Blake Foote, Chair, CUNY SPS Foundation

Blake Foote has held diverse roles in workforce and economic development in New York City, California, and at the national level. She is currently chair of the CUNY School of Professional Studies Foundation Board where she has been a member for 10 years. She has also served on multiple committees and in leadership roles for the Boards of the Brooklyn Public Library, Workforce Professionals Training Institute (WPTI), and the Center for an Urban Future. She has worked in partnership with local and state government, nonprofits, businesses, and foundations to implement workforce programs and improve policy in New York City since 2005. Blake previously served as executive director of the New York City Workforce Investment Board (WIB) where she oversaw approximately $80M in federal funding and engaged over 40 board members in local workforce policy. She was also an executive director at the New York City Department of Small Business Services, where she supervised the City’s large-scale recruitment initiatives in target industries, and provided management support for Workforce1 Career Centers and the agency's partnerships with private foundations. Key initiatives she oversaw were: the opening of Ikea in Red Hook, early hiring for Fresh Direct and 311, expansion of Whole Foods, and the relocation of the Fulton Fish Market.

Prior to her work in New York City, Blake researched federal workforce programs for Congress at the US Government Accountability Office. She also launched and supported sector-based employment programs in several states with the National Economic Development & Law Center. Blake started her workforce development career as a workshop facilitator and counselor for unhoused jobseekers and at-risk youth in California and Washington, DC. She also taught high school students in post-apartheid South Africa. Blake holds a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University's Kennedy School and a BS in international relations from Georgetown University. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two children.