Staff

Della M. Walker, Jr. is the Director of Newark 2020. A Newark, New Jersey native and veteran management professional, Della has over twenty years of experience in operations, business development, training, coaching, and workforce development. Della is a natural-born visionary thinker with an entrepreneurial spirit, who specializes in operational excellence, process improvement, contract negotiations, and strategic planning. In her current role, Della leads the Alliance’s HR Roundtable promoting equitable hiring as an essential hiring practice. She works with our employer partners to implement policies and practices that create cultural shifts towards more equitable, diverse, and inclusive workplaces. 

Prior to joining Newark Alliance, Della served as the Program Coordinator of NewarkWORKS, the Mayor’s Office of Employment, where she launched training programs with PSEG, Rising Tide Capital-Returning Citizens, NJMEP, Essex County College, and Clara Maass Medical Center. 

Della is a servant leader who is passionate about Newark, the economic empowerment of its residents, and creating communities of change and diverse corporations that reflect the communities they serve.

Glenn Best serves as the Director of CareerWorks. He serves as the Convener for the Greater Newark Workforce Funders Collaborative and works with regional and national funders, local/regional officials, industry representatives, and key employers to strengthen partnerships and build effective talent pipelines and career pathways for low and mid-skilled jobseekers and incumbent workers in the Greater Newark area.

He leads strategic planning activities and develops implementation strategies to appropriately invest collaborative funds in workforce activities that will achieve maximum impact. Develops, launches and sustains employer-led training models for in-demand occupations that lead to industry-valued credentials. Ensures collaborative action among funders, regional Workforce Development Boards (WDB), educational entities, and other training partners to ensure the regional workforce development system is achieving collaborative goals.

Best Co-Facilitates the Newark Career Technical Education Network by working regularly with Schools That Can (STC) Newark to create structure/strategy, and coordinate working groups to actualize and expand industry engagement with Newark schools. Supporting the development of training programming with employers and work with workforce training providers to implement programming suitable for preparing jobseekers for a broad range of opportunities within targeted industries.

Sibu is a seasoned public servant committed to mobilizing disenfranchised communities through public policy and partnerships. She holds over ten years of professional experience in public affairs, community relations, volunteer management, and fundraising. As NAC Director, Sibu is responsible for developing and directing collective NAC action, as well as managing the Newark Live Local housing incentive program.

Prior to the Newark Alliance, Sibu served as National Urban Fellow in the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Department at Prudential. Previously, Sibu served as Executive Director for the Massachusetts Black and Latino Legislative Caucus (MBLLC) where she was responsible for defining, highlighting, and analyzing issues affecting people of color in Massachusetts. Under her leadership, the MBLLC secured several policy victories in the state budget, criminal justice reform, cannabis regulation, equal pay, and racial justice legislation.

Prior to the MBLLC, Sibu held roles in the Office of Senator Chang-Diaz (D-MA), Governor Deval Patrick’s re-election campaign, and educational nonprofits. Sibu holds a B.A. in History and English Communications from Emmanuel College, an M.A. in Public Policy from Tufts University (Neighborhood Fellow), and an M.A. in Public Administration from Baruch College (National Urban Fellow).

Kaili Baucum Sanderson is a non-profit leader, serving educational institutions for nearly two decades.

Prior to coming to the Newark Alliance, Kaili has had the privilege of working at some of the country's top non-profit organizations on educational challenges in districts across the country. These organizations include PDK, International, American University, The Panasonic Foundation, Teach for America. Kaili was also the Founding Executive Director of Pallus, a non-profit organization, focused on growing the number of minority students in top tier colleges.

Kaili began her education career with Teach for America at P.S. 28 in the South Bronx, where she taught third and fifth grade students. Kaili is a proud Plainfield, New Jersey native; holds a Ph.D. in Education Policy from Rutgers University-Newark, a Master's Degree in Secondary Social Studies from Teachers College, Columbia University and a Bachelor's degree in Public Policy Studies from Duke Un