FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Evan Haddad
Public Information Officer
ehaddad@goed.nv.gov 775.684.9973
November 19, 2025
CARSON CITY, Nev. – The Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) announced today that the agency’s Individual Career Mapping (ICM) initiative has strengthened its presence across the state after successfully training new program administrators, thereby expanding access to ICM resources in Nevada’s rural communities, which will help residents to more effectively navigate the job market while empowering them to find meaningful careers.
Three community-facing staff members at Community Chest, a nonprofit agency that supports rural Nevada residents, have successfully completed the ICM process and earned their National Career Readiness Certificates (NCRC). This achievement lays the groundwork for deploying this proven career-readiness program to the rural clients they serve.
The staff members who earned the credential are:
- Shaunte Ibara, Director of Community Services
- Jessica Harris, HR & Finance Assistant and General Community Health Worker
- Jocelyn Lozano, Administrative Assistant and General Community Health Worker
As Community Health Workers and service leaders, these newly trained staff members are frontline supporters for residents in Storey and Mineral counties. Their completion of the program demonstrates a strong commitment to understanding the ICM process from the client’s perspective.
“The fact that Shaunte, Jessica, and Jocelyn championed this program and completed it themselves, before ever asking a client to take it, speaks volumes about their character and professionalism,” said Tammy Westergard, GOED Workforce Librarian in Residence who leads the statewide ICM program. “They now have first-hand knowledge of its challenges and benefits, making them incredibly effective guides for their clients. This is the ideal way to launch a program, with integrity and proven success from day one.”
ICM enhances labor market literacy among these leaders, enabling them to deliver the program effectively while also helping clients understand the importance of this knowledge in a dynamic economy.
Community Chest serves as the essential home agency for rural Nevadans, coordinating resources and case-managing needs when residents can’t be served elsewhere. Integrating the ICM program is a natural extension of this mission, providing a direct pathway to vet, prepare, and connect clients with employment and education opportunities.
“We are incredibly proud of our team. Their dedication to this process will directly benefit the residents of Hawthorne, Lockwood, and Storey County,” said Shaunte Ibara, director of Community Services. “By earning our NCRCs, we can confidently tell our clients that this program is a valuable tool for their future. We are now finalizing plans to launch our first client cohorts and look forward to celebrating their success as they earn this powerful credential.”
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About the Governor’s Office of Economic Development
Created during the 2011 session of the Nevada Legislature, the Governor’s Office of Economic Development is the result of a collaborative effort between the Nevada Legislature and the Governor’s Office to restructure economic development in the state. GOED’s role is to promote a robust, diversified and prosperous economy in Nevada, to stimulate business expansion and retention, encourage entrepreneurial enterprises, attract new businesses and facilitate community development.