Midwest Urban Strategies St. Louis Convening Intersects Workforce and Economic Development

Midwest Urban Strategies hosted their spring convening in St. Louis on May 7-9th which shared the collaboration and intersection of workforce and economic development activities through visits with SLATE (St. Louis Agency on Training & Employment) and the St. Louis Development Corporation (SLDC) organizations. Attendees enjoyed hearing about and seeing the many collaborations with visits to the Ranken Technical Center and a Youth Build training center, Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis’s urban farming program, an upcoming workforce innovation training hub, empowerment center for small businesses and more.

Stark Tuscarawas Workforce Development Board executive director, JoAnn Breedlove, serves on the Midwest Urban Strategies board and noted synergies between activities in St. Louis and the proposed activities of the “Reconnecting Canton” Recompete grant proposal, funded by the Economic Development Administration, should the grant be awarded to Stark Economic Development Board, the grant’s lead applicant. “We experienced firsthand the economic transformation targeted on St. Louis’s northside through planned investments”, shared Breedlove. Greater Stark County Urban League staff accompanied Breedlove to this convening.