. Most recently, under Kathleen’s direction, NEW worked with the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York to increase the number of reserved slots in apprentice classes for NEW graduates by 50 percent. Prior to joining NEW, Kathleen Culhane spent numerous years immersed in housing and homelessness issues with community-based organizations in New York City. In addition to her recent appointment as Board Chair of the New York City Employment and Training Coalition, Kathleen is a New York Building Congress Council of Industry Women Co-Chair and a member of the Human Services Council of New York’s Priority and Strategy Council. Kathleen was a WorldTeach volunteer in Namibia, holds a Master’s degree in Social Work from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Arts from The College of Wooster.
Speaker