Damany Fisher, Ph.D. — One Flight Up Consulting

01 · About

Designing equitable pathways between people and opportunity.

Damany Fisher, Ph.D., is a strategic, equity-driven workforce development leader who has spent his career designing and scaling programs that connect underserved communities to meaningful, family-sustaining careers.

As founder of One Flight Up Consulting, Dr. Fisher partners with colleges, nonprofits, and public agencies to expand reentry education, apprenticeship programs, and employer engagement strategies. Recent work includes advising Franklin Cummings Tech's Reentry Empowerment Program and supporting the design of California's first public sector apprenticeship hub.

"Real workforce transformation happens when strategy, systems, and people move in the same direction." — Dr. Fisher

Previously, as Regional Director of Special Projects for the Bay Area Community College Consortium, he aligned workforce training across multiple Bay Area colleges with industry demand, secured competitive grants, and launched innovative apprenticeship programs. A former tenured history instructor, he has taught in traditional classrooms, independent schools, and correctional facilities — experiences that continue to shape his commitment to equity, restorative justice, and inclusive career pathways.

02 · Services

What we do — and how we do it together.

i.

Workforce Strategy & Transformation

Align education and training systems with employer demand across clean energy, manufacturing, public sector, and emerging industries. From strategic frameworks to operational rollout.

Strategic Planning Systems Alignment Change Adoption

ii.

Apprenticeship & Work-Based Learning Design

Design and launch Registered Apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs — including non-traditional models for public sector roles and emerging technology sectors.

Program Design DAS Compliance Sector Pathways

iii.

Employer Engagement & Talent Pipelines

Develop talent strategies that move beyond transactional hiring — building Fair Chance practices, inclusive pipelines, and durable partnerships that sustain themselves over time.

Fair Chance Hiring Pipeline Design Employer Workshops

iv.

Reentry Education & Ecosystem Building

Design education and workforce programs serving justice-impacted populations — connecting carceral education, reentry services, and employer commitments into coherent ecosystems.

Reentry Strategy Ecosystem Design Program Ops

v.

Grant Strategy & Resource Development

Translate vision into fundable strategy. Develop proposals, funding frameworks, and multi-partner applications for public, philanthropic, and blended funding sources.

Proposal Development Funding Strategy Budget Modeling

vi.

Facilitation & Stakeholder Convening

Lead complex, multi-stakeholder initiatives across public agencies, educators, and employers. Keynotes, workshops, and working sessions that move groups toward shared action.

Convening Keynotes Working Sessions

vii.

K–14 & Adult Education Pathways

Build seamless career pathways in partnership with K–12 districts and Adult Education Consortia — preparing students for high-demand, livable-wage jobs through articulated programs, dual enrollment, and bridge strategies that close opportunity gaps.

K–14 Alignment Adult Education Articulated Pathways

viii.

Industry-Aligned Curriculum Development

Partner with employers and industry leaders to co-design curriculum and programs that answer real workforce needs in the local economy — turning labor market intelligence into classroom-ready programs that graduate job-ready talent.

Industry Partnerships Curriculum Design Labor Market Intelligence

03 · Selected Engagements

Work that's already moving people upward.

2023–Pres.

Reentry Education & Workforce Strategy

Franklin Cummings Tech · Boston, MA

Lead strategic advisor to Franklin Cummings Tech's Reentry Empowerment Program (REP) and Continuing Education & Workforce Programs (CEWP). Working across fundraising, program design, employer engagement, and institutional visibility to position FC Tech as a national leader in reentry workforce education and to scale REP to serve 20–30 students by May 2026.

Development & Fundraising

Identifying federal, state, and philanthropic funding streams; drafting competitive proposals with the development team; leading a scholarship fundraising campaign.

Program Expansion & Student Support

Scaling REP alongside the Associate Director of Special Programs; strengthening advising, career counseling, wraparound supports, and peer/alumni mentorship.

Strategic Partnerships

Managing the Mass Save Clean Energy Pathways partnership; building referral pipelines with parole, probation, and reentry providers for a "Corrections to College" model.

Employer Engagement

Partnering with Career & Co-Op Services to identify CORI-friendly employers and expand job placement and apprenticeship opportunities for REP and CEWP students.

CEWP Strategy & Innovation

Advising on Satellite Labs profit-sharing, guided pathways from CEWP into certificate/degree programs, digital literacy programming, and a CEWP partnership and funding roadmap.

Visibility & Accreditation

Collaborating with marketing on REP and CEWP campaigns; representing FC Tech at national convenings; supporting preparation of the Interim Five-Year accreditation report.

2025–Pres.

Public Sector Apprenticeship & Workforce Strategy

Institute for Local Government · California

Strategic counsel and implementation support to ILG's Workforce & Civics Education pillar, with expanding scope across additional pillars. Primary focus: positioning ILG as California's statewide intermediary for public sector Registered Apprenticeship and public sector career pathways — from initiative design and funding through stakeholder alignment and statewide adoption.

Registered Apprenticeship Development

Designing and scaling Registered Apprenticeship programs for the local government sector; advising on occupation registration and program structure.

Grant Strategy & Workplan Implementation

Grant writing and contract workplan execution to resource apprenticeship expansion and sustain ILG's intermediary role.

Stakeholder Engagement

Building and sustaining relationships across local governments, education partners, labor, and employers to align multi-sector coalitions around shared goals.

Content, Events & Thought Leadership

Content development, marketing support, and representation at events, presentations, and panels to elevate public sector apprenticeship as a workforce strategy.

Local Government & WDB Alignment

Coordinating alignment between local government agencies and California's workforce development boards to coordinate pathways and scale adoption.

Strategic Counsel

Advising leadership on industry insights, emerging workforce trends, and programmatic decisions across ILG's pillars as needs evolve.

2020–2022

Regional Workforce Strategy & Apprenticeship Development

Bay Area Community College Consortium

Directed multi-institutional workforce initiatives across Bay Area community colleges — aligning curriculum, training programs, and employer demand. Led development of apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship models in emerging sectors including extended reality (XR), semiconductors, photonics, and tech, while building Fair Chance hiring infrastructure across the region.

XR Apprenticeship Launch

Secured two $500K California Apprenticeship Initiative grants to launch Pre-Apprenticeship and Apprenticeship programs in extended reality at Cañada College and Foothill College, partnered with Unity and leading XR companies; seeded pipeline of 50+ Pre-Apprentices.

Semiconductor Workforce Strategy

Facilitated sessions at the American Semiconductor Academy–SEMI Foundation workshop; contributions informed the ASA white paper on a national semiconductor education network. Presented on leveraging community colleges to strengthen the microelectronics workforce.

Employer-Aligned Pathways

Identified the Local Education Agency and facilitated meetings to launch Aon's first Bay Area Registered Apprenticeship cohort. Partnered with Coherent and Cañada College Engineering faculty to establish the Photonics and Laser Technology (PALT) Certificate of Achievement.

Tech Pathways & Reentry

Built partnerships with Qwasar Silicon Valley and multiple college districts for a full-stack developer program; connected Upwork with Cañada College to showcase student portfolios; partnered with The Last Mile at San Quentin to train formerly incarcerated students and place them into tech roles.

Youth Workforce Development

Partnered with the San Mateo County Office of Education to pilot Youth Empowerment, Entrepreneurship & Employment — a workforce development program serving students in grades 7–12.

Fair Chance Hiring Coalition

Organized and led a three-day Bay Area Fair Chance hiring workshop convening the CCCCO, Anti-Recidivism Coalition, CROP, Dave's Killer Bread Foundation, Checkr, and Jobs for the Future — sharing implementation strategies with employers and service providers.

2019–2020

Corrections Education & Reentry

Solano Community College

Directed Solano Community College's corrections education and reentry services — launching the S.O.A.R. (Students Overcoming Adversity and Recidivism) reentry center, expanding postsecondary access inside California State Prison, Solano; California Medical Facility; Solano County's Rourke Center; and the Solano County Juvenile Detention Facility. Served as the college's liaison to Solano County on prison education, reentry services, and justice-impacted student needs.

Launching S.O.A.R.

Stood up the Students Overcoming Adversity and Recidivism reentry center — hiring staff, securing grants from the CCCCO, Kaiser Permanente, and Shasta Community College to fund tuition remission, books, and wraparound supports for justice-impacted students.

Program Expansion Inside

Doubled the number of courses and students enrolled in the Corrections Education Program from Fall 2019 to Spring 2020; initiated degree pathways in business, psychology, political science, and sociology inside SOL and CMF.

COVID-19 Continuity

Designed and executed the mid-semester transition from face-to-face to distance education during COVID-19 — keeping incarcerated students enrolled and progressing when most systems stalled.

Faculty & Curriculum Infrastructure

Built a professional development program for faculty and staff serving incarcerated students; reduced Corrections Education textbook costs by 50%+ through adoption of open educational resources.

Employer & Community Partnerships

Hosted Solano County's first Fair Chance Hiring workshop for employers, service providers, and formerly incarcerated jobseekers; established a paid internship pipeline with the Human Services program for S.O.A.R. students pursuing LCSW licensure.

Statewide Network Building

Facilitated Solano College's entry into the Rising Scholars Network — California's statewide network of community colleges serving justice-impacted students.

04 · Speaking & Thought Leadership

Keynotes, panels, and convenings on the future of work.

2025 Presenter

Regional Workforce Development Summit

Sacramento Municipal Utilities District (SMUD)

2025 Keynote

Workforce Development Conference

Health Education Council

2023 Presenter

Meeting of the Minds

California Workforce Association

2022 Panelist

Business Leaders United on the Hill

Washington, D.C.

05 · Contact

Tell me what you're building.

Whether you're scaling a program, designing an apprenticeship, or rethinking your talent strategy — I'd like to hear about it. Most projects begin with a 30-minute conversation.

Email fisher@oneflightupconsultingllc.com

Phone (404) 769-3342

LinkedIn Damany Fisher, Ph.D.

Taking your workforce strategy to the next level.