About Derick Bowers

Leadership is about what you make possible.

I believe the most consequential work happens when people, institutions, and ideas come together around a shared purpose.

Read my story ↓
Derick Bowers wearing a blue suit and white shirt

Cross-sector executive leadership

Partnerships   /   Public engagement   /   Economic opportunity
My story

My career has been shaped by a simple conviction: lasting progress requires more than a good idea. It requires the right people at the table—and the ability to move them toward action.

Across business services, workforce development, and public-facing leadership, I have worked at the intersection of organizational strategy, institutional relationships, and economic opportunity. I am most energized by the moments when a complex challenge becomes a shared agenda—and a shared agenda becomes a measurable result.

As Executive Vice President of Business Services at Goodwill NYNJ and Executive Director of GoodTemps, I led a business that connected talent with public-sector employers while navigating the demands of growth, service delivery, and mission. The role required more than operational leadership. It called for building trust with government partners, aligning internal teams, advancing new initiatives, and representing the organization in rooms where decisions are made.

That work reinforced something I have believed throughout my career: partnerships are not simply relationships to maintain. They are a way to create possibilities that no single organization can deliver alone.

The perspective behind the leadership

Where I come from shapes how I lead.

“Opportunity can change a life. Leadership can change the conditions that make opportunity possible.”

I grew up in Canarsie, Brooklyn, where I learned early that talent and potential are everywhere, even when access and opportunity are not. That perspective has stayed with me throughout my career. It is part of why I pay attention not only to who is in the room, but also to who has yet to be invited in.

At Howard University, I studied communications and developed a deeper appreciation for the power of ideas, storytelling, community, and leadership. Those experiences helped shape how I approach complex challenges: listen closely, understand different perspectives, and find common ground that can lead to action.

My professional path has taken me into executive leadership, government partnerships, organizational growth, and innovation. Across those settings, the through line has remained the same: connect people and institutions, build trust, and turn possibility into tangible progress.

That is the perspective I bring to every partnership and leadership opportunity today—a belief that ambitious outcomes and a commitment to expanding access can strengthen each other.

How I lead

A philosophy built on connection and execution.

Build trust first.

Meaningful influence begins with listening, credibility, and a genuine understanding of what matters to others.

Connect the dots.

The strongest opportunities often emerge across sectors, disciplines, and networks that do not usually work together.

Make progress visible.

Vision matters—but lasting leadership is measured by what people and institutions are able to accomplish together.

Experience & perspective

From institutional leadership to broader influence.

My experience includes executive responsibility for business performance and growth, engagement with city and state agencies, and collaboration with corporate and nonprofit partners. My experience also includes board service with New York State Industries for the Disabled (NYSID), bringing a practitioner’s perspective to conversations about inclusive employment and public procurement.

I have helped advance practical innovation, including leading the GoodTemps-side implementation and adoption of an AI-powered résumé builder developed with Microsoft and Goodwill technology leadership. Experiences like this inform my interest in how emerging technology can strengthen—not diminish—economic opportunity.

Today, I am focused on opportunities to help organizations shape strategy, build influential partnerships, navigate change, and engage the public issues that will define their future.

Previous executive roles and board service are described as historical experience; current affiliations should be confirmed before publication.

Leadership in conversation

Connection starts with listening.

Across my career, I've valued opportunities to engage directly with people across organizations and communities, learn from different perspectives, and build common ground.

Derick Bowers participating in a group panel conversation
Derick Bowers photographed with U.S. Representative Hakeem Jeffries
Civic leadership

Relationships built through engagement.

My approach to leadership has been informed by time spent listening, connecting, and engaging with decision-makers across public, nonprofit, and business institutions.

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What comes next

Let's turn shared ambition into impact.

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