Degan Mercado Leopold on Building Better Talent Pipelines

"Don’t ask what’s needed of you. Find the need and fulfill it.”That idea has shaped Degan Mercado Leopold’s career across social impact, public service, diversity recruiting, philanthropy, politics, and now her work as Chief Partnerships Officer at the New York Jobs CEO Council. In this episode of The NYC Workforce Drop, Greg Morris sits down with Degan to talk about what it takes to build a workforce system that creates real pathways to opportunity - not just one-off connections.The conversation explores the role of the New York Jobs CEO Council as an employer-led intermediary working across business, education, and talent development. Degan talks about CUNY, New York City Public Schools, work-based learning, internships, early-career hiring, and why public talent pipelines are essential to New York City’s economic future.Greg and Degan also dig into the human side of systems change: the durable skills that often go unnamed, the role of identity and belonging in accessing opportunity, why employer engagement should be treated as core economic infrastructure, and what it will take to build a more coordinated workforce system that gives more New Yorkers real access, real support, and real choices about what comes next.Produced by: Manhattan Neighborhood NetworkPublished by: New York City Employment and Training CoalitionTopics: New York Jobs CEO Council; workforce development; economic mobility; public-private partnerships; employer engagement; CUNY; New York City Public Schools; career-connected learning; internships; talent pipelines; durable skills; systems change; New York City