Income

Income

Rubicon’s career services are designed to help our participants build a career that will provide them with the resources they need to achieve their long-term goals. We help participants find employment to meet their immediate needs, while building the skills and network to launch a meaningful career.

Services include:

  • Workshops and one-on-one support to build a resume, practice interviewing skills and find a job.
  • Legal support to address barriers to employment.
  • Ongoing support to retain employment.
  • Computer lab and digital literacy education.
  • Access to a community of potential employers cultivated by our Workforce Services team.
  • One-on-one sessions with Career Advisors to map out career plans to increase their earning potential.
  • Career pathways through education, vocational training, and entrepreneurship.

Our Partners include:

  • American’s Job Center of California/ EASTBAY Works
    • Alameda County Workforce Development Board
    • Contra Costa Workforce Development Board
    • Oakland Workforce Development Board
    • Richmond Works
  • Centerforce
  • Employment Development Department of California
  • Five Keys
  • Future Build
  • Adult Education
  • Community Colleges
  • Opportunity Junction
  • Small Business Development Center for Entrepreneurship
  • The Bread Project

How We Work

Each Rubicon participant begins their journey by completing the Foundations Workshop. This two-week workshop series is designed to help participants understand the steps to prosperity, boldly empower them to feel that they have the ability to change their circumstances, form strong, positive connections with staff and peers, and introduce them to the full range of resources available at Rubicon that will help them to realize their personal goals.

After completing the workshop, each participant is connected with an Impact Coach who is their primary relationship at Rubicon. The Impact Coach and participant work together for up to three years. The Impact Coach offers the participant the right resources, at the right time, for continued success. When appropriate, the participant is connected to the Career Services team who helps them to create an individualized Empowerment Plan including immediate and long-term career goals. 

Income Services Staff

Sarah Williams - Senior Staff Attorney

Sarah WilliamsSenior Staff Attorney

Michael Covarrubias - Workforce Liaison, Richmond

Michael CovarrubiasWorkforce Liaison, Richmond

Pat Kaspar - Senior Staff Attorney

Pat KasparSenior Staff Attorney

We believe that the relationship is the intervention, and the intervention is the relationship. Our dedicated staff takes the time to build relationships and to help each participant chart their own course for economic mobility.

Impact Coach

The Impact Coach is the primary relationship between the participant and Rubicon. Each participant has an Impact Coach who provides support and guidance for the duration of their work with Rubicon. While our Impact Coaches perform many of the same duties as a traditional case manager, the position is unique because we see this relationship as the primary intervention that will unlock a participant's full potential. Our Impact Coaches are trained in transformational coaching, motivational interviewing, trauma-informed care principles, and bring, on average, five to seven years of counseling experience to the position.

Career Advisor

Career Advisors are career guidance specialists who work with participants to map out employment and career plans using career assessment tools and career planning and counseling strategies. A Career Advisor helps participants explore career possibilities based on their interests, skills, abilities, and personalities.

Employment Coach

Employment Coaches are job search specialists who help participants seeking immediate employment to provide them with adequate income to meet their everyday needs. Employment Coaches provide individualized assistance and run groups and workshops to support job search activities.

Staff Attorney

Our staff attorneys provide one-on-one legal assistance and facilitate workshops on a variety of legal topics.  Attorneys work with Rubicon participants to assess and identify legal issues, provide individual representation, and work on collective advocacy.  Our attorneys address legal barriers to employment and bring specific legal expertise in areas of need for our participants that include employment, consumer, housing, income, and family law.

Workforce Liaison

Workforce Liaisons are employer specialists; they have insider knowledge of what employers want and what they are looking for in their employees. Rubicon has connections to over 100 employers who work with us because they trust us to provide them with well-prepared, skilled, and qualified candidates. Workforce Liaisons facilitate weekly Job Clubs and promote available employment leads and opportunities.