Lillian Wald Certification Graduation
By Henry Street Settlement
Lillian Wald Certification program fourth cohort.
Lillian Wald Certification participants volunteering during lunchtime at Henry Street’s Older Adult Center.
The Lillian Wald Certification program graduated its fourth cohort of team members on Wednesday, December 10, 2025, at an emotional ceremony at the Settlement’s headquarters.
The certification program, named for Henry Street’s founder, is a home-grown professional-development program begun in 2023 as a way for team members to more deeply understand the agency’s more-than 50 programs, get to know their colleagues, and ultimately make better referrals and connections for participants.
Over four months, participants visited many of Henry Street’s 18 sites, receiving immersive overviews of the organization’s services from program leaders and learning about the Settlement’s history. They also heard from Henry Street’s CEO, CFO, and board co-chair about how the organization operates—its values, finances, and governance. Perhaps most memorably, they volunteered at the Older Adult Center and in an ESOL class—an experience that many participants identified as transformative in their understanding of how Henry Street does its work and in their commitment to their jobs.
Lillian Wald Certification participants volunteering during lunchtime at Henry Street’s Older Adult Center.
“Volunteering in these programs was pivotal,” said Bryan Wallerson, Henry Street’s director of information technology. “Coming into my role, I needed to know what happens in all the sites. But, a computer being down in one site means a different thing from a computer being down in another site.”
“It was great to interact with our [ESOL] students, because, besides our mission, they’re the biggest asset we have.”
Added Dianette Caraballo, outreach and retention specialist for two workforce programs—Job Essentials Training and On Ramps to Opportunities—“It was great to interact with our [ESOL] students, because, besides our mission, they’re the biggest asset we have.”
Participants ranged from those who have joined Henry Street over the past year to those who have been at the organization for decades.
The program is the brainchild of President & CEO David Garza with Public Historian Katie Vogel. Garza has always said that the front desk worker at a Henry Street site should be the most knowledgeable person about programming both within that siteor elsewhere in the agency, even if it means walking a visitor to another location and making an introduction.
“Not many places let you go beyond the scope of your job [to help people]. This made me feel even more empathetic and passionate about my work.”
“Warm handoffs,” noted participant Julia Etheridge, are a Henry Street trademark. “Not many places let you go beyond the scope of your job [to help people]. This made me feel even more empathetic and passionate about my work.”
Past participants in the Lillian Wald Certification program have gone on to create new linkages between families in Henry Street’s family shelters and arts classes at the agency’s Abrons Arts Center, for example. “These are the types of connections that can come about when team members know their colleagues personally and truly understand the scope of what we can offer our participants,” said Vogel.
