Latest News – Page 70 – The Corps Network

2013 Friends of National Service Reception

On the night of Monday, February 11^th, The Corps Network joined with friends from the broader National Service Community in the East Hall of Union Station for the Friends of National Service Reception. Sponsored by CSX, Comcast / NBC Universal, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, the event celebrated such champions of National Service as former President Bill Clinton and retired U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM). Mary Ellen Ardouny, President and CEO of The Corps Network, helped conduct the ceremony. Wendy Spencer, CEO for the Corporation for National & Community Service, spoke powerfully in a surprise special guest appearance. For a full list of winners, click here.

From Left to Right: Raghda Raphael, 2013 Corpsmember of the Year from Urban Corps of San Diego; Jorge G. Silva-Bañuelos, former staff member of Senator Jeff Bingaman; Mary Ellen Ardouny, President and CEO of The Corps Network.

Partway through the reception we heard from Raghda Raphael, a 2013 Corpsmember of the Year from Urban Corps of San Diego. Raghda delivered a moving speech about how Urban Corps helped her find her way in America. She spoke about moving to California in 2010 to escape the violence and personal tragedies her family had experienced in their native Iraq. Raghda described how the Corps helped her learn English, pass the California High School Exit Exam, and earn her high school diploma.

A gallery of photos from the Reception can be found here.

Plenary: 20 Years of National Service Success

From Left to Right: AnnMaura Connolly, President of Voices for National Service; Wendy Spencer, CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service; Carrie Hessler-Radelet, Acting Director of the Peace Corps.

This exciting session brought together three leaders from the world of National Service. AnnMaura Connolly, President of Voices for National Service, moderated a discussion between Wendy Spencer, CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service and Carrie Hessler-Radelet, Acting Director of the Peace Corps.

The passage of the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act was an early victory for National Service during President Obama’s first term, but proposed cuts have threatened funding for service programs, including domestic Corps and The Peace Corps. In addition to this key topic, Ms. Spencer and Ms. Hessler-Radelet both discussed how levels of volunteerism are at a high, and how more service opportunities should be made available in order to accommodate every American that is ready and willing to work.

Both women also shared inspiring stories about how they have personally seen the impact that service can have on service recipients and service providers. Wendy Spencer talked specifically about her time in New York and New Jersey following Superstorm Sandy. She was impressed by the fantastic work of Service and Conservation Corps that traveled across the country to provide assistance as part of a joint FEMA-AmeriCorps mission assignment. Carrie Hessler-Radelet queried the Conference audience, and discovered that many attendees were Peace Corps alumni. Facilitating reciprocal connections between the talent pipeline developed by the Peace Corps and domestic service programs like Service and Conservation Corps was a goal she addressed at length.

Alex Hreha, a 2013 Corpsmember of the Year from Coconino Rural Environment Corps, starts off the session with an inspiring speech.

Before the panel discussion, Alex Hreha, a 2013 Corpsmember of the Year, delivered an inspiring speech about how the Coconino Rural Environment Corps (CREC) helped him realized a passion for conservation. Alex talked about how he had been overweight and under-motivated throughout much of his high school career. The Corps helped him build confidence, learn valuable new skills, and develop the mindset to lose weight and get in shape.

The panelists were particularly impressed by Alex’s story. Wendy Spencer even remarked that it mirrored many of AmeriCorps objectives for outcomes for its program participants. Later on in the day she even gave a shout out to Alex on Twitter:

Plenary: A New Legacy – The 21st Century Conservation Service Corps

The 2013 Corpsmembers of the Year, pictured with members of CCC Legacy Chapter #113.

This year marks the 80^th anniversary of the founding of the Civilian Conservation Corps. The third plenary session of the conference was all about making the connection between the work of the CCC boys during the Great Depression and the work completed by Corps programs operating throughout the country today. The session started with a short film created by Lance and Brandon Kramer of the DC-based Meridian Hill Pictures documentary production company. The film captured the recollections and modern day activities of several men from CCC Legacy Chapter #113, which is based in Maryland. We were very fortunate to have several members of Chapter #113, all of whom served in the CCC over 70 years ago, in attendance at the session.

Sarah Huff, a 2013 Corpsmember of the Year from the California Conservation Corps, delivers an inspiring speech.

Following the film was a speech delivered by Sarah Huff, a 2013 Corpsmember of the Year from the California Conservation Corps. Sarah shared her story of taking time off from college just to see if the Corps might help her find direction for her future. After joining the Corps, Sarah quickly worked her way through the ranks eventually became a very skilled and trusted wild land firefighter.

The heart of the session was a panel discussion involving leaders from Corps as well as from the Department of Interior and the Department of Agriculture. The main topic of discussion was how the 21^st Century Conservation Service Corps (based off the model of the CCC) will be implemented as part of President Obama’s America’s Great Outdoors Initiative. The speakers talked about how Corps can play a critical role in restoring America’s conservation infrastructure and developing the next generation of conservation leaders.

Left to Right: Harry Bruell, Meryl Harrell, Michael Gale, Jeff Parker, Destry Jarvis

Speakers included Michael Gale, Director of the Office of Youth, Partnerships and Service at the U.S. Department of the Interior; Meryl Harrell, Senior Advisor to the Under Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture; Jeff Parker, Executive Director of Northwest Youth Corps; Destry Jarvis, President of ORAPS, LLC; and Harry Bruell, President and CEO of Southwest Conservation Corps, who served as moderator.

Workforce Investment Act Introduced in U.S. House of Representatives

From the Office of U.S. Congressman Rubén Hinojosa

Washington, D.C.- Today-Congressman Rubén Hinojosa (D-TX-15) along with Congressman John Tierney (D-MA) and ranking member of the Education and the Workforce Committee, U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA) introduced the Workforce Investment Act (WIA). The introduction of this bill is an effort to modernize WIA so as to better assist out-of-work Americans, including the long-term unemployed, and to acquire the skills that growing industries need.

“This is a critical time in the United States for American workers and adult learners to have access to the education and job training they need to increase their literacy skills and to acquire good, family sustaining jobs,” said U.S. Rep. Hinojosa. “What the Workforce Investment Act does, is it creates a 21st century delivery system for adult education and workforce training that leads to career pathways, increased educational opportunities, civic participation and economic self-sufficiency for our nation’s increasingly diverse workforce.”

WIA would help workers find jobs and careers through strategic partnerships with in-demand sector employers, community colleges, labor organizations, and non-profits.

Congressman Hinojosa added, “In my district it is especially important that we assist lower-skilled border residents who often lack basic education attainment and English proficiency to access workforce training and educational opportunities that lead to good jobs and careers.”

The Democratic substitute streamlines and improves workforce program services. It authorizes funding for President Obama’s Community College to Career Fund and expands the role of community colleges in job training. It supports integrated adult education and job training. WIA authorizes new and more targeted investments in adult education and it codifies integrated English literacy and civics education.

“This legislation connects American workers to jobs and careers in high-demand industries and sectors,” said U.S. Rep. Hinojosa. “It also supports them in acquiring industry recognized credentials, postsecondary education, employment counseling services and the support services they need to obtain employment.”

The Democratic Workforce Investment Act authorizes increased investments in technology and digital literacy, as well as enhances online training and other technological improvements which allow rural residents to receive training in high growth and high demand occupations.

Enacted in 1998, the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) created local workforce investment boards (WIB) made up of community stakeholders who decide on how to respond to local economic needs. However, supporters of workforce training programs agree that improvements to the current system are needed to make the program work better for those looking for a good job, local communities, businesses and taxpayers. The Workforce Investment Act of 2013 would accomplish this by focusing on finding workers jobs and careers through strategic partnerships with in-demand sector employers, community colleges, labor organizations, and non-profits.

Specifically, the Workforce Investment Act of 2013 would:

• Streamline and Improve Workforce Program Services

• Improve Accountability and Transparency through Performance Measures and Reporting Across Programs

• Promote Innovation and Promising Practices

• Expand the Role of Community Colleges in Job Training

• Develop a 21st Century Delivery System for Adult Education Literacy and Workplace Skills Services

• Engage Youth through Multiple Pathways to Success

• Create Competitive Employment Services and Opportunities for Individuals with Disabilities

California Conservation Corps Partners with Cuyamaca College for Green Job Training

From Scoop San Diego

Well known as a leader in all things green, from its sustainable landscaping and energy-efficient buildings to its green-career training programs, Cuyamaca College’s latest venture has youthful members of the California Conservation Corps excited about green jobs.

A pilot program put together by the college’s Continuing Education and Workforce Training Division recently linked the CCC’s San Diego center with San Diego Gas & Electric Co., providing 24 corps members 116 hours of introductory experience and training in a variety of job fields in the sustainability sector: green building retrofitting and performance, energy auditing, home-energy rating and solar photovoltaic installation.

Providing the training were local business owners in the solar panel industry, a construction company safety director, and faculty from Cuyamaca College’s Environmental Health and Safety Technology program.

Financially backed by the state chancellor’s office along with SDG&E, the training program proved so successful, with nearly 100 percent completion, that a new CCC class is being scheduled this spring.

College president Mark J. Zacovic said the program is an example of the college’s progressive philosophy of preparing today’s workforce for tomorrow’s jobs.

“We’re ecstatic over the success of this pilot program, and we’re delighted to continue to offer this class with Workforce Innovations Partnership grant funds from the state,” he said.

Molly Hughes, program manager for the college’s Workforce Innovations Partnership, also known as the Green Ventures Project, praised corps members for sticking with the pilot program through completion.

“The corps members worked their regular jobs helping protect our environment, then came to the college all day Fridays and Saturdays on their own time for three months to learn about sustainability,” she said.

Continue Reading at Scoop San Diego

Plenary: Youth Unemployment – Success Stories from Tackling a National Problem

Brandon Penny, a 2013 Corpsmember of the Year, starts off the session with an inspiring speech.

Over 6 million young Americans are unemployed or not in school. Years of research and experience have yielded important knowledge about the best ways to tackle this problem, but we still continue to learn and adapt our methods of approaching the causes of unemployment. In the second plenary of The Corps Network 2013 National Conference experts and thought leaders from partnering organizations discussed their own experiences and successes in the areas of education and workforce development. These speakers also shared their thoughts about certain aspects of the battle against youth unemployment that could still use improvement.

Speakers in this session included Jennifer Troke, Chief of the Division of Youth Services, Employment and Training Services with the U.S. Department of Labor; Livia Lam, Senior Labor Policy Advisor with the House Committee on Education and the Workforce; Elizabeth Clay Roy, Deputy Director of Opportunity Nation; and Patrice Cromwell, Director of Economic Development and Integration Initiatives with the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The conversation was moderated by Thaddeus Ferber, Vice President of Policy at the Forum for Youth Investment.

At the opening of the plenary, we heard from Brandon Penny, a 2013 Corpsmember of the Year whose story of success echoed many of the themes that the plenary speakers covered. Brandon shared his story of finding the Civicorps Learning Academy in Oakland, California after he dropped out of high school. Brandon found great success at Civicorps; he gained the respect of his peers and his superiors, earned his high school diploma, and got a job as a truck driver for the Corps’ recycling program.

Left to Right: Elizabeth Clay Roy, Patrice Cromwell, Jennifer Troke, Livia Lam, Thaddeus Ferber

Patrice Cromwell specifically talked about the research of The Annie E. Casey Foundation about “disconnected” or “Opportunity Youth” and the long-term impacts of having so many young people out of school and unemployed (see slides). Elizabeth Clay Roy then spoke about the Opportunity Index created by Opportunity Nation that correlates a number of key variables that can indicate how growing up in a specific zipcode can affect a person’s chances to have success in life. The percent of youth who were disconnected had the strongest correlation with the final Opportunity Score for a zipcode.

The next speakers focused on methods that the federal government is working to help alleviate the problem of youth unemployment. Livia Lam spoke about the opportunities and challenges in passing the Workforce Investment Act, while Jennifer Troke spoke about the youth programs and funding streams administered by the Department of Labor (see slides). Connecting Corps programs to these funding possibilities via Workforce Investment Boards is a project that was mentioned and also covered in a workshop by The Corps Network’s partners at the National Association of Workforce Boards.

The Corps Network Honors the Winners of the 2013 Corps Legacy Achievement Award

The Winners of the 2013 Corps Legacy Acheivement Award.
Left to Right: John Irish, Marilee Eckert, Ira Okun.

On the night of Sunday, February 10^th we honored our three winners of the 2013 Corps Legacy Achievement Award. This award recognizes leaders who have contributed to the Corps movement for approximately 20 or more years by serving in a senior leadership position of a corps or multiple corps, or by otherwise making Corps more effective (for instance, we have honored those who founded a corps, brought a corps to scale, made a significant national contribution through developing a national project, etc.). This year’s recipients of the Corps Legacy Achievement Award were John Irish, Marilee Eckert, and Ira Okun.

John Irish was selected for this award for his involvement in the creation and leadership of numerous Arizona-based Corps, and for his dedication to promoting Corps and Corps-friendly legislation. Here he accepts the award from Miquelle Scheier, Program Manager at Coconino Rural Environment Corps.

Marilee Eckert was selected for this award for her outstanding leadership of Conservation Corps North Bay for more than 20 years. Here she accepts the award from David Muraki, Director of the California Conservation Corps.

Ira Okun was chosen for the award for his many years of service as a consultant to The Corps Network and a number of our member Corps. Here he accepts the award from John Leong, Executive Director of KUPU Hawaii Youth Conservation Corps.