WFA TALENT ACCELERATOR WORKSHOPS
Hands-on, cohort-based workshops to help cities improve how they hire.
Work for America’s Talent Accelerator Workshops are free, virtual learning experiences for city HR and operations leaders that want to make practical, near-term improvements to their hiring systems.
Each workshop series offers 8 weeks of guided instruction and peer learning with a cohort of up to 10 cities, as well as individualized coaching that give leaders clear, actionable outputs to improve a precise aspect of hiring in their cities.
Our Talent Accelerator Workshops help cities clearly see what’s happening in their hiring systems and focus improvement efforts where they will matter most.
Many cities face similar hiring challenges:
★ Slow or inconsistent hiring processes
★ Limited visibility into where delays or breakdowns occur
★ Data that exists but is fragmented or difficult to interpret
★ Difficulty communicating hiring challenges and priorities to leadership
2026 TALENT ACCELERATOR WORKSHOPS: TRANSFORMING CITY HIRING PROCESSES
Understand and improve all steps of how hiring actually gets done.
Cities map their hiring process from end to end, clarifying ownership, surfacing delays and friction points, and identifying concrete opportunities to streamline and shorten hiring timelines.
Cities leave with:
★ A clear, end-to-end map of their current hiring process (requisition through start date)
★ Identified bottlenecks, redundancies, and unclear ownership points
★ A prioritized set of practical process improvements
★ A brief for city leadership outlining findings and recommended next steps
★ Connections with peer HR and operations leaders facing similar challenges
This workshop is well-suited for cities seeking to streamline hiring times, reduce confusion, or improve the candidate experience. Learn more about the Transforming City Hiring Processes workshop curriculum and program details here.
The Transforming City Hiring Processes Workshop is now live! Participating cities include: City of Akron, OH, City of Albuquerque, NM, City of Allentown, PA, City of Green Bay, WI, City of Kansas City, MO, City of Knoxville, TN, City of New York, NY, City of Norfolk, VA, City of Pittsburgh, PA, City of Pompano Beach, FL, City of Savannah, GA, City of Stockton, CA.
FACILITATORS
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EMAIL: krizia@workforamerica.org
Linkedin: /krizia-lopezKrizia Rosario Lopez is Vice President of Government Innovation at Work for America, where she leads capacity-building initiatives and research to help state and local governments strengthen hiring systems and workforce strategy. Previously, she served as Innovation Lead in the St. Louis Mayor’s Office through the Bloomberg Harvard City Hall Fellowship, where she led a multi-million dollar HR modernization effort that moved the city from typewriters to its first digital HRIS hiring system and helped cut hiring timelines by half. She also supported the city’s first compensation analysis in 25 years, built new workforce analytics on employee experience, staffing, applicants, career trajectories, and attrition, and helped shape a 10-year regional talent strategy tied to future labor demand.
Krizia held HR strategy, employment marketing, and skills training roles for nearly 6 years at Google, including managing Google’s flagship Sales Academy workshop across the U.S., Latin America, and Europe. She holds a BA from Columbia University and an MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, where she developed strategy recommendations for the U.S. Department of Labor and taught negotiation through the Center for Public Leadership.
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Email: cgarita@jff.org
Linkedin: /cassandra-garitaCassandra (Cassie) Garita is a co-facilitator of the Talent Accelerator Spring 2026 program. As a Director at Jobs for the Future (JFF), Cassie partners with stakeholders across the private, public, and nonprofit sectors to design, implement, and scale talent management solutions that drive the economic advancement of workers and communities. She brings deep expertise in cohort design and facilitation, having engaged thousands of participants across multi-session programs, workshops, and alumni experiences throughout her career. Cassie holds an M.S. in Nonprofit Management, a B.A. in Political Science, and has completed post-baccalaureate studies in multi-subject education.
2026 TALENT ACCELERATOR WORKSHOPS: DATA-DRIVEN HIRING FOR CITIES
Use hiring data to guide decisions and set realistic goals.
Cities build a clear, data-informed view of hiring performance, then translate metrics into insights leaders can act on.
Cities leave with:
★ A summary of baseline hiring metrics
★ A cleaned and documented hiring data inventory
★ A leadership brief with evidence-based improvement targets
This workshop supports cities that want to move beyond anecdote and use data to prioritize and track hiring improvements.
COHORT LAUNCHING FALL 2026
WORKSHOP DETAILS
★ Format: Virtual
★ Duration: 8 weeks
★ Cohort size: 5–10 cities
★ Structure: Weekly 60–90 minute lessons plus guided working sessions
★ Time commitment: ~3 hours per week, with some additional internal coordination
★ Support: 1:1 coaching, templates, and feedback on deliverables
★ Peer network: Opportunity to connect and learn with HR teams from peer cities
WHO SHOULD PARTICIPATE?
The Talent Accelerator Workshops are a good fit for cities that:
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Want practical, near-term hiring improvements
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Are willing to examine current processes and data honestly
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Can commit a small cross-functional team (mainly from HR) to participate consistently across 8 weeks
Cities do not need perfect data, modern systems, or prior experience with process improvement. The workshops are designed to meet cities where they are, and we welcome cities in all stages of their hiring optimization journey.
