Alia and Lawrence have joined our team

October has been a wonderful month for Hopeworks. We are happy to share that we now have a full life readiness team! Life readiness is so critical to Hopeworks mission and with a full team of coaches, we’ll be able to be even more effective in helping youth address patterns, set goals, and enhance their skills and professionalism to earn jobs that will lead to a sustainable future!

Join us in welcoming our new life readiness coach, Lawrence Burden. Lawrence comes to us with an incredible array of experience in helping young people change their lives. As Coordinator of Residential Services for Youth Consultation Services, Lawrence managed all aspects of a high touch residential placement for youth.  As the Fathers on Track, Program Coordinator for our friends at South Jersey Perinatal Collaborative, Lawrence mastered motivational interviewing and used that expertise to help fathers and families change their lives.

We are also extremely excited to bring Alia Sutton-Bey on board as our new Director of Operations and Youth Development!

Alia brings over two decades of community development and program management experience.  Most recently, she led the JEVS AmeriCorps TechServ Scholars program, working directly with some of our own Hopeworks youth, as well as managing the program across multiple locations, including Philadelphia, Camden, and Harrisburg.  Prior to working at JEVS, Alia led multiple recreation centers in Philadelphia, managing large, complicated teams and interacting with communities to build programs that support youth and families. Alia has also worked with several nonprofits and schools developing programs to meet the needs of youth they serve, including extensive experience in trauma-informed practice.  

Finally, Alia is a strong supporter of cultural and performing arts. She is the founder of the Philadelphia based nonprofit, African Diaspora Arts Collective, INC (ADAC). ADAC is committed to the preservation and education of traditional and contemporary African art forms.

Needless to say, we are lucky to have Alia bring all of her expertise to Hopeworks to help strengthen our programs and create lasting impact!

October 30, 2025
đź’Ľ AI and the Bottom Line: Why Employers Should Invest in Upskilling

You wouldn’t buy a fleet of Ferraris and skip the driving lessons.But that’s exactly what many companies are doing with AI. They’re investing in powerful new tools—enterprise licenses for ChatGPT, intelligent CRMs, custom copilots—but leaving employees to figure them out on their own. The result? Missed potential, uneven adoption, and a workforce stuck doing work […]

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October 27, 2025
Breaking down employment barriers with AI-powered skills training

“Our collaboration with Dell Technologies and NVIDIA isn’t just about technology; it’s about genuinely empowering people. Together, we aspire to scale our success and extend opportunities to every underserved community we reach.” -Dan Rhoton, CEO, Hopeworks Learn more by clicking here.

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October 27, 2025
Hopeworks secures $75K matching grant from The Foxwynd Foundation to accelerate youth careers

Hopeworks, a Camden-based social enterprise dedicated to empowering young adults, has received a $75,000 matching grant from The Foxwynd Foundation. This significant investment is earmarked to expand the organization’s successful Recode Your Future initiative in Philadelphia and Camden, creating more pathways to financial stability through trauma-informed technical training and job placement. This is the second consecutive grant […]

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808 Market St.,
Camden, NJ 08102
(856) 365-4673
Hopeworks is a 501(c)(3) non-for-profit organization, EIN: 31-1660671.
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