Director: Amy Rynell
Associate Director: Melissa Young
Manager, Program Quality and Technical Assistance: Chris Warland
Workforce Research and Policy Fellow: Nathan Dunlap
Policy Assistant: Ethan Brown
Research & Policy Assistant: Sheena McNeal

Ethan Brown, Policy Assistant  

As a Policy Assistant Intern at Heartland Alliance's National Transitional Jobs Network (NTJN), Ethan Brown is aiding the NTJN team in researching and writing policy briefs. In addition to his B.A.'s in Psychology and English at the University of Missouri, he is currently finishing his last year in a Masters of Urban Planning and Policy program at the University of Illinois at Chicago specializing in Economic Development. He views the employment of the hardest to employ as a necessary cornerstone for expanded general wellbeing to accompany economic growth. He seeks to build a career in progressing sustainable growth in terms of both resource management and continually improving general quality of life.

Phone | 312.870.4944
Fax | 312.870.4950

Nathan Dunlap, Workforce Research and Policy Fellow

Phone | 312.870.4944
Fax | 312.870.4950

As Workforce Research and Policy Fellow, Nathan Dunlap fills multiple capacities in research and development. With support from the Butler Family Fund, Nathan spearheads an initiative to enhance service delivery for the employment needs of those experiencing homelessness, Working to End Homelessness: A National Initiative Dedicated to Advancing Workforce Solutions for Individuals Experiencing Homelessness. This project includes the development of a nationwide community of practice and a comprehensive best practices guidebook. Most recently, Nathan provided cross-national case studies for a forthcoming book on activation policy at the School of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago, and substantially contributed to an award-winning online grants resource for DuPage County Government. Nathan holds a Master of Arts in Social Sciences from the University of Chicago, with interests in workforce development, street-level implementation, and comparative social policy.

Sheena McNeal, Research & Policy Assistant  

As a Research and Policy Assistant for the National Transitional Jobs Network, Sheena McNeal provides research support and program assistance on policy initiatives.  Sheena attends Jane Addams College of Social Work at the University of Illinois at Chicago.  Currently in her final concentration year of her MSW program, she is also the Jane Addams Student Government President where her work includes advocacy and outreach, professional development programming, and fundraising.  As a Chicago native she wishes to continue her work on the local community level by initiating polices to increase urban and economic development opportunities in economically depressed areas.  Prior to joining the NTJN team, Sheena worked as a community organizer and also provided direct services, outreach and marketing, and programming services for homeless and unemployed populations.  Sheena received her B.A. from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign.

Phone | 312.870.4944
Fax | 312.870.4950

Amy Rynell, Director  

Phone | 312.870.4944
Fax | 312.870.4950

Amy has worked for Heartland Alliance since 1997 and directs both the National Transitional Jobs Network (NTJN) and the Social IMPACT Research Center. The National Transitional Jobs Network(NTJN) is a coalition of Transitional Jobs (TJ) programs, policy organizations, and government representatives with over 3000 members that works to ensure that policies will account for the hard-to-employ, that the public understands the need to invest in these services, that programs are able to effectively serve as many individuals as possible, and that best practices and technical assistance are widely shared and implemented throughout the network. IMPACT is a lead source for  information on poverty and social issues and releases annual reports on poverty, fact sheets on economic security for local areas, and serves as a data hub for decision makers. In addition, Amy serves as co-chair of Grantmakers Concerned with Poverty for the Donors Forum, and as a guest lecturer on social issues in classes at universities across Chicago. Amy has worked on many projects, including Causes of Poverty: Finding from Recent Research, an impact analysis of permanent supportive housing in the state of Illinois, an evaluation of a Transitional Jobs demonstration, and various service system improvements.  Amy received her MA from the University of Chicago's School of Social Service Administration and her BA from the University of Notre Dame.

Chris Warland, Manager, Program Quality and Technical Assistance 

Phone | 312.870.4959
Fax | 312.870.4950

As Manager of Program Quality and Technical Assistance, Chris Warland leads the NTJN's technical assistance activities, including providing consultation to Transitional Jobs programs that request technical assistance; developing program resources and tools; researching and disseminating best practices; facilitating peer learning among TJ programs; designing and delivering in-person and electronic trainings; and managing external consultants who are referred by NTJN to deliver technical assistance. Chris's experience in workforce development and serving hard-to-employ individuals includes providing direct training and adult education instruction; developing training curricula for job-readiness and life skills courses; coordinating application processes for workforce development consulting projects, education and training projects, and public policy initiatives;  and conducting public policy research and analysis. Chris holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Michigan and a Master of Arts from the School of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago.

Melissa Young, Associate Director  

Phone | 312.870.4944
Fax | 312.870.4950

Melissa Young is the Associate Director of the National Transitional Jobs Network (NTJN) at Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights. Melissa's work includes managing the Network's role as a lead coalition in advancing employment solutions for people who have the most difficult time getting and keeping and job which includes; managing the technical assistance team in order to strengthen existing and emerging programs, translating lessons learned at local levels into state and federal policy, and managing the development of Network communications and marketing materials for diverse audiences. In her role Melissa has worked to advance the visibility of the NTJN as a national expert in Transitional Jobs in order to further support the development and implementation of employment strategies for persons with barriers to employment. Previous to her work with the NTJN, Melissa efforts focused on youth poverty, income supports, and an analysis of Illinois' appropriations and funding streams for youth programs. Melissa received her B.A. from the University of Michigan and her M.A. from the University of Chicago.

The National Transitional Jobs Network is a project of Heartland Alliance for Human Needs& Human Rights.

For Media inquiries, please contact Jean Lam at 312.870.4944 or ntjn@heartlandalliance.org.