The National League of Cities (NLC) invited the Austin Chamber of Commerce and City of Austin to participate in their National Briefing on Building Equitable Pathways to Postsecondary and Workforce Success. Austin was recognized as one of six cities selected by the National League of Cities to participate in a two-year process to develop strategies to improve access and eliminate barriers to higher education and gaining meaningful employment. The Chamber’s DTC70 Business and Education Partnership with school districts improve direct-to-college enrollment and collaboration with the City of Austin, ACC, and Workforce Solutions to align strategies scaling the impact of the Austin Master Community Workforce Plan were highlighted as ongoing efforts aiming to close skill and opportunity gaps in Central Texas.

Dr. Jill Biden, Second Lady of the United States (2009-2017) and Honorary Co-chair, The Biden Foundation, delivered a keynote highlighting ongoing efforts in Austin, Corpus Christi, Houston, Charleston, Jacksonville, and Nashvil—the six cities selected by the NLC to participate in their Equitable Pathways to Postsecondary and Workforce Success initiative.

Gilbert Zavala, VP of Education and Talent Development for the Chamber, participated on a panel of national thought leaders including Dr. Martha Kanter, NYU Senior Fellow and Executive Director of the College Promise Campaign, Dr. Sara Goldrick-Rab, Founder of Wisconsin HOPE Lab, Sarita Brown, Executive Director of Excelencia in Education, and James Hermes, Associate Vice President of Government Relations, American Association of Community Colleges to discuss policies, practices and strategies to improve equity in educational and workforce outcomes for students.

John Michael Cortez, Special Assistant to Austin Mayor Steve Adler, joined a municipal leaders panel including Mindy Sturm, Director, Mayor’s Office for Children, Youth, and Families, City of Charleston, Dr. Janet Cunningham, Executive Director, Citizens for Educational Excellence, City of Corpus Christi, Juliet Stipeche, Senior Community Liaison, Mayor’s Office of Education, City of Houston, Dawn Lockhart, Director of Strategic Partnerships, City of Jacksonville, and Laura Moore, Senior Advisor for Education, City of Nashville to discuss regional strategies addressing affordability and equity challenges for students and unemployed/underemployed adults.

For more information, read the press release here.

Image Credit: National League of Cities