VP Erin Bibo’s Public Testimony Before the Committee of the Whole
March 5, 2025
Good evening Chairman Mendelson, Committee Members, and staff. My name is Erin Bibo, and I am Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at CityWorks DC, a nonprofit focused on achieving two inextricably linked goals: 1) DC youth and young adults are prepared for, hired into, and succeeding in the good jobs we have in our city and region. 2) Local industries are confidently relying on local talent to meet their workforce needs. I’m also a Ward 6 resident and parent of three DCPS students.
I am here to support and express gratitude for the city’s continued investments in the Education through Employment Pathways Data System and other strategic investments designed to effectively prepare our young people for good jobs. Here is what I’m most excited about in FY25:
The DC Office of Education Through Employment Pathways has a community-informed research agenda that will finally provide us with insights such as the extent to which the graduates of our publicly-funded education and training programs are employed and earning a living wage in our city. I can only imagine you are as excited as I am to better understand which publicly-funded investments actually work to prepare our residents for a career. The ETEP has also begun to produce analyses, and is poised to publish briefs sharing the early career outcomes of our public schools’ alumni. This will be sobering, but an incredibly important resource for educators, government leaders, parents, and students. In 2021, the first round of this Early Career Outcomes survey results informed and validated the city’s continued investments in career asset building opportunities (e.g., high quality postsecondary planning, apprenticeships, and internships) - the research, published by the DC Policy Center, found unequivocally that students who had built their career assets during high school had significantly higher incomes, and were more likely to report feeling financially stable, fulfilled in their career, and optimistic about the future.
To that end, I’m also thrilled that a because of a $9.5M private donation and local matching of funds, the city’s Advanced Technical Center will grow in its current Ward 5 site and establish a new one in Ward 8 at the Whitman-Walker Center on St Elizabeths East campus, offering college courses and credential-bearing pathways in high-demand fields like nursing and cybersecurity in partnership with Trinity Washington University. CityWorks DC, in partnership with DC Hospital Association and OSSE, is launching the first health care apprenticeship program this fall for recent high school graduates. This is exactly the type of Career Asset Building opportunities our students need.
Last, but certainly not least, I am grateful for the active participation of leaders from the city’s education and workforce agencies (OSSE, DOES, DCPS, WIC, UDC) in the Hire Local DC industry-led Sector Partnerships, which we co-convene with the Federal City Council, in construction and hospitality. Since Fall 2023, we have hosted 6 hiring events which have provided over 300 local residents with job offers. The Sector partnership has activated over 80 employers, and engages over 60 education and training providers to achieve a goal of local industries meeting their hiring needs with qualified, local talent.
Thank you for your continued leadership and support of important Pathways investments for our city, its residents, and industry. I’m happy to take any questions. Thank you.