FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Friday, August 17, 2018
Contact: Mayor’s Office of Communications, 415-554-6131

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MAYOR LONDON BREED APPOINTS JOSHUA ARCE AND KAT DANIEL TO LEAD JOB TRAINING AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT EFFORTS
Arce to serve as Director and Daniel to serve as Deputy Director of Workforce Development Division
 

San Francisco, CA— Mayor London N. Breed today announced two appointments to the Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD), naming Joshua Arce as the Director of Workforce Development and Kat Daniel as Deputy Director of Workforce Development. Arce and Daniel bring extensive experience in government and labor relations to their new roles, joining a diverse staff in OEWD.

“I am proud to appoint Joshua Arce and Kat Daniel as Director and Deputy Director of the Workforce Development Division,” said Mayor Breed. “Their experience, expertise, and strong community relationships will ensure San Francisco continues to be at the forefront of preparing our workforce for the jobs of today and tomorrow.”

In their new roles, Arce and Daniel will be responsible for increasing opportunities for San Francisco’s underserved communities. They will oversee the City’s workforce academy programs, which train individuals for well-paying jobs in San Francisco’s leading industry sectors, including construction, hospitality, healthcare, and technology.

Arce has served as Director of CityBuild in OEWD since September 2017, leading the landmark construction job training program in its largest-ever expansion. Arce helped establish the CityBuild-Gleneagles Academy in Visitacion Valley to create construction labor job opportunities for public housing residents and members of at-risk communities. Under his leadership, CityBuild also renewed training partnerships with the Golden State Warriors and JP Morgan Chase that will continue to increase CityBuild participants and graduates.

Prior to joining OEWD, Arce spent 15 years as a civil rights attorney and labor representative, working with community members to improve employment, housing, and environmental conditions in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods. From 2013 to 2017, he served as a community liaison for the 5,500-member Laborers’ Union Local 261, managing an array of training programs and initiatives.

"Despite record low unemployment, San Franciscans are still looking for work, struggling to make ends meet or facing barriers to employment such as experience with the justice system or limited English skills, said Joshua Arce, Director Of Workforce Development. “I'm excited to lead our team and collaborate with our community and labor partners to deliver on the Mayor Breed’s vision of leaving no San Franciscan behind when it comes to job opportunities created in this economic boom.”

Daniel joined the Office of Economic and Workforce Development in 2015. She has overseen an increase of $2 million in the budget for workforce services and developed OEWD’s non-construction sector programs to include stronger pathways to middle income jobs, including hotel training, technology apprenticeships and medical technician occupations.

Prior to working at OEWD, Daniel served as Senior Deputy Commissioner of Labor for Suffolk County in Long Island, where she headed initiatives to increase participation of both un-represented and under-represented communities in the design and development of government services. She previously worked in San Francisco for Green For All, a national advocacy organization building strategic partnerships to ensure that vulnerable communities had access to the career pathways created by the green economy. There she convened leading practitioners from across the country to develop effective workforce development programs in response to the Green Jobs Act and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

“I look forward to this opportunity to partner with the dedicated community based workforce providers that deliver services to the communities who need them most,” said Kat Daniel, Deputy Director of Workforce Development. “Together, with our fellow City departments, we will build out strong career pathways and responsive workforce programs to support our most vulnerable San Franciscans and harness the power of our City's economy.” 

The Workforce Development Division of OEWD coordinates the San Francisco Workforce Development System, a network of public, private, and nonprofit service providers that serve San Francisco job seekers and employers. The Division is responsible for connecting job seekers with employment opportunities in growing industries. It conducts industry aligned job training and placement assistance at community based neighborhood access points throughout the City, to help provide employers with skilled workers.

Arce will report to Joaquin Torres, who was named Director of OEWD by Mayor Breed earlier this month.

“Joshua Arce and Kat Daniel bring the leadership, program development, and policy skills necessary to strengthen the pathways to opportunities that today’s economy provides,” said Joaquín Torres, Director of the Office of Economic and Workforce Development. “Their commitment to equity and inclusion outcomes will greatly benefit the diverse communities—who still face barriers to opportunity—that OEWD seeks to serve.”

Daniel has a Master’s in City Planning from UC Berkeley with a concentration on Economic and Community Development.

Arce is the grandson of immigrant farmworkers from Mexico and the first member of his family to go college, earning an undergraduate degree from the University of California, Los Angeles and law degree from University of California, Hastings College of the Law. He and his wife Lisa Weissman-Ward, a supervising attorney and lecturer at the Stanford Law School Immigrants’ Rights Clinic, live in the Mission District with their two sons, Desmond and Lennon Sebastián.

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