Tana Francellno
Director of Workforce Development
World Business Chicago
Passionate about removing barriers and creating life-changing opportunities for job seekers and today’s youth, Tana Francellno is a trailblazer, champion, and disruptor of the status quo. Each day Tana leads with palpable energy transforming the workforce development landscape. Read on to learn more about the new pathways that Tana has been opening up for the next generations.
Tell me about your role.
I am the Director of Workforce Development at World Business Chicago (WBC). I've been in this role for one year. Prior to this experience, I was heavily involved in leading the Evanston workforce development eco system. Here at WBC, I am the bridge to several governmental agencies including the City of Chicago Mayor's Office Youth, Education and Human Service Division, the Division of Family & Support Services (DFSS), the City Colleges Team, and Chicago Public Schools. I also work with the local nonprofit workforce development agencies that support Chicago’s talent.
The focus of my work is to convene our board & sector companies and bring them to the table with workforce agencies, workforce funders, talent solution board member companies, providers such as CPS, and City Colleges to create synergy and build increased capacity for young talent.
What is World Business Chicago hoping to achieve in the next few years?
We will continue to do meaningful expansion work with existing local businesses and new businesses coming relocating to or expanding in Chicago. We will level up our workforce development offerings and use them as a tool for our business partners. World Business Chicago is committed to driving bold, inclusive economic development that elevates every corner of our city. Over the next two years, we will accelerate growth, foster innovation, and ensure equitable opportunities for all communities—building a stronger, more resilient Chicago that leads on the global stage.
What statistics does World Business Chicago look at to gauge what's going on in the labor market?
Having data is critical to this work. The insights that we gain from looking at the data help us to build our strategy and show us where to focus our attention. The WBC Research Center keeps a pulse on where the talent is and where the jobs are. For example, we know that some neighborhoods in Chicago have high unemployment rates. We also know some neighborhoods have a high amount of workers in specific industries. We use that data to build strategies around tapping into that community to provide more resources and to keep them informed about the opportunities that are available to them.
Chicago's labor force has grown to over 5 million, the highest level since 2019, signaling strong recovery and continued expansion. WBC’s focus on workforce development includes significant efforts to align training and education with the future needs of industries like advanced manufacturing, green technologies, and quantum computing. Over 100,000 graduates annually make Chicago the number one metro in the U.S. for producing diverse talent.
What age were you when you first started working for pay and what was that job?
My first job was earning $13 an hour at age 15 working in retail sales, specifically in the Women’s Shoes department (at age 20, I was promoted to Supervisor and then Store Manager by age 21). At that point, I was ready to expand my experience beyond retail. I took the transferable skills that I’d gained and went to Columbia College Chicago for a few years
What was your educational path like? Did it mirror that of your family?
I grew up in a middle-class family in Evanston. Neither of my parents had attended college by the time I was college-aged. My mother earned a post-secondary degree several years later, and my father continued working until he retired at age 58. I attended Catholic schools from elementary to high school. I completed a few years at Columbia College Chicago, but ultimately did not persist. I am the product of young parents, and the support that I received led me to work. My parents come from a generation with a working culture, which is what I learned as well. While I lacked confidence in school, I always knew that I had exceptional skills, gifts, and talents, and I’ve used that to continue to guide me throughout my career.
I am now the mother of a first-generation college student who is great at academics and is starting a new academic path in our family.
What was your first full-time job? How did you get from there to where you are today?
My first full-time job was as a Store Manager in the retail industry. I know how to open doors to work, and I'm very confident in working in different workspaces. I ran a couple of stores for the Gap when that organization was hot. From there, I expanded to the beauty industry, working for organizations like Aveda and Bumble & Bumble.
I became a positive disruptor in that space, removing barriers like a GPA requirement for certain opportunities, to make sure that young folks had more access.
When I became a mother, I moved back to Chicago to be near family. I was a member of the parent advisory council for my daughter's elementary school, and a lot of issues around equity arose. As I dove into those issues, I received an opportunity to be a site director for a non-profit organization named Books and Breakfast, It's a nonprofit that supports Black and Brown students before school with tutoring, homework support, a hug, and a healthy meal. I was fortunate to work here for nearly two years.
Thereafter, I was presented with a unique opportunity in Evanston to serve as a bridge, connecting the education system with the Evanston business community as a career partnership manager. That is when my whole workforce career advanced. I took that opportunity and led the Mayor's Advisory Council with 100+ stakeholders all focused on youth career development. I also, I created experiential learning opportunities for young adults in the community.
Have you had any mentors as you've progressed in your career?
In the early days of my career in the retail, hospitality, and beauty industries, I had great managers and supervisors who saw my gifts and tried to help me advance my career. When I began working in Workforce Development, I was also blessed to have mentors. I worked closely with the Career and Technical Director at Evanston Township High School, Shelly Gates, whom I absolutely adore. Shelly and a retired businessman from the community, Neil Gambow, were incredibly supportive of my work and were instrumental in its success.
What obstacles have you had to overcome in your work?
I am a doer who is hyper-focused on results. One of the obstacles I’ve encountered has been with navigating large systems - whether it's the school system or the many systems that are within the overall public workforce system. Sometimes I get frustrated because I can see that the systems are not moving as fast as the opportunities are available.
When I did this work in the schools, it was clear
that the culture and the ecosystem were not built
to interact with the workforce system, which made
it difficult to do the work. For nearly five years, I
was the “unicorn” who didn’t have a space in the system but kept coming around to ensure that the students were getting exposed to local career opportunities; As I provided alternative post-high school pathways instead of “college for all” messaging. My efforts lead to, I became a positive disruptor in that space, removing barriers like a GPA requirement for most career opportunities, to make sure that our young folks had more access.
What have been keys to your success?
I am known to be innovative and strategic. In my last role, I successfully engaged many Evanston employers and laid the foundation for them to continue to work with young people beyond my interactions with them. I also did a great job of creating templates and examples for to expand the work and cultivate the leads that were left with employers who are interested in doing more.
When we prepare young people for work, then we can benefit the entire workforce, today and tomorrow.
Many of the employers that I worked with are still engaged and some of them have even taken some of the programming that I created and we utilized it in their organizations. One example is with S&C Electric. Five years ago piloted an internship experience with two students. We then moved on to have two students complete a job shadow experience. S&C Electric has now taken that model and expanded it to include 28 students in six different school districts.
What, in your opinion, should employers be doing more of or less of to hire and retain the talent they need?
Employers have to be more innovative in how they approach talent recruitment and retention. They should be intentional about building a talent
pipeline. Often, recruitment is handled in a very ad hoc manner - when a new hire is needed someone posts a position on LinkedIn or Indeed and hopes to find a candidate. Instead, businesses should be
engaging with the talent pool, letting folks know
who they are as an organization and what positions are available. Engagement can look like hosting site visits for job seekers or being a guest speaker to a group of newly credentialed young folks.
How would you describe the workforce development ecosystem in Chicago?
Massive. Because the system is so vast, many people work in silos. We have an opportunity as an ecosystem to be more aligned and serve as a resource to each other. Everything is very layered, and for business leaders, this can cause heavy delays when working toward a workforce solution. I’ve seen those leaders lose hope and faith in the system. The workforce system would benefit from some streamlining of our processes and better alignment among the various players.
What are some of the more common challenges you see among employers who are engaging with the workforce ecosystem?
At WBC employers report to us with two main concerns. First, they are looking for new talent and want to know how to connect to them. Secondly, employers need assistance with connecting their employees to social service agencies for wraparound services. Employers may have staff who are experiencing housing or food insecurity challenges or need mental health resources. They often come to us wanting to know how they can best support their staff and what resources are available.
How do you think Chicagoland employers should be contributing to addressing poverty and inequality?
Employers should open their doors with the knowledge that not everyone has a college degree. Based on that information, we should be innovative and prepared to create opportunities for all populations. Employers should also create meaningful opportunities for talent to learn about their organizations. This could look like creating experiential learning experiences with local high schools or postsecondary education. Lastly, employers should align themselves with the stake holders in the communities that they are recruiting from, like the Chambers of Commerce or workforce agencies. It is important that business leaders be community-minded and community-focused. Offer livable wages, and when recruiting from areas that experience high poverty levels, provide access to
wraparound services.
You've talked a lot about youth and entry-level talent. Why is supporting those groups important to you personally?
While I love creating talent solutions in general, I have a passion for doing so for the youth. This work hits close to home for me. I have a 20-year Old daughter, and I know the struggles that the emerging next generation faces. I faced many of them myself. There are many barriers in place that prevent young people from being exposed to various businesses and career pathways. I am in my fourth career. If I had known that a career in workforce development was where I would want to be, I would have loved to be engaging in this work sooner.
Youth is my passion because I know that they are the group that needs the most support. Often, they don't understand what drives them, what they’re
passionate about, or what opportunities are out there for them.
If we prepare young people for work, then we can benefit the entire workforce. If we can get youth trained, organized, and exposed to positive and productive opportunities, they'll make better decisions. We'll lessen our college dropout rate for Black and Brown students, because they'll know why they're going to college. If we make sure that students have had exposure to their field before selecting a major, we can reduce the number of young folks going to school undecided. When young people are enthused and excited about what's next for them in their future, they bring fresh energy into their workspaces, exploring new ways of approaching problem-solving. All of these benefits and more keep me enthused and passionate about creating opportunities for young people.
Can you give an example of an employer who successfully overcame workforce challenges?
The North Shore University Health System/Endeavor Health in Evanston is a great example. While we had many students who were interested in working in the healthcare sector, there was a lack of local opportunities to gain employment experience in their chosen field of study. Five years ago, I started on a path to ask the North Shore University Health System to open its doors to Evanston’s youth. It was critical for me to create a space for these students to get that experiential learning, so they could make informed decisions about their careers.
Initially, we piloted a program with students working in one unique department within the health system. The first cohort was incredibly successful and drummed up a lot of enthusiasm for the program. From there, the pilot was expanded to 12 additional departments and became formalized as the Aspire Program. It is a funded initiative for youth career development and exposure that continues to grow, hosting more and more students each year.
I am incredibly proud to have played a role in opening doors and creating meaningful opportunities for our youth. My passion for this work comes from my own experiences—knowing firsthand how important it is to have someone who believes in you and builds those critical connections to career pathways. Beyond creating experiential learning opportunities, this initiative led to the development of a health curriculum at a local high school, which is now being expanded to Lake County. This model of aligning the education and healthcare systems is a testament to the power of collaboration and the lasting impact it can have on communities.
Interviewed by Dani Houchin on May 1, 2024 | Written by Misha Williams