Grace Institute: Helping NYC Women Work

A few years ago, Todt Hill Houses resident Lourdes Hernandez-DeRenzi was experiencing major transition and turmoil in her life. In 2018, she lost her husband. The following year, the company she had been employed with for 30 years closed permanently. As the primary breadwinner for her daughter, she needed to work. She went on a few job interviews but realized her administrative skills weren’t up to date. She was also scared she would be turned away from jobs because she had to compete with applicants younger than her.

She began looking for trainings to update her skills, but almost everything she found was geared towards younger people. Luckily, she found Grace Institute, one of only a few workforce development programs in New York City that focuses solely on empowering and training women. She was pleasantly surprised to learn the organization’s programs were open to women ages 18 to 64. She enrolled in the 10-week Administrative Professionals Program, which she completed in summer 2019, learning the skills necessary to be a successful administrator in any industry.

“It was an eye-opening experience and one I wouldn’t trade for a minute,” Ms. Hernandez-DeRenzi said. “Professionally, they brought me up to date, so it looks like a resume from the 2000s and not the 1900s. It’s not just about the programs we learned like PowerPoint and Excel, but also about women’s empowerment, holding each other up and accountable, not being afraid to step out, not listening to the voice that holds us back.”

Grace Institute is a zone partner of NYCHA’s Office of Resident Economic Empowerment & Sustainability (REES). It was founded in 1897 by former two-time Mayor of New York City William R. Grace to help educate and find employment for women. Over the years, the organization changed as the type of work women were doing changed – from sewing, dressmaking, cooking, and child care to administrative and customer support training for the legal, healthcare, nonprofit, and hospitality industries.

In addition to the administrative program Ms. Hernandez-DeRenzi completed, Grace Institute also has a seven-week Patient Service Representative Program focusing on careers in the healthcare industry. During the workshops, participants receive networking, resume support, mock interviews, as well as connections to outside services and resources and workshops on topics such as stress management and financial literacy.

Ms. Hernandez-DeRenzi was impressed by the professionals from different corporations who came to speak to her class. During one of her classes, the Vice President of Infrastructure for Goldman Sachs presented and asked each participant to stand and speak; the participants were unaware that she had an eye open for potential candidates to refer to a recruiting agency for administrative positions at the company. The recruiter was impressed with Ms. Hernandez-DeRenzi, who had a first interview during the program and a second after she graduated. She was hired in September 2019 by PRO Unlimited, a workforce management company, to work at Goldman Sachs, where she assists 18 junior bankers with their schedules, expenses, and travel. Her goal is to become a permanent employee of Goldman Sachs.

After participants graduate from Grace Institute, they receive job placement and retention assistance, as well as lifetime access to post-graduate workshops, networking, and their fellow alumnae. The organization has an 80 percent graduation rate, a 75 percent job placement rate in one year, and the average annual starting salary for participants after graduation is $32,000 (compared to an average of $6,000 personal income from public assistance before starting the program). Over 100,000 women, including many NYCHA residents, have taken programs at Grace Institute, and 85 percent of participants are women of color (primarily Black and Latina).

“Grace Institute’s partnership with NYCHA plays a major role in recruiting women from across New York City to enter our workforce training programs,” said Grace Institute Executive Director Danae Mcleod. “Our goal is to support women on the path to financial stability, and our ongoing relationship with NYCHA helps make that possible.”

Ms. Hernandez-DeRenzi recommends this program for all women, but especially women 50 and older: “You don’t find programs like this geared to all women from 18 to 64. The only other place you can possibly get some kind of training at the age of 50 is going back to college. It’s a really well-rounded program, not just the technical part, but also on a personal level. I walked in there too shy to speak. I didn’t know how to pat myself on the back and say, ‘Good job.’ In three months, you won’t recognize the person you walk out as.”

REES and Grace Institute are hosting a virtual information session for NYCHA residents on April 1, 2021, to learn more and register, click here. To learn more about Grace Institute, visit Grace Institute.