FOUNDED 2018 · KANSAS CITY, MO · 501(C)(3)
We Started With a Vision.
6,000 People Prove It Works.
"SWD was built to do something most people said couldn't be done — give Kansas City's most underestimated workers a real, lasting pathway into careers that pay, communities that thrive, and futures that belong to them."
HOW IT STARTED
"It Wasn't a Business Plan. It Was a Belief."
On August 19, 2018, Strategic Workforce Development Inc. opened its doors in Kansas City, Missouri — not with a big budget or a government contract — but with a clear-eyed belief that the people this city overlooks are the same people it cannot afford to keep overlooking.
SWD started as a job development initiative. The mission was simple: connect disadvantaged people to employment. But the problems the founders encountered in those early days were anything but simple. They weren't just dealing with résumé gaps — they were dealing with people returning from incarceration who couldn't get a callback. Veterans who had served and come home without a civilian career path. Young people from neighborhoods where the idea of a skilled trade career had never been presented as a real option.
It became clear quickly that job development alone wasn't enough. What these communities needed was a full pathway — skills training, certification, employer relationships built on trust and second-chance hiring, and a support system that stayed engaged beyond day one. So SWD built one.
By partnering with Allied Trades, General Contractors, and Developers, SWD created something rare in Kansas City: an accredited pre-apprenticeship program that functions as both a training ground and a bridge directly into registered Apprenticeship Programs. The organization became Section 3 certified — making its graduates eligible to satisfy federal workforce participation requirements on HUD-funded and major commercial development projects. It expanded to Columbus, Ohio, proving the model could travel.
From 2018 to today, SWD has supported over 6,000 individuals. Not 6,000 applications. Not 6,000 orientations. Six thousand human beings who came through SWD's programs and left with more than they arrived with — a certification, a job, a trade, a business, a plan, or simply the knowledge that somebody finally believed in them.
And now — with the launch of the ConstructAI Lab and a technology partnership with Widerange Management Group — SWD is doing something it has never done before: preparing its community not just for today's workforce, but for the AI-powered economy that is already reshaping every sector it touches.
"We weren't trying to start a nonprofit. We were trying to fix something that was broken and nobody else was fixing."
— SWD Founding Team
THE IMPACT
"Eight Years. Two Cities. One Unbroken Commitment."
6,000+
Lives Impacted Since 2018
150+
Skilled Trades Graduates
4 Weeks
From Intake to Career-Ready
2
Operational Cities (KC + Columbus)
8 Years
Continuously Serving the Community
100%
Committed to Second-Chance Hiring
"These numbers represent real people — not enrollments, not applications. Individuals who came to SWD, went through the work, and came out with something that changed their trajectory."
THE PEOPLE BEHIND IT
"Leadership That Comes from the Work, Not Around It."
SWD's leadership team didn't find workforce development through a career path. They found it through purpose.
The People Behind the Mission
Meet the SWD Impact Team
Eight years of impact doesn't happen by accident. It happens because of the people who show up every single day and refuse to stop.
Founder · Kansas City, MO
Anjou D. Giri
President & Chief Executive Officer
Co-Founder · Kansas City, MO
York Wilson
Director & Co-Founder
Leadership · Kansas City, MO
Michael Sykora
Treasurer
Advisory · Kansas City, MO
Thomas Randolf
Advisory Board
Leadership · Kansas City, MO
Romond Holt
Director
Advisory · Kansas City, MO
Keith Cheatham
Advisory Board
Anjou D. Giri
President & Chief Executive Officer | Founder
Anjou D. Giri founded Strategic Workforce Development Inc. on August 25, 2018, driven by a conviction that had been building for years before the organization ever existed. Her passion for equal opportunity, fair wages, and the rebuilding of careers for mid-skilled and underrepresented communities didn't come from a policy paper — it came from watching what happens when people are written off and what becomes possible when they aren't.
As President and CEO, Anjou has shepherded SWD from a grassroots job development initiative into one of Kansas City's most recognized and impactful pre-apprenticeship and workforce development organizations. Under her leadership, SWD has served over 6,000 individuals, established employer partnerships with Allied Trades and major commercial contractors, achieved Section 3 certification, and launched the ConstructAI Lab — the region's first AI-powered workforce training facility.
She leads with the same energy that built SWD from nothing: relentless, mission-first, and deeply rooted in the communities she serves.
"This work isn't about charity. It's about equity. It's about making sure the people who built this city get to benefit from it."
— Anjou D. Giri, President & CEO
York Wilson
Director
York Wilson is a founding architect of SWD's program model and the structural thinking behind how it grows. As Director and Co-Founder, York has been instrumental in building the employer relationships, community partnerships, and programmatic frameworks that give SWD its operational backbone.
His belief in workforce development as a vehicle for community stabilization and economic mobility has shaped SWD's three-pronged approach — skilled trades training, fair hiring advocacy, and now AI digital literacy. York brings decades of community development experience to a leadership role that is as much about systems-building as it is about direct service.
He understands that for SWD to sustain its mission, it must function with the discipline of a real institution while never losing the community credibility that makes people trust it in the first place. That balance is York Wilson's professional life's work.
"We built SWD to be the kind of organization we wished existed when the people in our community needed it most."
— York Wilson, Director & Co-Founder
SWD's full team includes program coordinators, employer liaisons, intake specialists, and instructors across Kansas City — all committed to the same mission that started this organization: opportunity, equity, and economic mobility for every person who walks through our doors.
WHAT WE STAND FOR
"Five Letters. The Foundation of Everything We Do."
T.R.U.S.T. isn't a marketing acronym at SWD. It's the operating system. It governs how we treat participants, how we work with employers, and how we show up for each other every single day.
T — Tough
Having the resiliency to overcome adversity and barriers to success. We don't ask our participants to be tough alone — we train, support, and walk alongside them while they build that strength.
R — Reliable
Our team members, participants, and community partners can count on us to deliver on our mission — every program, every cohort, every conversation. If we say we'll do it, it's done.
U — Unbiased
We see every person who comes through our doors without preconceived notions or predetermined limits on their potential. Your record, your background, your starting point — none of it determines what you can become here.
S — Skilled
We teach relevant, emerging skill sets and career fields that strengthen both our participants and the community around them. Skills that get people hired. Skills that get people promoted. Skills that build generational wealth.
T — Team
We understand that it takes a community to rebuild the future workforce. SWD is not a service provider — it is a team. Participants, staff, employers, partners, and funders are all part of one mission.
OUR JOURNEY
"We Didn't Stay Small. The Mission Wouldn't Let Us."
SWD has grown, evolved, and expanded at every stage — not because of a strategic roadmap, but because the need kept growing and we kept answering it.
Anjou D. Giri establishes Strategic Workforce Development Inc. on August 19, 2018 as a job development initiative for disadvantaged communities in Greater Kansas City. The mission: connect people to employment and opportunity.
SWD formally launches its accredited pre-apprenticeship training program — partnering with Allied Trades, General Contractors, and Developers to create direct pathways into registered Apprenticeship Programs across Kansas City.
Despite the economic disruptions of COVID-19, SWD continues serving Kansas City's unemployed and unskilled workers — maintaining programming and employment services throughout the economic crisis. The mission grows sharper under pressure.
SWD launches its entrepreneurship-focused Minority Contractors Initiative — teaching construction professionals how to bid projects, write proposals, read blueprints, and operate as licensed commercial contractors.
SWD earns Section 3 certification, qualifying its graduates for federal workforce participation requirements on HUD-funded and commercial development projects. A Green Jobs energy compliance training partnership with MEC opens a new sector pathway for participants.
In partnership with Widerange Management Group, Inc., SWD launches the ConstructAI Lab — a fully equipped AI training facility with 10 professional workstations, an AI-powered instructor avatar, and full integration with the Study Buddy Pro, Nail It Pro, and GovCon Autopilot platforms. SWD becomes the first workforce development organization in the region to deliver structured AI literacy training to underserved populations.
"Every expansion SWD has made was a response to a gap nobody else was closing. That's not going to change."
WHO WE SERVE
"We Don't Serve 'Demographics.' We Serve People."
SWD's mission populations are not statistics or grant categories. They are the people who built Kansas City with their hands and were never given fair access to build wealth with those same skills. They are the veterans who came home and found no civilian career bridge waiting for them. The young person from the east side who was never told construction is a career — it's a calling. The re-entry individual who served their time and can't get a call back, even on a Tuesday.
SWD was built for all of them. Not as a sympathy project. As a structural solution.
Re-Entry Individuals
"Second chances aren't given. We build them."
Veterans
"You gave your best years. We'll make sure they count."
Youth (18+)
"Start the career your city needs you to have."
Women in Trades
"You belong on every job site, in every crew."
Dislocated Workers
"Your experience has value. We'll help you prove it."
Mid-Skilled Workers
"Upgrade what you know. Upgrade what you earn."
Disadvantaged Communities
"Economic mobility is a right, not a reward."
The Digitally Behind
"The AI economy is here. We'll make sure you're in it."
CREDENTIALS & RECOGNITION
"Eight Years of Earned Trust."
SWD's credibility is not self-declared. It is built from certifications, partnerships, track records, and the outcomes of every participant who has been through our programs.
Legal & Nonprofit Status
- 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Organization — Since 2018
- EIN: Available upon request for grant/donor documentation
- Registered and operating in Missouri and Ohio
- Open Books: Annual reporting available to all funders and partners
Program Certifications
- Section 3 Certified — HUD workforce participation compliance
- Accredited Pre-Apprenticeship Program — Allied Trades Partner
- WIOA-Aligned Programs (Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act)
- Hard-Skill Certification Training (OSHA, Construction Trades)
- Green Jobs Energy Compliance Training (MEC Partnership)
Community & Institutional Partnerships
- Allied Trades — Registered Apprenticeship pathways
- General Contractors and Commercial Developers — KC Metro
- MEC — Sustainable Energy Codes and Compliance Training
- Northeast Kansas City Chamber of Commerce — Member
- Widerange Management Group — Exclusive Technology Partner
- Columbus, OH — Regional partnership via Human Foundation
"Letters of support, outcome reports, and program documentation are available to all prospective institutional funders and employer partners. Contact [email protected]."
Our Trade Partners
TECHNOLOGY PARTNERSHIP
"SWD + Widerange Management Group: Building the Future Workforce Together."
In 2025, SWD entered an exclusive technology partnership with Widerange Management Group, Inc. — a Wichita, Kansas-based technology company that builds AI-powered platforms for the construction and workforce industries.
This partnership is not a vendor relationship. It is an institutional alignment between two organizations that share an identical belief: that underserved communities deserve access to the most advanced career preparation technology available — not a stripped-down version of it.
Through this partnership, SWD now offers its participants direct access to three industry-defining AI platforms built exclusively by Widerange:
Study Buddy Pro
studybuddypro.app
AI-powered construction licensing exam prep and workforce training
Nail It Pro
nailitpro.app
Platform for construction entrepreneurs
GovCon Autopilot
govconautopilot.app
Government contracting navigation for minority contractors
"Together, SWD and Widerange Management Group are creating one of the most comprehensive workforce-to-technology pipelines in the region — and we are just getting started."
WHERE TO FIND US
"Rooted in Kansas City. Growing Beyond It."
🏢 Kansas City, MO — Main Office
402 E Bannister Road
Suite C & D
Kansas City, MO 64131
📞 (816) 433-4682
📧 [email protected]
Home of the ConstructAI Lab, Build It KC Pre-Apprenticeship Program, and SWD's founding operations.
"There's a Place for You in This Mission."
Whether you're looking to start a career, hire our graduates, fund the work, or build a partnership — the door is open.
Strategic Workforce Development Inc.
Where Opportunity Meets Potential — Kansas City, MO
Legal & Status
501(c)(3) Nonprofit — EIN on file.
Section 3 Certified workforce organization.
Privacy Policy
© 2026 Strategic Workforce Development Inc. All rights reserved.
Kelly
SWD AI Brand Ambassador