OpportunityNation http://www.opportunitynation.org/ | News

Opportunity Nation Leader John Sharify Wins Regional Emmy

2013-06-19T18:29:18+00:00

We are pleased to announce that Opportunity Leader John Sharify, General Manager of Seattle Community Colleges Television, has won a Regional Emmy for his 2012 report, "The New Poor" for KING 5 News Seattle.

Opportunity Nation: Help young Americans reach economic mobility

2013-06-12T20:02:39+00:00

In our democracy, we teach our children to speak up for themselves. We sign petitions, attend school board meetings, slap bumper stickers on our cars. We vote. Every day, millions of Americans exercise their cherished constitutional rights in ways large and small — our freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and the freedom to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

As Congress struggles with gridlock, partisan division and pressures exerted by paid lobbyists, it is more vital than ever that our commonsense voices are heard on critical issues facing our nation and its future. This is particularly true if we are to expand economic mobility to more Americans — a goal with bipartisan support and growing urgency in the global economy.

At Opportunity Nation, we believe it will take all of us, working together, to achieve this goal. One of the most powerful tools we have as Americans is citizen advocacy. We can all support programs and policies that are designed to accelerate economic, educational and civic well-being and bring them to the attention of our elected officials.

Rob Denson on Great Day Iowa KCWI

2013-06-11T19:58:03+00:00

President Rob Denson, Des Moines Area Community College, previews Opportunity Nation's first Hill Day

The Talk Station 107.1 FM Interview with Mark Edwards and Opportunity Leader Trevor Brownlow

2013-06-11T14:22:11+00:00

Lockwood Phillips, host of ViewPoints on The Talk Station, discusses Opportunity Nation's Hill Day and the Opportunity Nation campaign.

Listen to the interview here!

El Paso must enhance prosperity to retain its best college graduates

2013-06-01T21:16:59+00:00

EL PASO – City and county leaders met with higher education experts at The University of Texas at El Paso recently to figure out how to stem the brain drain they say is robbing the border region of its future leaders.

During the meeting, called The Shared Plan For Regional Opportunity, experts said that 70 percent of UTEP’s graduates leave El Paso.

Read more at Borderzine

All Aboard the Millennial Train to Everywhere

2013-05-15T13:27:15+00:00

Patrick Dowd is the founder of the Millennial Trains Project, a series of journeys by train around the U.S. kicking off this August.

Bill invests in next generation

2013-05-07T14:08:30+00:00

This week, Sens. Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) will reintroduce the American Dream Accounts Act, which would create college savings accounts for low-income students and monitor higher education readiness through a personal online account. The proposal applies existing Department of Education dollars to encourage the development of online platforms that partner students with colleges, schools, nonprofits and businesses, and provide them with a savings account and college readiness tools.

CAREER Act introduced in U.S. Congress, Opportunity Nation urges support of bill

2013-05-06T15:05:16+00:00

Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Rob Portman (R-OH) introduced the Careers Through Responsive, Efficient and Effective Retraining (CAREER) Act. The CAREER Act will improve the delivery of federal job training programs that help young people start on the path towards a career.

Opportunity Nation Comes To West Virginia

2013-04-26T15:13:55+00:00

Folks working to improve social mobility in West Virginia will be meeting Monday to look at a new tool to reach that goal.

Russell Krumnow, coalition manager with the bipartisan campaign Opportunity Nation, will be in Charleston at the annual conference of the West Virginia Community Action Partnership talking about the group's opportunity index.

Life After Steel

2013-04-22T13:55:06+00:00

That promise of a stable livelihood that generations of high-school graduates banked on has faded. The path to a decent living, many older workers are discovering, now must pass through college, even if that seems like an uncomfortable place.

Mark Edwards and Rob Denson talk Opportunity in Iowa

2013-04-09T14:15:14+00:00

As the country emerges from a painful recession, Iowans have much to be thankful for, including an average unemployment rate significantly below the national average — 5.1 percent compared with 8.1 percent.

But the rate of Iowa’s young people ages 16 to 24 who are not in school and not working is 9.4 percent. In central Iowa, that figure reaches as high as 17 percent.

We know the challenge of helping many of these young people gain the knowledge and skills they need to be successful in today’s global economy is the economic equivalent to the race to put a man on the moon in the 1960s.

Deputy Director Elizabeth Clay Roy Talks Minnesota Opportunity on MPR

2013-04-09T14:05:30+00:00

Minnesota ranks third among all the states in Opportunity Nation's Opportunity Index. The quality of life in Minnesota is above average, ranking third in the nation according to a national comparison of social and economic factors measuring opportunity.

Opportunity Iowa Youth Summit draws 200 education, business and civic leaders Friday

2013-04-05T14:46:07+00:00

Closing the Gaps Between Youth and Economic Success in Iowa focus on Friday forum; participants learn about how to improve Opportunity Scores in three Iowa counties

Leaders Address Growing Problem of Youth Dropouts and Unemployment

2013-04-05T13:32:10+00:00

DES MOINES, Iowa – Civic, education, nonprofit and political leaders from across Central Iowa participated in Opportunity in Iowa: Closing the Gaps Between Youth and Economic Success, a forum held at Des Moines Area Community College’s Ankeny Campus on Friday, April 5. The event was cohosted by Opportunity Nation, a national campaign dedicated to expanding economic mobility and jumpstarting the American Dream and its local affiliate, Opportunity Iowa.

Youth Opportunity Index: See How Pennsylvania Ranks

2013-01-31T16:05:28+00:00

Increases in residents ages 18-24 in Harrisburg, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh in the 2010 census signalled the beginning of the end for the longstanding "brain drain" conundrum across Pennsylvania.

Thanks to a first-of-its-kind tool from the bipartisan Opportunity Nation initiative, we get a slightly updated and more informed view of opportunity for young people in Pennsylvania. The Youth Opportunity Index, released earlier this month, ranked Pennsylvania 20th nationally based on three dimensions of opportunity -- Jobs and the Economy, Education, and Community Health and Civic Life.

Business community focuses on mentorship

2013-01-28T13:14:22+00:00

Corporate leaders gathered at the Mayflower Renaissance Hotel in Northwest Washington last week for an annual conference on mentoring.

City, United Way launch effort to recruit volunteers, tutors, mentors

2013-01-15T12:45:10+00:00

On Tuesday morning, the city and the United Way of the Piedmont, along with other agencies such as the Boys and Girls Club of the Upstate and Big Brothers Big Sisters, launched Get Connected, an online tool designed to match volunteers with organizations and schools that need people willing to mentor, tutor and volunteer.

How to Improve Outcomes for Opportunity Youth: Engage Employers to Invest in What Works

2012-12-28T05:33:53+00:00

In a time of fiscal restraint, an unemployment crisis among our young people, and a skills gap that hurts our businesses and hampers our recovery, it is vital that public investments in human capital development be targeted to meet labor market demand. By prioritizing outcomes, engaging employers, and reducing bureaucratic barriers, the administration can substantially boost the workforce development system's impact without spending a single additional cent.

For Poor, Leap to College Often Ends in a Hard Fall

2012-12-24T05:31:59+00:00

Low-income strivers face uphill climbs, especially at Ball High School, where a third of the girls’ class failed to graduate on schedule. But by the time the triplets donned mortarboards in the class of 2008, their story seemed to validate the promise of education as the great equalizer.

Quincy not settling for B+ on the Opportunity Index

2012-12-17T18:18:39+00:00

On December 5, over 75 local leaders convened at Quincy College to discuss Opportunity Nation’s Shared Plan – to build the necessary education and job training pipelines that convert the potential of young adults today to the job market of today and tomorrow – and how it can be used as a tool in our community to increase effectiveness of programs and services already in place. Actions include but are not limited to: engaging employers as part of the solution; pairing college planning support for low-income students with asset development; boosting mentoring; and driving community collaboration to reconnect youth.

Survey: N.D. scores well in opportunity

2012-12-14T15:13:18+00:00

North Dakota is the land of opportunity, according to new survey. Opportunity Nation, in partnership with Measure of America, ranked North Dakota second in the nation in a state-by-state survey designed to assess the opportunities that allow individuals to climb the economic ladder of success.

A Pathway to Prosperity for New York State

2012-12-12T19:43:47+00:00

The United States no longer has the world’s fastest-growing middle class. One reason is that motivation and hard work are no longer enough to succeed in the evolving 21st century economy. The American workforce needs more. It needs strong preparation and more advanced skills – higher skill levels than...

If You’ve Got the Skills, She’s Got the Job

2012-11-19T14:49:07+00:00

Employers across America will tell you similar stories. It’s one reason we have three million open jobs around the country but 8 percent unemployment. We’re in the midst of a perfect storm: a Great Recession that has caused a sharp increase in unemployment and a Great Inflection — a merger of the information technology revolution and globalization that is simultaneously wiping out many decent-wage, middle-skilled jobs, which were the foundation of our middle class, and replacing them with decent-wage, high-skilled jobs.

CaseyCast: Sharing Experts, Insights and Data Online

2012-11-14T15:53:19+00:00

Join the Annie E. Casey Foundation and other public and private leaders who will discuss the issues surrounding unemployed and disconnected youth in America. This panel discussion will focus on the newly released KIDS COUNT policy report and on policy solutions that can promote employment, skill building and economic success for young people.

Three million open jobs in U.S., but who’s qualified?

2012-11-12T15:04:23+00:00

Millions of jobs are waiting to be filled, but employers say they can't find qualified workers because of "the skills gap." Byron Pitts reports.

New Orleans’ young people need to see opportunities: Scott Cowen

2012-11-07T21:54:35+00:00

In the midst of New Orleans' renaissance, we must ask ourselves: How can this revitalization include our most vulnerable citizens? Our city recently lost Joshua Short, 25, who was raised and, coincidentally, killed on Dumaine Street.

Parents’ Lack of Schooling Limits Incomes

2012-10-15T15:30:11+00:00

Even during boom times, the difference is significant: In 2007, before the recession hit Iowa, 1.5 percent of workers with bachelor’s degrees were unemployed, compared to 7.9 percent of workers without high school diplomas. The percentage of adults without high school diplomas grows to nearly 30 percent in areas of extreme poverty.

The Power of Having an Opportunity Plan

2012-10-12T14:00:32+00:00

When I was just six years old, I made a choice in hopes of creating a legacy that my father never got the chance to do: to seize the education opportunities present to me at the moment, and make the most of these opportunities so that I could become the first in my family to attend and graduate from college.

Connecting Youth and Business to Create Opportunity

2012-10-11T03:00:50+00:00

Earlier this year, Ray Morel, a 20-year-old from the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York, presented at the White House. "I feel honored, anxious, and ready to go out there," he said before introducing Secretary of Labor, Hilda Solis, at the White House Youth Summit on Community Solutions. What prepared him for this opportunity on the national stage?

Voting for Opportunity - Five Questions for our Candidates

2012-10-10T16:30:12+00:00

Ensuring that more Americans have greater access to the ladder of opportunity is a critical issue for our nation. In today's political discourse, candidates and office holders at every level of government and in both major parties champion the value of "opportunity." The challenge we're seeing today though is that our candidates are rarely pressed to explain how their policies or votes will actually create opportunity for all Americans.