With new position, Mattie leads in helping others succeed

Mattie L. is a program delivery associate at CEO Oklahoma City who helps people in the same situation she was in just a year ago.

After being incarcerated, Mattie was most worried about having a career again where she could help people. She previously worked as a nurse and home health professional and wanted to continue giving back, but she wasn’t sure if her background would prevent that.

When she became a participant with CEO, she began doing transitional work but took advantage of other opportunities through CEO as soon as possible. She completed the Grow With Google Applied Digital Skills lessons which helped her gain new computer skills to use in both her personal and professional life.

Then, Mattie was selected to be part of CEO’s Emerging Leaders Program (ELP) starting in October of 2022. During this twelve-week program, she shadowed different employees at the CEO Oklahoma City office to learn the ins and outs of each of their positions and to see what skills each job necessitated. Her hard work, people skills, and dedication to CEO’s mission paid off: after completing the program, she was hired on as a full-time staff member.

Now she has the job she hoped for, working to connect new participants to both outside services and to CEO resources such as their commercial driver’s license (CDL) training, forklift operator training, and a program at a local university.

“CEO showed me how I could transfer my skills,” Mattie said. “I thought I had lost the ability to have a career where I could give back, but they gave me a chance to do that work again.”

In a perfect full-circle opportunity, Mattie is about to begin mentoring a new ELP participant, helping someone who was in her shoes less than a year ago.

“There is nothing more rewarding than seeing someone come in at the lowest part of their life and then see them leave with a job, and to see how happy they are,” Mattie said.