Katie Breault

While Katie Breault specializes in several areas of diversity, she has a particular focus on skills-based hiring. This approach aims to dismantle barriers to employment for underrepresented groups who lack a four-year degree by highlighting diverse skills and experiences.

“If we really just truly focus on those skills — and especially those programs that are looking to upskill talent into the jobs that we’re hiring for in the future of the workforce — DE&I just plays beautifully into that because then we’re really opening up the playing field to provide access to all talent, regardless of their zip code,” Breault says.

She also played an integral with the 2023 launch of the Skills-to-Staff Professional Apprenticeship program at Yupro Placement, where she is chief delivery officer. Owned by Year Up, a nonprofit that provides training to bridge the opportunity gap in the US, Yupro Placement provides employers with inclusive workforce solutions. The Skills-to-Staff Professional Apprenticeship program is specifically geared toward opening equitable job opportunities for historically overlooked talent and creating a bridge for them to have a full-time job that offers career and economic mobility.

Inclusion is just so incredibly important to me. And the diversity of thought and perspectives and getting all of the voices into the same room is all a part of that.

In addition to Yupro Placement, Breault is chair of the American Staffing Association’s Inclusion, Diversity and Equity, and Advocacy (IDEA) Group Council.

When asked what helped her get involved in DE&I, Breault points to her Korean heritage, being adopted and growing up in a white community. Being different gave her a keen insight into the need for inclusiveness. “Inclusion is just so incredibly important to me,” she says. “And the diversity of thought and perspectives and getting all of the voices into the same room is all a part of that.”

Although DE&I can sometimes seem like a buzzword, it is extremely important to many people, she says.

“We can’t go backward,” she adds. “When I think about my own future and DE&I, I would love for this to be less of a conversation and more of something that’s happening.”