For more than a decade, Soulful Synergy has been helping people build meaningful careers while strengthening the communities in which they live and work.

Founded in 2013, the New Rochelle, New York-based social enterprise has partnered with more than 100 public and private sector organizations to prepare participants for careers in construction, sustainability, and the clean energy economy.

In addition to offering a diverse range of training and certification programs, Soulful Synergy provides consulting and workforce development services to nonprofits, businesses, and government agencies. In addition to offering a diverse range of training and certification programs, Soulful Synergy provides consulting and workforce development services to nonprofits, businesses, and government agencies.

At the heart of the organization is a belief that workforce development extends far beyond job preparation—it can provide people with purpose, create economic opportunity, advance sustainability, and help build stronger, more resilient communities.

Since its founding, Soulful Synergy has:

● Trained approximately 15,000 individuals through programs of varying lengths and formats

● Provided approximately 3,000 participants with intensive, 200-hour hands-on training

● Helped approximately 2,000 graduates from its extended programs secure full-time employment

While Soulful Synergy primarily serves communities throughout New York and New Jersey, it has implemented satellite programs in Maine, Iowa, and Colorado as interest in its programs grows among organizations in other states.

I’d like to start with a quote from your website, which beautifully captures your mission: “Soulful Synergy was born from a shared vision: to create a world where economic opportunity, environmental sustainability, and social equity come together to uplift communities.” You’ve spent the past 13 years bringing that vision to life. What inspired you to create Soulful Synergy, and what unmet needs did you see in the communities you wanted to serve?

Alejandro: Dwayne and I worked together in finance about 20 years ago, and we spent a lot of time talking about what it means to live a purposeful life, what it takes to open doors for people who have too often been overlooked, and how to create opportunity where it's needed most. Eventually we went our separate ways professionally, but we stayed close friends. We both knew we wanted to create something that would make a difference in underserved communities.

Through construction, we saw an opportunity to give back in a meaningful way. Sustainability quickly became one of our guiding principles. One quote has always stayed with us: “We don't inherit the Earth from our ancestors; we're borrowing it from future generations.” That idea shaped how we thought about our work—not only helping people but also helping create a healthier planet.

One of our first sustainability initiatives focused on clothing and textile recycling, giving discarded fabric a second life as insulation and other useful products. From there, our work evolved to include workforce development. We realized that creating opportunities meant more than simply providing jobs. We wanted to equip people with skills that could change the course of their lives—to give them the tools to build lasting careers and brighter futures.

People often think of resilience as the ability to recover from a disaster or overcome hardship. When you talk about building resilient communities through workforce development, what does resilience look like in everyday life, and what role do meaningful careers play in creating it?

Dwayne: Resilience is something you build through trial, conflict, and challenge. You can't really build resilience without experiencing failure, loss, or other hardships. Many of our participants have felt a lot of pain and a lot of barriers to getting what they want, whether financially or educationally. If we can help people recognize resilience as a skill, as a strength, and as a value—as something they already possess—then they begin to understand that everything they've experienced can help prepare them to succeed. That's something we want them to embrace.

When we talk about resilience and workforce development, we're talking about people who have often felt excluded from opportunity. With the training and guidance we provide, they can discover careers with tremendous potential. Construction isn't going anywhere. We need roads, bridges, transportation, and infrastructure. And as our energy needs and sources evolve, we'll continue to need people with the skills to support that transition. That's why I feel we're training people for industries that sit at the center of society.

There are tremendous opportunities in clean energy and sustainability because the industry is evolving so quickly. There isn't a huge pool of people with 30 years of experience. That means someone with three, four, or five years of experience can move into leadership much faster than in more established industries. That's where we're seeing opportunities to help level the playing field. Our participants can make a direct impact on the places they call home.

Alejandro: We’ve tried to expand the way we think about resilience. It's about getting through adversity and overcoming the things that hold you back. Once you're no longer just reacting to external circumstances, you begin taking control of your future, your purpose, and your direction. That's really what Soulful Synergy represents. The word synergy is important because it's about moving beyond resilience to truly thrive.

That's why we love hearing from graduates who come back and tell us how they've changed their lives. They often want to give us the credit, but they're the ones who showed up every day, put in the work, completed the program, and succeeded on the job. They're the ones who made it happen.

Your social media gives viewers a behind-the-scenes look at your training programs, and it's striking to see how engaged the participants are. Can you give us an overview of the programs you offer and explain how you identify the skills that employers need most, especially in a rapidly evolving field like clean energy?

Dwayne: In the beginning, we focused on the basic construction certifications required in the industry. That was really the catalyst. We would ask employers, “What else would be valuable? What does someone need to know to be successful on day one?” We reverse engineered our training by learning directly from employers.

When we weren't always able to place graduates, we began to see the barriers. Sometimes they lacked a required certification. Sometimes they needed additional skills. At other times, employers had different expectations about what new hires should know.

Today, we still rely on those conversations, but we also draw on market intelligence from organizations like NYSERDA, Con Edison, and other industry partners. We ask a broader question: “What skills will be needed to help New York achieve its clean energy transition?”

Alejandro: That's what drives our training. We identify where workforce shortages exist and build programs to address them. If there's a shortage of electricians, we provide electrical training. If weatherization is a priority, we offer weatherization training. We do the same in areas like HVAC, heat pumps, offshore wind, and solar.

We continue to ask employers a simple question: “If you were hiring someone tomorrow, what certifications and skills would you want them to have on day one?” We build our programs around those answers. The training itself focuses on fundamentals. We emphasize repetition, then gradually add new skills and competencies.

You've talked about how Soulful Synergy supports individuals entering the workforce, seeking to strengthen their skills, or pivoting to another career. How does the organization also help employers strengthen their businesses and build a more resilient workforce?

Dwayne: We never try to lose sight of the employer side. Some workforce organizations are very student-centric, and while we certainly are, you also have to be business-centric. What you're providing is a service to businesses just as much as to the community. It has to support the entire ecosystem.

Employers tell us we're helping them because we're doing a lot of the vetting up front. We're finding people who are genuinely interested in these career paths. Employers don't have to wonder whether someone coming out of school is really willing to show up every day at 7 a.m. and do physically demanding work. They've already done that with us for a couple of months. They know what the work is like, and they've chosen to pursue it.

We're also screening for professionalism while helping participants develop it. We coach our students on workplace expectations and provide resources that make it easier to onboard. In some cases, we also help employers navigate paperwork, government incentives, and wage subsidies that can reduce hiring costs.

Ultimately, the businesses we work with can hire people who are better prepared to succeed on day one.

Alejandro: That also saves employers time and money. Because participants have already completed training and earned key certifications, businesses spend less time bringing them up to speed. If an employer doesn't have to invest 50, 100, or even 200 hours in training a new hire, the savings can be significant.

That helps employers build capacity, take on more projects, and grow their businesses. As much as we want to create opportunities and lasting impact for our participants, our training also has to meet the needs of businesses. When both sides succeed, the entire community benefits.

Looking ahead, what excites you most about the future of Soulful Synergy? Are there new initiatives, partnerships, or opportunities on the horizon that will further your mission of creating stronger, more resilient communities?

Alejandro: While our mission has always remained the same, the skills, technologies, and opportunities that shape those careers continue to evolve. A big part of that evolution has come through partnerships. Our goal is to make sure our communities have a stake in that future.

One of our earliest partners was NYSERDA, an early funder of our energy-efficiency workforce programs. Since then, we've collaborated with the New York Power Authority, the U.S. Department of Labor, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, and others. As we've built a proven track record, more organizations have wanted to work with us, allowing Soulful Synergy to expand beyond traditional construction trades into energy and sustainability careers.

Dwayne: Looking ahead, we’re excited about partnerships with the Public Housing Community Fund—the nonprofit arm of the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA)—and John Jay College.

For the past three years, we've worked with the Public Housing Community Fund to provide digital literacy training for NYCHA residents. It started with foundational skills like email, cloud storage, and navigating online tools, but has expanded to include AI literacy—teaching people how to write effective prompts, conduct research, and use AI as a practical tool. That partnership has also helped us secure funding from OpenAI, allowing us to expand our technology-focused programming.

These are the technologies shaping the future of work. Digital skills and AI literacy will be essential across many industries, including the skilled trades. We want to make sure our communities are prepared to participate.