Career Practitioners of Tomorrow - Agility in the Changing Landscape: Support for New Career Practitioners & Workforce Developers

NCDA's Diversity Initiatives and Cultural Inclusion (DICI) Committee introduces a series of discussions that support graduate students in career counseling programs and other new workforce and career development practitioners. This episode is the first in the Career Practitioners of Tomorrow (CPT) series. It introduces the L.E.A.D. (Legacy, Equity, Advocacy, and Development) approach for career professionals to navigate changes in the economy that affect the career development profession.

Speakers:

Moderator - Denise Felder, Workforce Equity Advocate, and Associate Director of Career Services at the University of Minnesota’s College of Education & Human Development

Dr. Nina Talley, Director of Career Development, University of South Florida

Dr. Natasha Barnes-Gwynn, Owner of I.O.U. Consultation, LLC, and Clinical Faculty with Southern New Hampshire University

Denise Felder (she/her) is a career coach, writer, and keynote speaker with 20 years experience encouraging individuals and challenges systems to address disparities in education and employment. Her unique background in journalism, career and college readiness, and higher education have encouraged and informed youth and adults in Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs, AmeriCorps, TRIO, community colleges, universities, and numerous workforce development and community organizations. Denise is a past president of the Minnesota Career Development Association, a Certified Poverty Awareness Coach, an Offender Job Retention Specialist, and a YWCA Racial Justice Facilitator. Her professional development includes participation in the Equity Works Leadership Institute at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, the Josie R. Johnson Leadership Academy with the Twin Cities African American Leadership Forum, and completion of the Equity and Diversity Certificate program (ECHO) from the University of Minnesota’s Office of Equity and Diversity. Her consulting business DeniseMpls Career Services (https://denisempls.org) is based in Minneapolis, MN, operating in cyberspace, and living in the hearts of many.

Dr. Nina L. Talley is a higher education leader with 25+ years of experience in career services, workforce development, and student success. She has directed multimillion-dollar workforce initiatives, developed AI-powered coaching frameworks, and worked extensively on career and leadership in tertiary education. Her expertise lies in integrating technology and student-centered design to improve persistence, retention, and outcomes.

Dr. Natasha Barnes-Gwynn, CCC, NCC, FCD-I is a Clinical Professor at Southern New Hampshire University. She also serves as a career consultant through her private practice, Increasing Our Understanding (I.O.U.) Consultation, LLC. Dr. Barnes-Gwynn is a newly appointed board member for the Council of Accreditation and Related Educational Programs.

Resources

• CPT Project for Session 1: Social Mobility & Economic Disparities
• Career Practitioners of Tomorrow Guide https://bit.ly/NCDA-DICI-CPT 
• Contact Career Practitioners of Tomorrow: https://forms.gle/Y4oTKiL4kpdiisF69 

Transcript

Career Practitioner Conversations

National Career Development Association

Career Practitioners of Tomorrow – Part 1

March 24, 2026 

I am Melissa Venable, NCDA, director of Professional Development, and I'm excited to introduce , the First of a career practitioners of tomorrow's series of episodes recorded by NC DA's, diversity Initiatives and Cultural Inclusion Committee. Thanks for listening. 

Hello everyone and welcome to the Career Practitioners of Tomorrow podcast. This is the first in a four-part series, podcast, and professional development materials for graduate students preparing to work in career development and for new practitioners and career coaching and job search services. I.

I'm Denise Felder, a workforce equity advocate with nearly 20 years experience supporting unemployed and underemployed teens and adults of all ages. I'm also the Associate Director of Career Services at the University of Minnesota's College of Education and Human Development. I'll be our moderator for today's discussion with Dr.

Nina Talley, director of Career Development at the University of South Florida, and Dr. Natasha Barnes, Gwynn. Owner of IOU consultation, LLC, and clinical faculty with Southern New Hampshire University. Let's start our conversation with you, Dr. Barnes. Gwynn, please introduce yourself and tell us about the sponsors of this podcast, the National Career Development Association's, DICI committee.

Thank you Denise, and thank you all for having me and thank you to everyone who is tuning into this podcast. So I am Dr. Natasha Barnes Gwynn. And as it relates to NCDA, I am , one of the co-chairs for the Diversity Initiatives and Cultural Inclusion Committee with NCDA.

Helping people to navigate career development spaces as it relates to diversity, equity, inclusion, uh, belonging and acceptance. We have four subcommittees

The online resources committee provides , online resources with diversity, equity, and inclusion materials. We have our training subcommittee who sponsors the. DEI symposium at the NCDA conference. We have our

publishing committee, uh, making sure that we're able to get information out about diversity, equity, and inclusion. And then we have this wonderful committee that is new and we're so glad that you and Dr. Terry have agreed to take it on. And it is basically focusing on new practitioners and graduate students and providing information to questions many of them may have as it relates to the work that we do.

Wonderful. Thank you. And Dr. Talley, would you like to introduce yourself and talk more about the Career practitioners of Tomorrow Committee and how it came to be? Thank you Denise. And I'm truly honored to join this conversation. The career practitioners of tomorrow of what we now call CPT emerge from an important gap.

Many of us notice across our profession, we realize that graduate students. New career counselors and workforce developers and early career practitioners were entering the field during one of the most unpredictable labor market periods in recent history. At the same time, they were navigating new expectations around technology, cultural responsiveness, and data-driven decision making.

CBT was created as a supportive bridge, one that helps emerging professionals build confidence, strengthen their identity as career practitioners, and deepen their understanding of changing the world of work. Our mission is to offer a grounded, inclusive, and forward thinking learning space where new practitioners can ask bold questions, explore new tools.

Develop a mindset needed to thrive in a transforming economy. Ultimately, CPT exists because the next generation of career professionals deserve strong mentorship, structured development, and a community that believes in their ability to lead with purpose.

Awesome. That is so true. Yes. And Dr. Talley and I, and Natasha and Dr. Barnes Gann, we've all had many conversations around just the need for CPT and professional development for new practitioners. And, as Dr. Said. In these kind of turbulent times, as I've said many times, we're living in turbulent times.

And the, economy has gone through a lot of changes. It just and continues to go through changes and there's so many factors that are not just affecting our. Jobs of search, but also affecting our job seekers, but also affecting how we do our, jobs as well. We are really focusing this podcast and this focusing our podcasts and focusing the work of the CPT.

On supporting graduate students who are preparing to be career counselors and other practitioners in the career development field, and also people who are new to working in employment services, job search services, career coaching, other workforce services and public organizations. Private organizations.

Those types of things. And we are through these podcasts, are providing information that's supplemental to the information that you're getting in your grad studies or through your work, work through your work that is, really going to help help us and help you to shape the job seekers for the, next couple of years.

And again, this is a high priority for the DICI committee. And Dr. Barnes, Gwynn, you wanted to say a little bit more about about that.

Okay. I'll, ask you a little bit more later. One of the big factors that is changing. How people look for work and how people are working is the, is technology. Dr. Talley, I know you have a lot of passion and I love hearing you talk about the change, the rapid changes that are happening specifically around ai.

Could you talk a little bit about that? Absolutely. We'll be glad to. When we talk about the shifts in the workplace, technology is one of the most powerful forces that is shaping our profession. Artificial intelligence automation, remote work and digital hiring platforms are trans. Forming how individuals explore careers, showcase their skills and access opportunities for practitioners, this means our roles are expanding.

We're not only career guides, we're also navigators of the digital ecosystem. We help students interpret labor market data, understand al algorithms that screen resumes, build digital portfolios and develop competencies that prepare them for hybrid and rapidly involving work environments, but technology also re.

Equity concerns. Not everyone has equal access to AI tools, digital literacy training, or supportive networks. As career professionals, we must ensure that technology doesn't widen the gap. It should close them. That requires intentional design, inclusive coaching strategies, and continuous professional development.

Our challenge and our opportunity is to use technology not just efficiently, but ethically, equitably, and with humanity at the center.

Technology is such an important part of diversity is an important part of everything that we do, but that access to technology, as you said is a DEI. Issue. Having access to technology, being able to use technology, and for us as career practitioners to be able to help people to use technology is really important.

Dr. Barnes, Gwynn why is the D-D-I-C-I committee concerned with professional development of new, career practitioners? Just piggybacking a little bit off of what Dr. Talley just talked about when it comes to technology, we oftentimes think, new practitioners being young people or people that are just graduating college and things of that nature.

But just one of the situations that we could be looking at as far as technology is concerned, age is a piece of diversity, equity, and inclusion. And when it comes to the DICI committee, those are some of the areas that we focus on. I think a lot of times we get caught up on race. And we see that as our lens for diversity.

We have a very limited view of diversity, equity, and inclusion. And so the DICI committee wants to bring attention and wants to advocate for the different cultural backgrounds that exist under the umbrella of D-E-I-B-A. And when it comes to the DI diversity inclusion. Diversity initiatives and cultural inclusion committee.

We have four subcommittees that zoom in on different ways that we can target new professionals, graduate students. We've got online resources where pre we provide materials for members and non-members, if you're not a part of NCDA, you're thinking about becoming a part of NCDA. That is an area where you can go and get resources if you're writing papers, if you're starting your job and you're trying to figure out how to work with different populations, we've got resources available.

We have an informed practices committee where we are constantly putting publications out through NCDA and through other organizations where we are talking about career efforts the career issues, and providing. Information about different practices that are evidence-based and can be used to help up and coming professionals.

We have our training subcommittee that puts on the DEI symposium through our NCDA conference. And so we're super excited about the work that's being done there. And we are also elated to have our newest committee, the career practitioners of Tomorrow that really zooms in and puts that lens on the.

Graduate population and new professionals. So we're concerned about this as a committee because these are the people that are actually doing the work or preparing to do the work. And as the landscape changes, we have to change as well. And we have to understand that we're bringing people into a space that.

It's new to them and they're going to face new issues, and so we have to maintain current in how we address these things and helping to prepare the people that are coming after us to continue to address these things. Advocacy is one of our biggest components, and so it's very important to us as a committee that we're able to prepare new professionals, graduate students to advocate not only for themselves, but for their clients and for the profession.

Yeah, absolutely. As the landscape changes, we need to change as well. And Dr. Talley has created this new framework, the lead framework to help with this professional development and to merge all of these things that you just talked about. Dr. Talley, what is the lead framework? I'm so excited to introduce this framework, which serves as a guiding philosophy for CPT and for how new career practitioners can build an intentional professional foundation lead.

The L stands for legacy. Legacy is about impact. It reminds us that the work we do shapes future generations. Whether we are supporting a first generation student, retraining an adult learner, or de designing programs that strengthen a community, our work leaves a footprint. We must lead with integrity, curiosity, and purpose.

The E stands for equity. Equity requires us to remove barriers, systematic and structural and interpersonal. A practitioner committed to equity ensures fairness in career, advising access to resources and culturally responsive practices. Equity isn't a side topic, is a, it's central on how we design and deliver career development.

The aid stands for advocacy. Advocacy means using our voices and our platforms to push for policies, programs, and workplace practices that support all members of the workplace Force. Advocacy may look like coaching employers on inclusive hiring. Helping students articulate their needs or amplifying communities that have historically been unheard.

D stands for development. Development is ongoing. Ours and our clients, the labor market changes too quickly for us to stay still. Professional growth requires continuous learning, embracing innovation, and building flexible evidence-based coaching strategies Lead. Is more than a framework. It is a mindset for how career practitioners can operate with courage, compassion, and clarity in a rapidly shifting world.

Yes. And this lead framework is really helping us and really guiding what we're doing in these podcasts. So again, it's being a part of the career practitioners of tomorrow. Your new practitioners are gaining more than what they're getting in in their grad programs more than what they're getting in the workplace.

We're filling in those gaps. So that we can work as social justice advocates and work with all of our clients who are facing a, lot of different challenges based on their identities and just based on everything that's going on in the world. Dr. Barnes, Gwynn, why is it important for career practitioners, all career practitioners, not just new practitioners, to prioritize social justice in their work?

I would say that social justice is our work, and so it's not just prioritizing it, it's living it. It's. Understanding that it is the work that we do. If we are working with any population that is diverse, that is different than us, any population that's underserved, any population that falls under that DEI umbrella.

Social justice is a part of what we do. It is the work that we do. We have to make sure that we are. Focusing on and prioritizing the advocacy of different groups that may or may not be able to advocate for themselves. We all understand that we have privileges in some space or another, and so being able to exercise the privileges that we have so that we can help those who may not have those same privileges is super important to the work that we do.

Just a framework that I live by and I teach by and I encourage as we continue to do this work is. The, when we, when it comes to social justice work, we have to have an awareness and sometimes that awareness is self-awareness. Understanding if we're perpetrating any of these stereotypes or any of the biases that we are trying to prevent and overcome is important.

We need to see ourselves and see if there's things that we need to change so that we can continue to do this good work. The next piece of it, after a, after awareness is having knowledge, and so it's not just enough. To be aware. It's not just enough to know that there's a problem somewhere. We've gotta go gain the knowledge necessary.

And these CPT podcasts are going to be one of the pieces that new practitioners and practitioners that are in the profession, because sometimes we just need to re-up. We need to, reevaluate ourselves. And gaining that knowledge is important. Understanding where the issues lie is important. So another reason why the DICI committee is so important, because there's so many areas to gain knowledge and understanding about the different issues that are out there when it comes to career development.

And then the last part is skills. And so I think the CPT podcast series is definitely lending to that as well, because not only are we discussing knowledge based things, but we're talking application. And a little earlier you said that we're, we are filling in the gaps, but I also like to think we're bridging gaps between knowledge and application because sometimes it's not necessarily that I don't know.

That I can't do. I just need to be able to pull it all together. And so I think these podcast series are also going to assist in that social justice piece of what we do is going to assist in developing those skills necessary to keep social justice at the forefront and continue to do this great work.

Yes, absolutely this podcast series. I'm really excited about it. So over we have three more podcasts coming up and if any of you have ideas for additional podcasts or additional materials that you're looking for, we will provide a link so that you can send us your information, send us your questions and your comments.

But coming up. We, our next session will be on core competencies and emerging trends in career development. So this is not just the oh, here are the assessments that you can use with job seekers. But this is also looking at some other things as well. And then there's a sec.

The third one is on technology and future focus, so talking more about AI and other things. And then the ethics and action and impact advocacy is going to be a really hot topic as well. Dr. Talley I just described the, upcoming, some of the upcoming podcasts that we have coming up. But what.

Else can the audience expect to gain from listening to this pod, listening to these podcasts? Excellent question, Denise. As we close, I want to share what we hope you gain from today's conversation and from the larger CPT podcast series. First, we want to walk. We want you to walk away with a stronger understanding of how economic and workforce changes are shaping our profession.

These insights help you to anticipate trends, strengthen your coaching, and make informed decisions about your career, own career journey. Second, we want you to feel equipped. Equip with language frameworks and strategies like lead that support equitable and culturally responsive practice. Third, we hope you gain community.

CPT is meant to be a space where new practitioners can connect, learn from experienced voices and find guidance without judgment. And finally, we want you to feel inspired. Inspired to lead courageously, to embrace innovation and to confidently step into your role as a career professional who can truly make a difference.

Whether you're brand new to this field or expanding your practice, we believe you have something valuable to contribute. This podcast is here to support you on that journey. Absolutely these podcasts are here to support you and many of our fabulous presenters that we have coming up will be here to support you as well.

So if you are A-N-C-D-A member, and if you are part of the DICI committee, you will have greater access to our presenters. In terms of, pro possible mentorship in terms of just getting more resources from our presenters. And believe me, we have some wonderful, experts and to be here, ready to bring you into our community of practice.

Also another way of learning through these podcasts and through the career practitioners of tomorrow group is we have projects that are related to each podcast. So additional learning to be done in between each podcast and that you can connect with the learning that you're doing in your graduate.

Programs, program or connect with other professional developments that you are, doing. You, you'll receive links to materials after this podcast when you see this podcast. And one of those links will be to the. Project for this session. One, which is social mobility and economic disparities.

If you wanna do some further reading just to ground yourself on some of the, his history and current, issues revolving around social mobility and economic disparities in the United States. All of the contents for, at least for today's podcast is related to the United States workforce.

And there's some, some work for you to do if you want to do it. So again, we're providing opportunities for you to learn and for you to grow with the career practitioners of tomorrow. And we're gonna wrap up right now and I just wanna thank Dr. Barnes Gwynn for being with us today. And Dr.

Talley, you'll be seeing her again and some our future podcasts. And if you do have questions, we have we'll, we have contact information for you to send those in. And we just look forward to being a part of your journey, your learning journey, and for all of us to learn from each other.

So I wanna thank all of you for for listening to this podcast, and we look forward to connecting with you soon. Thank you so much.