Learning Together: Building Readiness Before the Moment Matters

[Tamara Gulley]

Hello Georgia LEARNS community,

I’m Tamara Gulley. Boardy introduced me to Paul, and that connection led me here. Paul spoke about this community work as a puzzle, with each of us bringing a piece. That stayed with me. No one person or organization sees the whole workforce challenge, but we may see more, and build better, when we put our pieces on the table together.

At a recent TPM conference in Washington, D.C., I listened to leaders from different communities describe very different workforce realities. Some are working to strengthen the pipeline earlier by reaching students in K-12 and pre-college programs. Others are focused on later transition points, supporting people entering or reentering the workforce, including returning citizens, career changers, and those preparing for new levels of responsibility.

What struck me was not a single solution, but the friction between each stage. The friction between learning and application. Between potential and opportunity. Between being qualified and being able to communicate that readiness when the conversation matters.

That is the question I keep coming back to: How do we help people build readiness before the moment asks them to prove it?

That question is also what led me to build Interview Savvy, an AI-powered interview-readiness platform designed around the specific role a person is pursuing. It combines targeted preparation with dynamic mock interviews and live, face-to-face AI simulations that ask questions, listen, follow up, and respond in real time. The goal is not to replace human coaching or human judgment. It is to give people a place to practice under realistic pressure, reflect on what happened, and strengthen both the substance of their answers and how they communicate their value.

I joined Georgia LEARNS to listen, learn, and collaborate. I am excited to connect with people who are thinking across education, workforce development, technology, and economic mobility.

I would love to hear from you:

• Where does your community experience the greatest friction in the workforce pipeline?
• Which transition point needs more attention?
• What could we build together that none of us could build alone?

I look forward to learning with you and exploring what we might build together.

Tamara

[Paul Terlemezian]

Tamara, the friction that I am sensing is related to trust. Who do we trust? Why do we trust? Who trusts us? Do we trust ourselves (imposter syndrome anyone?)

[Paul Terlemezian]

The concept of friction relates well to this session:

Monday, November 2, 2026 4:00 - 4:45  Value Creation     GLN Insights