01/18/2018: Philadelphia Youth Network Convenes Stakeholders to Address the Changing Landscape of Education and Employment at 2018 Annual Meeting

Philadelphia, PA (January 18, 2018) – On Thursday, January 18, the Philadelphia Youth Network (PYN) hosted its 2018 Annual Meeting for key stakeholders to discuss strategies to help youth and young adults succeed in education and employment, and to provide an update about PYN’s work.

The Annual Meeting featured various leaders who have achieved success through non-traditional pathways to discuss how we can all expand our common wisdom about educating, hiring and training our future workforceSpeakers at the event included:

  • Melody Barnes, Chair, Forum for Community Solutions, The Aspen Institute
  • Nick Bayer, Founder and CEO, Saxbys
  • Donald Generals, President, Community College of Philadelphia
  • Chekemma Fulmore-Townsend, President and CEO, PYN
  • Keionna Harvin-Hugh, Participant, the Hub at PA CareerLink® West
  • Benjamin James, Personal Banker, Wells Fargo; WorkReady Alum
  • Keith Leaphart, Entrepreneur; President and CEO, Replica Creative

At last year’s annual meeting, PYN unveiled 2020 Vision (PDF), a strategic plan with bold goals to achieve by 2020. Though the plan didn’t officially start until July 1, 2017, PYN announced progress it has made toward its goals in the first six months of implementation.

  • As a system builder, creator of a unified system of services and resources, PYN created 15,801 high-quality education and employment opportunities in the last program year.
  • In its role as innovation incubator, facilitator of processes to develop, import and replicate new approaches, PYN currently has three pilots underway, with three more starting in 2018.
  • Finally, as a strategic consultant, provider of resources and tools that grow capacity in communities, PYN shared its work with the City of Detroit’s youth employment program, having increased its number of summer opportunities by 128% over three years.

“I am inspired by the progress that we have made toward our goals set in our 2020 Vision,” said Chekemma Fulmore-Townsend, President and CEO of PYN. “We know there is more work to be done, but we see the potential and talent in our young people, and we are committed to working together to help them realize their pathways to success.” Together with partners, PYN has created more than 175,000 high-quality education and employment opportunities since its inception in 1999.

At the event, PYN released its annual report, Blueprint for Success (PDF), which highlights the programmatic and collaborative efforts that have built a solid foundation toward PYN’s vision to alleviate poverty and inequity.

For more information on PYN, 2020 Vision, and Blueprint for Success, please visit www.pyninc.org.

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