Jewel Chapman has been the Director of Focus: HOPE’s Workforce Development and Education division since 2018. In this role, she leads the development and coordination of workforce development and education programming, with a focus on improving and maintaining department effectiveness and organizational alignment. Through her work at Focus: HOPE, Jewel has been instrumental in strengthening Metro Detroit’s workforce with thousands of the region’s brightest previously untapped talents. She has moved the needle in several fundamental areas, including increasing student enrollments and expanding job connections for students through diverse training cohorts – such as Truck Driving (CDL) and Hospitality. Jewel is also responsible for the successful redesign of Focus: HOPE’s manufacturing training opportunities, now reflecting a 15-week training pathway which streamlines services to candidates while exposing them to increased learning opportunities (including forklift operations, CNC machining, robotics, and welding). Jewel’s resourcefulness and attention to fiscal responsibility are demonstrated in her successful realignment of workforce development efforts to support job placement and retention while significantly reducing financial burden on the overall organization. Jewel is a devoted contributor to her community, work, and culture. She is genuinely approachable and consistently exemplifies care for people. As a director, she is thorough and innovative, accepting new and changing tasks with enthusiasm, professionalism, and confidence. She motivates others, drawing out the best in them to exceed expectations. Her team praises her leadership style as an umbrella approach, with an overall goal to support the division, her employees, the organization, and all those who work with Focus: HOPE to improve their lives. Jewel has been recognized for her leadership skills, project management abilities, and volunteerism within the roles that she has occupied at Focus: HOPE over the last fourteen years. Additionally, she sits on the Board of Directors for Encourage Me I’m Young (EMIY), Inc. Jewel holds an MA in Education from Central Michigan University and a BS in Business Administration from Wayne State University. She is a certified Global Career Development Facilitator.
Jewel Chapman is a member of the Detroit Workforce Leadership Academy Class of 2020, one of several Workforce Leadership Academies in localities across North America.
The Workforce Leadership Academies are part of the Economic Opportunity Fellows Network, a network of leadership and fellowship programs run by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program. Within this Network, EOP connects national and local leaders from across sectors — nonprofit, government, business, philanthropy, academia, and more — to advance policies and practices with the potential to help low- and moderate-income Americans thrive in today’s economy. Learn more at as.pn/eofn.
If this is your bio and you would like to revise or update it, please contact eop.program@aspeninstitute.org.