The Purple Maia Foundation, a technology education nonprofit, has named Su Lazo director of career development for its Hiapo Program.
A workforce development initiative, the Hiapo program was launched in September 2020 and aims to upskill, train, and credentialize Native Hawaiians and other under-represented groups in the tech industry with in-demand Salesforce Administrator training, the foundation said in announcement Wednesday.
Born and raised on Kauai, Lazo has more than 14 years of professional experience in career counseling, employment coaching, and leadership development.
According to the announcement, she has been a career counselor at The Catholic University of America, Georgetown University, American University and Kapiolani Community College, where she managed the campus career center. Lazo also led efforts across the University of Hawaii system to implement career development best practices, and partnered on workforce development events with the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations and Chamber Of Commerce Hawaii.
As director of career development, Lazo will prepare Hiapo cohort graduates with the soft skills needed by employers, and build a network of local employers committed to hiring locally for their Salesforce administrators.
The foundation referenced the International Data Corp.'s White Paper Report, which found that worldwide spending on public cloud computing will grow 19% a year from 2019-2024, during which time Salesforce and its ecosystem are expected to create 4.2 million jobs worldwide.
“Now, more than ever, it's important to improve the economic mobility of those in our community and support employers with the talent to help them thrive," Lazo said in a statement. "I'm looking forward to helping Hiapo participants make informed career decisions, strengthen their professional development skills, and connect to fulfilling opportunities as they navigate today's job market.”
“We’re excited to have Su onboard supporting our Hiapo program,” Purple Maia Foundation co-founder Kelsey Amos said in a statement. “Hiapo is focused on getting participants training and certification but more importantly, helping them transition into careers that can support a family and keep up with Hawaii’s cost of living.”
