Michelle W Bowman: Opening remarks
Opening remarks (via pre-recorded video) by Ms Michelle W Bowman, Member of the
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, at the "Advance Together:
Celebrating the Achievements of Texas Community Partnerships," a public event at the
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Dallas, Texas , 24 July 2024.
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I'd like to thank everyone for joining us today to celebrate the achievements of Texas
community partnerships. I am so excited to be a part of this important milestone,
marking the end of the pilot round of Advance Together and to announce a second
round for this initiative.
Back in 2021, during the depths of COVID, I took part in the Dallas Fed's Advance
Together launch event, welcoming the awardees into the initiative and looking ahead to
their success. This is truly a special opportunity to recognize the progress and
achievements of the four participating partnerships, each representing their diverse
communities and regions in the great state of Texas.
Advance Together is an accelerator program for regional public-private-nonprofit
partnerships seeking to improve education and employment outcomes for lower-income
communities in Texas. The Dallas Fed and the Federal Reserve System are focused on
reducing and removing barriers to education attainment and workforce development to
foster a strong, resilient economy.
As the nation's central bank, the Federal Reserve Board is focused on our dual
mandate of price stability and maximum employment. When we think about maximum
employment, we also need to consider how to foster an inclusive economy that
provides economic opportunities for everyone regardless of their circumstances.
Every Reserve Bank relies on its community development function to understand the
economic circumstances of communities through community initiatives and research. In
response to local needs in their respective Districts, each Reserve Bank develops
initiatives and focus areas to support these efforts.
Collaboration Matters for Better Community Outcomes
Advance Together was designed to address core challenges in education and
workforce development. Often, a lack of coordination among key organizations,
fragmentation across existing resources, or incomplete approaches that don't fully
identify or address the root causes of community issues lead to less successful
outcomes.
Research from the Boston Fed has found that durable economic success throughout
economic cycles is less dependent on factors like industry mix, demographics, or even
geographic location. Instead, it is the ability of local leaders to work together across
different sectors that leads to economic resilience. Leaders that collaborate with an
identified plan and path over a sustained period of time toward a comprehensive vision
achieve better outcomes and more inclusive economic growth.
A few years ago, the Dallas Fed identified an opportunity in Texas to support
community partnerships, specifically in education and workforce development.
Working across different sectors and industries brings its own set of unique challenges.
Each brings different goals, operations, and even terminology to the discussion.
We know that collaboration is necessary, and it is achievable. Advance Together
provides the structure, ongoing support, and investment from external partners to
support communities in strengthening their collaborative work. It takes time and skill to
build deep and trusting partnerships.
It also takes time and resources for communities to agree upon a common
understanding of complex, local needs like improving college and career readiness or
developing pathways to living wage employment.
This work requires that all partners move in the same direction, toward those common
strategies and goals. When communities collaborate effectively, the results can lead to
broader access to economic opportunity.
AT Team Introductions
We are here today to celebrate the success of our pilot participants; I'd like to
reintroduce each of them:
The Big Country Manufacturing Alliance is building awareness and creating
accessible pathways to well-paying manufacturing careers through training,
recruitment, and retention.
The Deep East Texas College & Career Alliance supports rural and
firstgeneration college students in attaining postsecondary credentials that employers
seek in their workforce.
The Education Partnership of the Permian Basin is developing a cradle-to-career
continuum of support by working to improve early childhood outcomes and college
and career readiness in the region.
The Travis County 2-Gen Coalition is expanding practices and policies to support
dual generations of parents and children in education attainment and achieving
long-term financial stability.
Conclusion
As we begin today's celebration, I'd like to recognize the vision of the Dallas Fed team
for creating this incredible opportunity for our partners. I'd also like to thank our
Advance Together partnerships for their hard work and progress. I also want to
recognize them for the work that they will continue to accomplish in their communities
as they move forward. This work is challenging and will continue to build pathways to a
more inclusive economy.