Creating Economic Opportunity for All
United Way’s Workforce Leadership Academy is a platform for local leaders to collaboratively create shared solutions for economic opportunity for all.
About the Workforce Leadership Academy
Academy Fellows take part in an immersive, yearlong learning experience aimed at reinforcing and rebuilding workforce development ecosystems and creating shared solutions.
In partnership with The Aspen Institute, the Academy includes a year-long curated series of retreats, workshops, and action learning projects to foster collaborative efforts among local leaders.
In their journey, our Fellows engage with prominent practitioners from around the nation, elevating their networks, honing their systems leadership skills, and applying transformative frameworks centered on race, equity, and systems change.
Academy alumni become part of the Aspen Institute’s Economic Opportunity Fellows Network, joining Fellows across the U.S. and Canada.
Academy alumni become part of the Aspen Institute’s Economic Opportunity Fellows Network, joining Fellows from 14 Academies in 11 cities in the U.S. and Canada.
About the Aspen Insitute Economic Opportunities Program
The Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program (EOP) advances promising strategies and policies to help low- and moderate-income people connect to and thrive in a changing economy.
Over its 25 years of work, EOP has focused on expanding opportunities for individuals seeking to achieve quality employment, start a business, build assets, and attain economic stability. This initiative is made possible by the generous support of Walmart, and The Ralph C. Wilson, Jr Foundation.
Based in Washington DC, The Aspen Institute is an educational and policy studies organization with a mission to create a diverse worldwide community of leaders committed to the greater good and provide a nonpartisan forum for reaching solutions on vital public policy issues.
Past Local Advisory Council Members
Eli Allen
Senior Program Director, Civic Works
Elaine Carroll
Vice President of Strategic Initiatives, Jane Addams Resource Corporation
Sara Cooper
Senior Associate, The Annie E. Casey Foundation
Linda Dworak
Director, Baltimore Workforce Funders Collaborative
Jermaine Jones
Director, Baltimore-D.C. Building & Construction Trades Council
Kendra Rice Parlock
Vice President, Partnership Development, NPower
Jason Perkins-Cohen
Deputy Secretary, Maryland Department of Labor
Louise Slezak
Dean, Continuing Education and Workforce Development, Community College of Baltimore County
Alex Smith
Founder, Division Street Landscaping
Academy Goals
The Academy engages workforce leaders in a yearlong peer learning cohort to:
Expand and deepen professional networks and partnerships
Strengthen organizational and systems leadership skills
Apply a race and equity lens to assess and improve workforce services and strategies
Implement systems change frameworks to Fellows’ work
Deepen understanding of effective strategies and programs
Work collaboratively to identify local systems-based challenges and create shared solutions
