LOFT

Latinos On Fast Track (LOFT) is a leadership and workforce-development program focused on providing:

• Latino community and America with prepared leaders
• The workforce with high-achieving Latino professionals
• Emerging Latino leaders with a network of support.

LOFT consists of the LOFT Institute, LOFT Network, and LOFT Workforce.

The LOFT Institute focuses on preparation, engagement and recruitment, networking, mentoring, public speaking, training, certifications, and measurement. The two tracks for the LOFT Institute are “Leadership” and “Vertical,” which is an industry-tailored focus. One-day leadership or industry-specific trainings take place for three targeted audiences: high school, college and grad school, and young professionals. More than 50 trainings take place during the year on weekends across America. The trainings are commissioned by Fortune 500 companies or government agencies in various verticals including science, business and finance, technology, engineering, journalism, healthcare, public policy, law, non-profit, grass roots mobilization, education, green, marketing and even entertainment. They also focus on social issues, financial literacy, healthy lifestyles and other areas. The LOFT Institute also hosts the LOFT Mentors program, which is designed to offset the lack of access to guidance for Latinos and increase the high school and college graduation rates as well as encourage community involvement and facilitate success in the workforce. This “near peer” model also hosts a Speakers Bureau.

The LOFT Network is an online network for 75,000 vetted members ranging in age from 18-30 which provides a dynamic support system for the members where they share knowledge including innovating efforts in the community or workforce; connect with each other; receive on-line mentoring; receive career path guidance, job opportunities and scholarship opportunities; and create the content.

On the talent-deliverable side, the LOFT Workforce program works feeds off the LOFT Institute and Network to provide Fortune 500 companies and government agencies with vetted and prepped emerging Latino professionals for internships, fellowships and full-time positions. What makes LOFT Institute unique is an industry-or-company-tailored approach in placing candidates in full-time positions or internships with a particular focus on STEM, Green fields and Innovation. The program is tailored for a company, government agency or industry to deliver talent, plain and simple. The program is very surgical and specific. There is no need for other tactics or to caste a wide net. LOFT delivers talent based on a sponsor’s criteria and follows up for retention and to deliver in a systematic and sustainable manner. ExxonMobil executives have said “LOFT has revolutionized how we access talent.”

The key to LOFT’s success is its vetted network and its flexibility to meet a sponsor’s diversity needs by tailoring an industry-specific pipeline. LOFT executes an organic, internal “multi-level marketing strategy” by tasking key “influencers,” or LOFT Fellows, within the network to engage and mobilize the thousands of the members. Basically, if LOFT has a presence on any high school, college campus or corporate offices, a LOFT effort can be executed. LOFT’s feeders include HHF’s Youth Awards, campus recruitment, social media/networking, public awareness campaigns, special events, strategic partnerships, and member-to-member outreach.

Join the LOFT Network at: http://loftnetwork.org