Meet Our Team

With over 4 years of experience in workforce development, Darren brings a wealth of experience in career readiness. Before joining WPTI, Darren worked at COOP Careers where he oversaw Recruiting and Program Managing operations. Throughout his overall experience, he was fortunate enough to partner alongside numerous academic/community-based organizations in assisting college graduates find job mobility in media and tech fields. Darren is a proud CUNY Alum having earned his BA in Political Science from CUNY Brooklyn College.

With more than 20 years experience in workforce development and academic technology, Dan Salemson returned to a full-time role with WPTI in April 2021 to lead the organization's presence in the digital space, overseeing expansion of virtual training and services that will enable workforce programs to operate better, faster, and more cost efficiently.

Dan has provided workforce and youth development consulting to a range of governmental and non-profit organizations since 2010, with a special focus on working with job seekers who have criminal histories. From 2006 until 2010, he served as senior Training & Projects Manager for Workforce Professionals Training Institute, where he developed and delivered training workshops and customized technical assistance on every area of workforce development to thousands of workforce practitioners from hundreds of non-profit, for-profit and government entities in New York City and beyond.

From 2004-2006, Dan served as Director of Workforce Development for the Midtown Community Court, an official branch of the New York State Court System, overseeing the court’s on-site employment preparation program that connected hundreds of formerly incarcerated individuals to employment annually. Prior to entering the workforce development field, he worked as an Academic Technology Specialist for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, helping professors integrate digital tools into their courses, and retains a strong interest in the potential of technology to broaden opportunity and lift people out of poverty. He completed the year-long Public / Private Ventures Workforce Leaders Academy in 2006.

Dan has authored numerous curricula and guides around creating opportunities for job seekers with barriers to employment, including WPTI’s Getting the RAP Down: Employment Strategies for New Yorkers with Criminal Records (2010).

Christopher joined WPTI in 2022 after working in New York City government for over seven years, most recently at the Mayor’s Office of Community Mental Health and before that at the Department of Youth and Community Development. He brings his experience supporting community-based organizations, developing and maintaining strategic partnerships, developing and facilitating training, providing clinical mental health services, and other areas to WPTI with the goal of helping others however possible.

During his time at the Mayor's Office of Community Mental Health, he served as a Senior Manager on the Strategic Partnerships team. In that role, Christopher developed engagement strategies and identified emerging opportunities to enhance the mental health capacity of New Yorkers and organizations to promote mental health and reduce barriers to mental health support. He also worked on Thrive in Your Workplace, an initiative that helped local employers strengthen their workplace mental health strategy.
While at the Department of Youth and Community Development, he worked as a Program Manager for Cornerstone Programs, community centers located in NYCHA public housing developments. In addition, Christopher also worked with the Mayor's Youth Leadership Council, the Young Men's Initiative, and other youth-related initiatives.

Christopher earned his Master's in Social Work from New York University's Silver School of Social Work and his Bachelor's Degree in Sociology from Morehouse College.

Yanni joined WPTI in 2020. His career spans over 20 years in the nonprofit and private sectors in the U.S. and Europe. Yanni is a multi-disciplinary leader with expertise in workforce development, project management, business strategy, retail management, talent development, and stakeholder engagement. He brings a passion for supporting and guiding workforce development practitioners, leveraging the adoption of new technologies, transforming the workforce development field, improving processes, and creating economic opportunities in underserved communities.

In his recent role as Director of Strategic Initiatives at Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow (OBT), Yanni served as a strategic partner working with cross-functional teams, board members and stakeholders to develop initiatives that create access to jobs, education, and trainings for local communities across New York City. In addition, he led the Innovation Lab - a public-private partnership that included Industry City, workforce agencies and New York City College of Technology.

Prior to OBT, Yanni managed the workforce development program for Good Old Lower East Side (GOLES). He was a key contributor in developing the infrastructure for the Lower East Side Employment Network (LESEN) - an innovative collaboration of workforce development agencies that work in partnership to meet business hiring needs and support candidate supply. He is active in the Romanian-American community and a founding member of the Romanian-American Business Council (RABC).

Yanni is a graduate of Cornell University with a master’s degree in Industrial and Labor Relations. He holds a B.S. in Business Management and Economics from SUNY Empire State College, and is a credentialed Global Career Development Facilitator (GCDF).

Ms. Vaghy is a nonprofit leader and national workforce development expert with over 20 years of experience designing and managing workforce, education, college, and social service programs. From 2007-2020, Ms. Vaghy led The Door’s career and education service department, helping to shape nationally recognized workforce development, education and college access services for in-school and out-of-school youth, including This Way Ahead, a unique retail sector training and internship program with The Gap, Inc., and Learn and Earn to Achieve Potential (LEAP), an Annie E. Casey Foundation and Social Innovation Fund initiative to improve college matriculation and persistence outcomes for homeless and system-involved youth. Prior to The Door, Ms. Vaghy was the Deputy Director of Client Services at Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation, where she developed nationally recognized workforce, entrepreneurial, employment support, immigration, and early childhood education programs including one of the first US Department of Labor-funded welfare to work initiatives, a licensed family daycare network, and one of the largest IRS-sponsored free tax preparation clinics in the United States. In 2008, she was a recipient of the second annual Emerging Social Work Leaders Award from NASW-NYC. Ms. Vaghy holds a Master of Science in Social Work from Columbia University with a concentration in Social Administration and Occupational Social Work and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Communications from the University of Michigan.

Ms. Sewell-Fairman joined WPTI in 2010 and was appointed Executive Director in October 2012. She brings over 20 years of workforce development experience at the local, state, and national level through roles with the Consortium for Worker Education, New York Association of Training & Employment Professionals, New York City Employment & Training Coalition, National Association of Workforce Boards in Washington, D.C., and Wadley-Donovan Growth Tech, LLC.

Ms. Sewell-Fairman holds a BA in English from State University at Albany, an MBA in International Business from the University of Maryland University College, a Certificate in International Business Studies from the University of Antwerp in Belgium, and a Certificate of Business Excellence, Senior Leaders Program for Non-profit Professionals from Columbia University. She serves currently on the Board of Directors for Day One New York.

With over 15 years of experience in youth and workforce development prior to joining us in 2016, Sabeen brings a wealth of frontline and leadership experience to the training room. She oversaw the daily operations of The Door’s Bronx Youth Center, managed a “Learning to Work” program site, created a Sheltered Internship Program model for young adults with a dual diagnosis, and placed hundreds of young people into internships and employment at FEGS Health and Human Services. She also helped youths launch social ventures through Ashoka’s Youth Venture. She earned a BS in Public Health Education from Indiana University.

Justin joined us in 2019 after spending five years in the economic and workforce development sector at Southwest Brooklyn Industrial Development Corporation (SBIDC). He served as the Director of Workforce Development and as the Director of Strategic Partnerships, working closely with jobseekers, businesses, community groups, and other key stakeholders in the industrial waterfront neighborhoods of Sunset Park, Red Hook, and Gowanus to build a stronger local economy and create good jobs for low- and moderate-income residents. Prior to that, he worked as a lawyer, practicing commercial litigation in New York City. A longtime Brooklyn resident, Justin is a member of Brooklyn’s Community Board 7, as well as the Junior Leadership Board of Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow (OBT), a youth development organization with sites across New York City. He received his BA in Urban Studies from the University of Pennsylvania and his JD from Brooklyn Law School.