Cities like Atlanta, Birmingham and Denver are showcasing how partnership between civic leaders and philanthropy have the potential to transform lives and communities.
We’re too focused on job creation and too little on skilling. Mayors and county executives need to take on a new role in workforce development, coordinating regional efforts built around better use of data.
Kate Markin Coleman is principal of ias advising, LLC, and was an Advanced Leadership Fellow at Harvard University. She can be reached at kmcoleman@uchicago.edu.
Mayor Randall Woodfin spearheaded work in Birmingham, Ala., that analyzed data around local skills and training gaps to help identify where the city could better focus efforts to drive economic mobility.