The Institute for Scientist & Engineer Educators (ISEE) is a national effort to improve STEM education and workforce development by transforming how the next generation of scientists and engineers teach and mentor. Housed at the University of California, Santa Cruz, ISEE is the legacy of the educational side of the Center for Adaptive Optics (CfAO), a decade-long NSF-funded Science and Technology Center. The Professional Development Program (PDP) is the flagship program of ISEE and is the central driving force behind the Akamai Workforce Initiative (AWI), which aims to meet high-tech workforce needs in Hawai'i. This brief presents a third-party, external perspective on the design of ISEE and the PDP, its relationship to the Akamai Workforce Initiative, and the contributions of the PDP to local workforce development at multiple levels. It also distills broader design lessons that may be of interest to other STEM workforce development initiatives. [This brief complements two related briefs: (1) "Contributions of the Akamai Workforce Initiative" (ED558168); and (2) "The Design and Evolution of the Akamai Workforce Initiative: An External Review" (ED558167).]