Rob Carmona, currently Principal in the consulting practice, Carmona Connect, is also a Co-Founder of STRIVE, Inc, a National Workforce Development Agency headquartered in East Harlem, NY with multiple sites scattered across the US. He served as its Chief Executive Officer from 1986 through 2011, transforming the agency from a modest East Harlem based organization into a national organization recognized as a leader in the Workforce Sector.

Prior to STRIVE, Rob held a number of positions in New York City’s nonprofit community including: Adolescent Counselor at the Court Employment Project (now known as CASES), Senior Counselor at The Family School (a Brooklyn based alternative high school), Assistant Director of Agency Relations at the Greater New York Fund/United Way, Senior Planner for the NYC Volunteer Corps and Director of Marketing and EAP Programs at The Wildcat Service Corporation.

A New York City native, he’s a graduate of the College of New Rochelle, earning a Baccalaureate Degree in 1979, and, subsequently, a Masters of Science in Social Work, with a Minor in Business Administration from Columbia University in 1982.

Appointed by then Mayor, Michael Bloomberg, he sat on the Advisory Board of the New York City Young Men’s Initiative (YMI) and was also appointed by then Governor Andrew Cuomo, to the NYS Workforce Investment Board (WIB). He also served on the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships and was an informal advisor to the Secretaries of Labor in both the Clinton and Obama Administrations. At that time he was a frequent speaker at conferences and panels on issues related to Workforce Development, Fatherhood and Responsible Parenting, Re-entry, College in Prison and other social issues affecting young men and women of color. Carmona was also a Co-Founder of a  number of prominent local and national organizations: the National Skills Coalition (NSC) and LIFT, Inc., both based in Washington D.C., but serving a national clientele. In NYC he Co-Founded the NYC Employment and Training Coalition as well as the Bronx-based, national organization Per Scholas, Inc. He also serves on the board of Visions and Pathways.