OUR IMPACT
We help regions move from ideas to action by strengthening collaboration, aligning investment, and building the capacity needed to sustain inclusive economic change.
Across diverse regions and initiatives, Bienestar’s work reflects a consistent set of themes about what it takes to advance inclusive regional economic change.
Expanding Economic Inclusion Across Populations and Places
Our work supports strategies that expand access to economic opportunity for communities historically left out of growth, including youth, women, and workers in disinvested or transitioning regions. We help partners identify disparities and align policies, programs, and investments to address them.
Supporting Workforce Transition and Quality Jobs
In regions facing economic transition, our work focuses on connecting workers to stable, quality jobs. We partner with public agencies, labor, and intermediaries to align workforce systems with emerging industries and worker needs.
Strengthening Regional Strategy and Collaboration
We help regions move from fragmented efforts toward shared strategy and coordinated action. By aligning partners across education, workforce, economic development, philanthropy, and government, we support regional approaches grounded in local context and community priorities.
Connecting Career Pathways to Inclusive Growth
We translate regional economic strategies into tangible career pathways that link education and training to real employment opportunities. Our work helps ensure workforce investments support both regional growth and expanded access to opportunity.
CASE STUDIES
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California Oil Workers Readiness Program
In 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom announced an executive order to phase out gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035. Worker representatives raised an urgent question: what would happen to the thousands of Californians employed in oil and gas? The Displaced Oil and Gas Workers Fund (DOGWF) was established to ensure these workers would not be left behind, but instead supported in transitioning into “good jobs” across industries, jobs that are stable, well-compensated, and provide clear pathways for advancement.
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Sierra San Joaquin Jobs First
In spring of 2024, the Sierra San Joaquin Jobs First (S2J2) initiative, Bienestar Community Economics supported the development of a regional investment plan aimed at fostering an inclusive, resilient, and sustainable economy that offers quality jobs and equitable economic access for all residents across the four-county region.
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Inclusive Economies Initiative for the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
In 2023, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston launched its Inclusive Economies Initiative to strengthen equitable economic development across New England. The goal: to identify and fund projects that advance inclusive growth, address systemic barriers, and build community capacity across the region.
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Pathways to Parity: Expanding Economic Opportunities for Black Workers, Learners and Businesses in the Inland Empire
The Youth Action Project launched a collaborative effort to understand how to improve inequities the Black community in the IE faces in accessing quality jobs, career mobility, business ownership and wealth building opportunities.
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Women's Opportunity Fund
In 2023, Tipping Point Community, in partnership with Bienestar Community Economics, set out to design a novel demonstration project to support working women living in the Bay Area to advance in their careers, generate assets, and build wealth.
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Bioeconomy Career Pathways
In 2025, Bienestar Community Economics partnered with Modesto Junior College (MJC) and BEAM Circular to develop a career pathway framework for the circular bioeconomy. The project aimed to align education and training programs with the skills and credentials needed to enter and advance in the growing biomanufacturing sector.
