39 min
Moving $3 Billion Boulders to Invest in American Communities Profiles in Public Service
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- Government
The third season of “Profiles in Public Service” is off to an exciting start as we highlight all that our federal government does to strengthen local communities across America.
In our first episode, Craig Buerstatte, a program and policy leader at the Economic Development Administration, shares how he and his team managed to equitably distribute $3 billion in American Rescue Plan funding to 780 projects that assist local communities in creating more robust and resilient regional economies. These efforts included the EDA’s $500 million Good Jobs Challenge, led by Lauren Starks, and benefited organizations like the Illinois-based nonprofit, Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership, led by Patrick Combs.
Buerstatte, Starks and Combs discuss why they work in public service, what they have learned about enabling economic development at the local level, and how they have built community-informed projects that bring together diverse partners to support the U.S. workforce.
A transcript for this episode is available here.
Additional Resources:
Learn more about the EDA’s distribution of American Rescue Plan funding.
Learn more about the Good Jobs Challenge.
Press Release: U.S. Department of Commerce Invests $18.5 Million to Strengthen Workforce Training Programs in Chicago, Illinois, Through American Rescue Plan Good Jobs Challenge.
Read more about Service to America Medals Winner Philip Rosenfelt.
The third season of “Profiles in Public Service” is off to an exciting start as we highlight all that our federal government does to strengthen local communities across America.
In our first episode, Craig Buerstatte, a program and policy leader at the Economic Development Administration, shares how he and his team managed to equitably distribute $3 billion in American Rescue Plan funding to 780 projects that assist local communities in creating more robust and resilient regional economies. These efforts included the EDA’s $500 million Good Jobs Challenge, led by Lauren Starks, and benefited organizations like the Illinois-based nonprofit, Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership, led by Patrick Combs.
Buerstatte, Starks and Combs discuss why they work in public service, what they have learned about enabling economic development at the local level, and how they have built community-informed projects that bring together diverse partners to support the U.S. workforce.
A transcript for this episode is available here.
Additional Resources:
Learn more about the EDA’s distribution of American Rescue Plan funding.
Learn more about the Good Jobs Challenge.
Press Release: U.S. Department of Commerce Invests $18.5 Million to Strengthen Workforce Training Programs in Chicago, Illinois, Through American Rescue Plan Good Jobs Challenge.
Read more about Service to America Medals Winner Philip Rosenfelt.
39 min