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On a typical Monday morning, Tyisha Dottin arrives at her desk at MIT Medical before 8:30 and gets the day started. An administrative assistant on a team providing support to the medical director and executive director since April, Tyisha is known for being well organized and greeting everyone with a smile. Across the Charles River in Brighton, Mariah Nazaire arrives at Franciscan Children’s Hospital where, as administrative secretary, she provides support to the hospital’s four chief officers and reviews their schedules for the day.

These two Cambridge residents have more in common than the similarities of their

jobs—in the past year, they each held positions in MIT’s Office of the Vice President for Finance (VPF) through Cambridge Works, a transitional jobs program sponsored by the City of Cambridge. Residents in the Cambridge Works program participate in a three-month job readiness and skill development series of workshops combined with a 30-hour-per-week job that aligns with their interests and aspirations. The city partners with local employers, including MIT, who can offer jobs that complement the program’s workshops, and who commit to mentoring participants and giving them real-world, meaningful work experience.

A Part of MIT

For Tyisha, working at MIT Medical is the realization of a goal she set years ago. After graduating from Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, she trained to become a hairstylist, and then later attended Bunker Hill Community College to study early childhood development, but found herself stuck and unable to find the right job. She juggled multiple low-paying jobs—in retail and food service and then as a home health aide—often working seven days a week, in jobs that did not offer employee benefits.
 
One food service job stood out to her: working at the Dunkin Donuts in the MIT Stratton Student Center. “I loved the energy and spirit of everyone—the students, faculty, and staff all had something about them that made me think, ‘I want to have a professional job here someday. I want to be part of MIT.’” But the path to realizing this dream was nowhere in sight.
 
Then in her early 30s and the mother of a soon-to-be kindergartener, Tyisha applied to Cambridge Works, and hoped to be matched with a job at the Institute. “Even though I had to lose some of my income to participate in Cambridge Works, I just knew it was my time.”
 
Ann E. Warner-Harvey, director of administrative services and operations at VPF, worked with the city to bring Tyisha to MIT as a receptionist at VPF. “I knew from the start, with her warm and welcoming presence, Tyisha would do well in this role, greeting visitors, setting up meetings, and performing other administrative tasks,” says Ann, who had worked with the city for the past five years to provide summer jobs at MIT for high school students. “Through this program, designed to support employment for adults in Cambridge, I saw the potential to create a life-changing experience for Tyisha.”
 
While mentoring Tyisha at VPF, Ann began networking across MIT, keeping an eye out for open positions that might be appropriate for Tyisha when she completed the Cambridge Works program. When a receptionist position at MIT Medical opened up, Ann encouraged Tyisha to apply. She reached out to the Human Resources director at MIT Medical on Tyisha’s behalf and found that MIT Medical was equally committed to working toward creating opportunities for Cambridge residents. Tyisha’s recent experience at VPF was a significant factor in her candidacy, and she was elated when MIT Medical offered her a full-time position with benefits.

A Boost of Confidence
 
Building on this first success with the Cambridge Works program, Ann knew she wanted to keep this momentum going. She met with Mariah Nazaire, a member of the next Cambridge Works class, who was interested in a career in finance and who had previously studied business administration at Mass Bay Community College. A serious car accident set Mariah back for almost two years, and she needed a way to get her career back on track. She applied to Cambridge Works.
 
“I never thought of MIT as a potential employer,” says Mariah, who grew up in East Cambridge. “I always knew there were a lot of jobs at MIT, but I thought they were mostly science and engineering jobs. I never thought about MIT as a place for me.”
 
Since Mariah had a strong aptitude for math and experience with databases, Ann easily found a role for her at VPF. “Our Treasury and Planning team had a research project underway and needed help with a project database,” she reports. “Mariah came on board and contributed to this complex project and saw it through to completion. The team was thrilled to have her help. Along the way, they mentored Mariah and also provided advice on careers in finance.”
 
“The work I did at VPF was so valuable to me when I applied for my current job at Franciscan Children’s Hospital,” says Mariah. “The CFO asked about the software and systems I used at MIT, and I was able to explain my work and do it with confidence. For me, this experience was like a bridge from one world to another.”
 
A Wider Vision
 
As a human resources leader at MIT since 2005 and a member of the MIT Council on Staff Diversity and Inclusion, Ann sees many opportunities to work with the city going forward. “My role gives me a platform to enhance opportunities for people to work and develop their careers here," she says. “By reaching out to the City of Cambridge Office of Workforce Development, we will continue to widen our scope—and work to connect adults in our Cambridge neighborhoods to career opportunities at the Institute. I appreciate that Glen Shor, our vice president for finance, supports these efforts and am grateful that MIT’s senior leadership considers creating jobs and economic opportunity for MIT’s Cambridge neighbors a high priority.”
 
A Win-Win
 
“Tyisha and Mariah are great examples of who the Cambridge Works program is designed to serve,” says Allyson Allen, director of adult employment in the Cambridge Office of Workforce Development. “They had the drive and the skills; they just needed an opportunity to put them into practice and to shine. Ann Warner-Harvey is an incredible ambassador and a real champion of our programs. She and her colleague Nico Lang continue to find new ways to support city residents, and to involve more departments at MIT.”
 
Sarah Gallop, MIT co-director of government and community relations, sees jobs and economic development as a key factor in the innovation ecosystem in Kendall Square. “We want to expand MIT’s participation and create more opportunities for city residents across many fields and disciplines,” she says. “VPF serves as a role model for other departments at MIT, and to the biotech, energy, and technology companies in Kendall Square.”
 
When asked to consider what the future holds for them, both Mariah and Tyisha see exciting opportunities ahead. “Now that I’ve had these experiences,” says Mariah, “I always want to have a job that enables me to grow. This experience doesn’t end. In fact, I now have a network of people who took the time to mentor me and who are looking out for me.”
 
Reflecting on her journey, Tyisha says, “It has been a rocky road for me, but with the new confidence I have, I wake up every morning grateful and ready to go. I want to build my career at MIT.”
 
—Laurie Everett