The Comeback: Austin17House Training Academy

Jumpstart your future with the Austin17House Training Academy.

This summer, Austin17House is proud to launch the revival of our Austin17House Training Academy, aimed at equipping young people with the skills, confidence, and real-world readiness they need to thrive in today’s workforce.

Last year we successfully launched our Training Academy Pilot, where we invested our time in working with our youth to develop a tool that would help youth learn the basics of being in business and how to be a successful employee. Thanks to the participation and feedback of our youth, we were able to develop something that will make a difference differently.

“We’re not just launching a program,” said Executive Director Lindsey Messina. “We’re investing in young people, and that’s the best kind of investment a community can make.”

Meet our Training Academy Coordinator

Faina Bukher, Training Academy Coordinator

Meet Faina

Behind the scenes of this exciting effort is Faina Bukher, Founder of Twinbell Launch Partners, LLC, which is aimed at unlocking and leveraging the potential of a new and existing workforce. Faina joined Austin17House in June to help build up the Training Academy, which was developed by its Executive Director, Lindsey Messina and Board Member, Frank Stifter. With deep experience in program design, workforce development, and youth empowerment, she brings both heart and strategy to this collaborative project. From day one, her focus has been clear: build something that reflects the needs, voices, and potential of the young people we serve.

What are we working on?

Over the course of six months, Faina is working closely with the A17H team to create a scalable, accessible, and high-impact curriculum. As a foundation-setting course, Workforce Basics includes three core focuses:

1. Adulting 101

2. People Skills

3. Workplace Readiness

Each session is designed not just to inform, but to engage, drawing on real experiences, practical tools, and plenty of space for participants to reflect and connect.

“What makes this work different,” Faina shared, “is the commitment to putting people at the center in how we do things. It’s not just about checking boxes. It’s about creating something meaningful, something impactful and something that participants can feel ownership of.”

-Faina, A17H Training Academy Coordinator

This program emphasizes the importance of making education and career opportunities accessible to all who come through our door. Through her consulting practice, Faina champions human-centered design, a framework that puts the end-user at the core of every solution. This approach is helping Austin17House not only build curriculum but also design evaluation tools, attendance systems, and recruitment strategies that actually work for our community.

What's coming up? Workforce Basics!

Workforce Basics is a hands-on, real-world experience for teens ages 15 to 18 (and motivated 14-year-olds), spread across 40 hours of learning, practice, and figuring things out. It’s where we get real about adulting and learn what it takes to land and keep a job. You’ll practice how to show up, speak up, and step up at work and in life, while building the core skills every first job (and every future boss) will expect. Most of all, you’ll walk away with confidence and a sense of direction.

First 3-Month Session coming SEPTEMBER 2025!

• Pre-Orientation & Orientation—Friday, September 12th & Monday, September 15th

• Real-World Activities—September through November 2025

• Skill-Building Sessions—September through November 2025

  • Session 1: Adulting 101

  • Session 2: People Skills

  • Session 3: Workplace Readiness

• Wrap-Up Session—November 2025

SAVE THE DATE: INFO SESSION

Friday, August 22 | 6:00 - 7:00PM

Where: Austin17House, 263 Route 125 Brentwood NH

Learn more: https://www.austin17house.org/training-academy-for-attendees 

Thank you Exeter Hospital & Beth Israel Hospital!

The initiative has been generously seed-funded by Exeter Hospital & Beth Israel Hospital. This initiative helps further both of our goals of providing mental and behavioral health services and access to care for underserved populations.

We’re excited to share what we’re learning and even more excited for what’s ahead.

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