[00:00:04]
ALL, SOME OF US ARE HERE IN PERSON.
I SEE YOU ALL WHO ARE ON A ZOOM WITH US.
WE'RE GOING TO WAIT A LITTLE BIT LONGER UNTIL WE SEE IF SOME MORE PEOPLE JOIN, UH, BUT LOVELY TO SEE YOUR SMILING BEAUTIFUL FACES.
SO HANG, HANG TIGHT FOR A LITTLE BIT.
AND WE'LL GET STARTED HERE IN JUST A MOMENT.
[00:10:08]
THEY'RE[00:10:08]
GOING TO GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED.UM, HOWEVER, WE DON'T HAVE QUORUM, SO WE'RE GOING TO TREAT THIS AS AN INFORMATION MEETING UNTIL THE CAN STAFF LETS ME KNOW THAT WE HAVE QUORUM.
SO THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE.
I THOUGHT THAT THE FIRST THING WE WOULD DO IS DO SOME INTRODUCTIONS.
UH, I'D LIKE TO START IN THE VIRTUAL ROOM, UH, PLEASE INTRODUCE YOURSELF WHAT ORGANIZATION YOU'RE WITH, UH, THEREFORE WHO YOU REPRESENT ON THE CAN BOARD AND THEN WE'LL GO AROUND THE PHYSICAL ROOM.
SO CHRIS, I SEE YOUR NAME AND YOUR FACE ON MY SCREEN.
WE'LL START WITH YOU, CHRIS, AND YOU GET TO CHOOSE THE NEXT PERSON TO GO AFTER YOU SPEAK.
HI, I'M CHRIS SAVINI AND I AM THE ASSOCIATE VICE CHANCELLOR OF COMMUNITY AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS AT AUSTIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT, YOUR COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT HERE IN CENTRAL TEXAS, AND VERY HAPPY TO BE HERE.
AND I WOULD LIKE TO HAND IT OFF TO MAUI.
MY NAME IS MOINES BIG AND I WORK AS THE CHIEF OF STYLE FOR THE GREATER AUSTIN AGENT CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.
I HAVE BEEN ALSO RECENTLY APPOINTED AS THE SPOKESPERSON, UH, FROM THE DHAKA CHAMBERS, UH, TO THE CAN NETWORK.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HAVING ME.
YOU GET TO SELECT THE NEXT PERSON.
I'M CARLOS SOTO RESEARCH ANALYST AT COMMUNITY ADVANCEMENT NETWORK AND TAKING MINUTES TODAY, I'M GOING TO PASS IT OVER TO DONOVAN.
SIMONE, CAN WE WE'D LIKE TO GET YOU BEFORE WE MOVE TO THE PHYSICAL ROOM SUBURBAN, UH, MY BED.
I THOUGHT CARLOS WAS ATTENDING.
IT WORKS REALLY? AND THAT'S WHY.
WE ARE ALL JUST FLEXIBLE AND AGILE HERE.
I'M SIMONE, TOM OF FLOWERS WITH INTERFAITH ACTION OF CENTRAL TEXAS.
I'M DONOVAN DE PRIEST, UM, WITH THE CENTRAL TEXAS FOOD BANK.
UH, I'M ON THE CAN COMMUNITY COUNCIL AS THE VICE CHAIR.
AND I GUESS WE'RE GOING AROUND THE TABLE.
VANESSA WENT THIS AUSTIN CITY COUNCILMAN FOR DISTRICT TWO, WHICH IS BASED IN SOUTHEAST AUSTIN.
I AM WITH WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS, YOUR WORKFORCE BOARD, SINCE CHRIS SAID YOUR COMMUNITY COLLEGE, I'LL SAY YOUR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT BOARD SERVING AUSTIN, TRAVIS COUNTY.
AND I'M PROUD TO BE, UH, THE CANNED CHAIR THIS YEAR.
AND, UH, TRYING TO OUT IS A HYBRID APPROACH, RIGHT.
UH, THIS IS ONE GARZA REPRESENT CENTRAL HEALTH, YOUR HEALTH DISTRICT.
SEE WHAT YOU STARTED? I LOVE IT.
WELL AGAIN, BECAUSE WE DO NOT HAVE QUORUM, WE WILL.
UH, WHEN WE LOOK AT THE AGENDA, WE WILL NOT YET CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER OR HAVE CITIZENS COMMUNICATION OR MINUTES YET.
UH, WE, WE, IF, AND WHEN WE MEET QUORUM, WE WILL GO BACK AND COVER THOSE ITEMS AND OFFICIALLY CONVENED THE MEETING.
[Community Council Update]
WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, I'D LIKE TO TURN IT OVER TO DONOVAN, TO PROVIDE US WITH A COMMUNITY COUNCIL UPDATE, COULD DONOVAN, UM, GOOD AFTERNOON, EVERYONE, UH, FROM THE COMMUNITY COUNCIL, UH, I'M REPRESENTING AND GIVING YOU A LITTLE BIT OF WHAT WE'RE WORKING THROUGH.UH, WE'RE MOVING OUR UPCOMING MEETING FROM JUNE 20TH OF JUNE 27TH AND OBSERVATION AND RECOGNITION OF JUNETEENTH.
UM, NEXT POINT IS WE'RE MOVING FORWARD WITH OUR TWO MENTAL HEALTH SUBGROUPS.
INITIALLY WE HAD ONE SUBGROUP FOCUSED ON, UM, WITH NORA COMSTOCK, UH, WORK IS FOCUSED ON MENTAL HEALTH AND IT WAS FUNDED THROUGH ST.
UM, THERE WERE SOME ASSIGNMENTS AND PRIORITIES THAT GO ALONG WITH THAT.
SO WHAT WE DECIDED TO DO WAS, UM, UH, A MAJORITY OF THAT IS GOING TO THE LANGUAGE ACCESS TEAM.
WE ARE STILL SUPPORTING THAT GROUP.
UM, WE HAVE A GROUP OF PEOPLE THAT ARE GOING INTO THE COMMUNITY, FINDING OUT WHAT IT IS WE NEED TO DO TO SUPPORT THAT GROUP SO THAT WE'LL STILL HAVE THE BUY-IN WE'RE GOING TO UTILIZE THE SAME PREMISE THAT WE'VE DONE IN THE PAST, UH,
[00:15:01]
BY HAVING DIFFERENT PEOPLE, UH, BEING INTERVIEWED DIFFERENT PEOPLE, BEING REPRESENTED.OUR OTHER SUBGROUP IS ACTUALLY WORKING ON DATA AND WE'RE FOCUSED ON THE DATA.
WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE TO HAVE A ONE-STOP SHOP FOR DATA WITH THE OTHER RESOURCES, UH, BETWEEN RESOURCES WITHIN THE COMMUNITY? WHAT DO THEY NEED, WHAT ARE THEY LOOKING FOR? WHAT DO WE CURRENTLY HAVE? SO WE'RE TAKING STEPS TO EVALUATE WHAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE AS A CAN AS A TEAM.
AND WE'RE LOOKING TO TRY AND SEE HOW WE CAN MAKE THAT USEFUL IN THE ENVIRONMENT FOR THE COMMUNITY.
SO IT CAN BE AN ACTUAL COMMUNITY RESOURCE.
UM, WE HAVE PASSION IN THIS COMMUNITY COUNCIL AND WE ARE WORKING HARD TO SOLIDIFY ALL OF OUR PLANS.
WE WANT TO MAKE SURE OUR PLANS ARE REALISTIC AND WE WANT TO DELIVER AND, AND BE REALISTIC IN OUR GOALS AND ASPIRATIONS FOR THE DELIVERABLES FOR THE END OF THE YEAR.
UM, THAT PRETTY MUCH CONCLUDES OUR UPDATE.
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, I CAN DEFINITELY FEEL THE GREAT, THANK YOU.
ANY QUESTIONS FOR DONOVAN OR THE COMMUNITY COUNCIL? YES.
SO DONOVAN, UM, YOU MENTIONED THE DATA BEING A KEY PIECE OF, OF THIS.
WHAT, WHAT MORE SPECIFICALLY CAN WE BE DOING ON THE, ON THE DASHBOARD? THAT IS ACTUALLY THE QUESTION THAT WE'RE TRYING TO ASK AND THAT'S WHAT THAT SUBGROUP IS GOING TO BE ASKING AND ASKING OF THE COMMUNITY AND DIFFERENT PEOPLE.
WHAT IS IT THAT WE NEED, WHAT RESOURCES ARE NEEDED IN ORDER TO, UM, SO OUR TOP MAIN TOPIC IS OUR MAIN FOCUS IS MENTAL HEALTH.
SO WHAT RESOURCES ARE AVAILABLE THAT COULD HELP US PURSUE A ENVIRONMENT WITH MORE PEACE OF MIND, MORE MENTAL HEALTH, WHAT MORE DATA DO WE NEED? HOW CAN WE INTERPRET THE DATA TO UNDERSTAND THAT WHAT WE HAVE IS ACTUALLY TRUE MYSTIC AND USABLE, AND PEOPLE CAN UTILIZE THAT FROM, FROM AROUND THE COMMUNITY.
ONE THING THAT I KNOW IS TOP OF MIND FOR MANY POLICYMAKERS RIGHT NOW IS MENTAL HEALTH AMONGST OUR YOUTH.
AND JUST KNOWING THE EXTENT IN WHICH OUR KIDS HAVE BEEN OPERATING UNDER NOT ONLY WITH THE PANDEMIC, BUT WITH WHAT WE'VE SEEN, THE MASS SHOOTINGS IN SCHOOLS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY.
UM, AND ON TOP OF EVERYTHING THAT IS GOING ON RIGHT NOW WITH, YOU KNOW, ANTI LGBTQ RHETORIC IN THAT, IN THAT THE IMPACT THAT THAT HAS ON, ON YOUTH.
SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, TO THE EXTENT THAT THAT'S HELPFUL AND CREATING A PLATFORM FOR US TO LOOK AT, UH, MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORTS FOR KIDS, I WOULD BE INTERESTED IN THAT INFORMATION.
AND THAT'S PART OF OUR DATA IS WHAT DATA WE HAVE CURRENTLY THAT THE, THE YOUTH, UM, THE PEOPLE WHO WERE SUPPORTING THE YOUTH CAN UTILIZE, UH, ONE OF, ONE OF THE PIECES THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS GOING TO THE SCHOOLS, ASKING THEM WHAT THEY NEED, WE'RE GOING TO THE COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, ASKING THEM WHAT THEY NEED.
STUDENT MENTAL HEALTH IS ONE OF THE KEYS FOR OUR ENTIRE COMMUNITY COUNCIL.
IT'S, IT'S TIED INTO THE WHOLE GREATER PIECE.
AND I, THAT RAUL WILL PROBABLY MENTION A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT WHEN HE HAS HIS, UM, HIS, A LITTLE BIT OF SUMMARY ON THE THINGS THAT ARE GOING, BUT YEAH, YES, YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY CORRECT.
AND IT IS, IT'S BEEN MENTIONED AND IT IS IN THE NOTES AND I WILL TAKE THAT BACK TO THE COUNCIL.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR DONOVAN DONOVAN? I KNOW I HAVE A QUESTION.
UM, WITH REGARDS TO YOUR REPORT, DID YOU SAY THAT YOU GUYS ARE LOOKING AT A PHYSICAL HUB? IS THAT, IS THAT PART OF WHAT THE COMMUNITY COUNCIL IS IDEATING AROUND? OR DID I MISUNDERSTAND THAT? YEAH, IT IS.
IT IS MY UNDERSTANDING THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT THE DATA THAT CAN, THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE ON OUR DASHBOARD.
AND WE'RE GOING TO START THERE TO SEE HOW WE CAN UTILIZE THAT MOVING FORWARD TO BE THE, IT, CAN THAT BE THE HUB? CAN THERE BE A RESOURCE BRANCHED OFF OF THAT, THAT SPECIFIC FOR MENTAL HEALTH? ARE WE RECEIVING THE DATA THAT WE NEED IN ORDER TO UTILIZE THE DASHBOARD AND WHAT STATISTICS ARE WITHIN THERE? SO THAT'S KIND OF WHAT THAT EVALUATION POINT IS.
UM, WE'RE TRYING NOT TO RECREATE THE WHEEL, BUT WE'RE TRYING TO USE THE RESOURCES.
WE HAVE TO SEE WHAT THE POSSIBILITIES ARE FOR THE FUTURE.
SO WHAT I HEAR YOU SAYING IS IT'S LESS ABOUT A PHYSICAL FACILITY THAT YOU'RE LOOKING TO TRY TO STAND UP FOR SUPPORT IT'S MORE AROUND, DO WE HAVE THE RIGHT DATA AND THE RIGHT FORMAT IN THE RIGHT PLACE TO HELP EDUCATE OUR COMMUNITY? IS THAT ABSOLUTELY? OKAY.
THANK YOU FOR CLARIFYING THAT.
[CAN Executive Director’s Report]
WE WILL MOVE TO OUR CAN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S REPORT RO ALL RIGHT.UM, AND, UM, JUST TO KIND OF PIGGYBACK OFF OF THE DISCUSSION ABOUT COMMUNITY COUNCIL IS, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF SPIRITED CONVERSATIONS ABOUT OUR MENTAL HEALTH INDICATOR ON THE DASHBOARD, WHICH IS KIND OF A SELF-REPORTED, UM, MEASURE, RIGHT.
WHICH IS, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S, UH, THROUGH THE CENSUS.
SO THE QUESTION THAT THEY ASK FOLKS IS HAVE YOU HAD MORE THAN FIVE DAYS OF POOR MENTAL HEALTH, RIGHT? SO IT'S NOT A CLINICAL DIAGNOSIS.
[00:20:01]
POINT, RIGHT.SO, UM, SO PART OF IT WILL BE KIND OF WORKING WITH INTEGRAL CARE AND LOOKING AT WHAT OTHER CITIES TRACK, RIGHT.
TO SEE ARE THERE OTHER MENTAL HEALTH RELATED DATA POINTS AVAILABLE, RIGHT.
THAT WE CAN SHARE, UH, WITH THE PUBLIC, WITH OUR COMMUNITY.
SO, UM, AND I KNOW, UM, SO I THINK THAT'S WHAT THAT THAT'S A COMMITTEE IS GOING TO DO.
AND THEN THERE'S A COMMUNICATIONS PART, WHICH I'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE WORK PLAN, UM, AROUND MENTAL HEALTH AND I'LL TRANSITION TO MY REPORT, I HAVE, WE HAD A COUPLE OF ITEMS, UM, TO, UM, TO VISIT, UM, ONE, YOU KNOW, KIND OF PART OF A ROUTINE, RIGHT, FOR OP OUR OPERATING AS CAN, IS WE USUALLY HAVE A ANNUAL REVIEW OF THE DASHBOARD BY OUR DASHBOARD STEERING COMMITTEE.
AND THEN THEY RECOMMEND CHANGES, UM, TO THE DASHBOARD OR REVISIONS OR, UH, ISSUES, YOU KNOW, THEY WANT THE BOARD TO CONSIDER.
UM, AND THEN WE ALSO APPROVE OUR WORK PLAN RIGHT.
SO WE'RE GOING TO KIND OF LOOK AT THOSE AND I THINK THEY'RE GOING TO FIRE UP A QUICK POWERPOINT, UM, WELL, WHICH I'LL USE TO REALLY JUST NOTE THAT IN TERMS OF THE CAN DASHBOARD.
AND THEN FOR THOSE FOLKS WHO ARE IN PERSON, RIGHT, THERE IS A JUST KIND OF ONE PAGER IT'S EASIER TO READ THAN MY POWERPOINT SLIDES.
UM, AND THEN, UM, FOLKS ONLINE, UM, CAN GO TO THE SHARED DRIVE AND THERE'S A KIND OF A ONE PAGER THAT OUTLINES THE, UM, THE CHANGES.
AND THIS YEAR IT LOOKS LIKE THERE'S A LOT OF CHANGES, BUT, YOU KNOW, WE HIT OUR, OUR, UH, YOU KNOW, THE DASHBOARD HAS A TARGET YEAR BY WHICH, YOU KNOW, WE'RE TRYING TO SEE IF OUR GOAL WILL BE MET.
AND IT JUST HAPPENED THAT THIS YEAR OR LAST YEAR WAS THE YEAR THAT MOST OF OUR INDICATORS SORT OF, UM, REACH THEIR TARGET YEAR.
UM, SO THAT'S REALLY WHAT CHANGED THE MOST, RIGHT.
IT WENT FROM 20, 20 TO 2025 ON, ON MOST OF THEM, THE, UM, THE VOTING ONE FOLLOWS THE, THE ELECTION CYCLES.
SO THAT'S WHY THE, UM, THAT'S WHY THAT ONE'S 20, 24, RIGHT.
CAUSE THERE ISN'T GOING TO BE AN ELECTION IN 2025.
UM, AND THEN THE EDUCATION ONES INDICATORS ARE FOLLOW THE BLUEPRINT, THE BLUEPRINT, RIGHT.
SO THEY SAID THE TARGET YEAR IS 2023.
AND THAT'S WHY YOU SEE, UH, 20, 23.
UM, SO MAINLY THAT'S THE CHANGE RIGHT? FOR THIS, FOR THIS YEAR, UH, OVER THIS, UH, ITERATION OF OUR PUBLICATION RIGHT.
OF THE DASHBOARD, THE ONLY, UH, GOAL THAT ACTUALLY DID CHANGE WAS THE GOAL FOR VOTER TURNOUT WENT FROM 70% TO 71%.
UM, AND IT'S JUST VERY INTERESTING NUMBER, RIGHT.
BUT, UH, THAT'S WHAT WE, THAT'S WHAT THE DESPERATE STEERING COMMITTEE IS RECOMMENDING BECAUSE WE DID HIT 70% AS A GOAL, UM, ALREADY.
SO I THINK BECAUSE THE LAST COUPLE OF ELECTION CYCLES HAVE BEEN A LITTLE STRANGE OR ATYPICAL, UM, THERE WASN'T AN INTEREST IN MAKING A HUGE SORT OF LEAP IN TERMS OF THAT, UH, GOAL.
SO, AND CERTAINLY 1% IS NOT A LEAP, BUT A THAT'S WHY THAT ONE'S DIFFERENT.
SO, UM, AND BRUCE ALFOND WAS ENCOURAGING US TO DO MORE.
BUT, UH, YOU HAPPENED TO BE AT THAT MEETING WHEN WE, WE DID THIS.
SO, SO THAT'S REALLY THE OVERVIEW OF THE CHANGES.
NOT MUCH CHANGE JUST IN TERMS OF, UM, YOU KNOW, UM, THE, THE TARGET YEARS.
UNEMPLOYMENT, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, WE'D BEEN LOOKING AT 3.5 SORT OF AS THE HEALTHY LEVEL OF UNEMPLOYMENT AND AT LEAST THE FOLKS ON OUR, ON OUR DASHBOARD STEERING COMMITTEE WHO WORKED DO WORKFORCE OR WORK ON WORKFORCE RELATED ISSUES SAID THAT, UM, AT LEAST WHAT THEY WERE SEEING SUGGESTED THAT 3.3 WAS A REASONABLE, UM, TARGET OR NEW NEW GOAL.
AND YOU TARGET, I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT, UH, WHAT THE IDEAL, UH, UH, TARGET IS FOR UNEMPLOYMENT, UH, UH, TAMARA, BUT IT, UM, AGAIN, IT'S ONE OF THOSE THINGS WHERE, UM, YOU WANT AS MANY PEOPLE TO BE EMPLOYED AS POSSIBLE, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, WE KNOW HOW THE MARKET ECONOMY WORKS WHEN UNEMPLOYMENT GETS TOO LOW.
UM, AND SO, UH, SO I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S THE PRESENTATION OR THE SUMMARY, THANKS FOR POINTING THAT OUT TAMRA AND, UH, HAPPY TO DISCUSS IF WE NEED TO.
[00:25:01]
THE AUSTIN CHAMBER RECENTLY SENT AUSTIN'S UNEMPLOYMENT RATE AND IT SAYS R FOR THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE FOR THE MSA IS 2.5% RIGHT NOW.JUST WANT TO PROVIDE THAT FOR COUNTRY.
WELL THIS IS THE TARGET, RIGHT.
YOU KNOW, AND THEN OBVIOUSLY EVERY YEAR WE REPORT THE, THE ACTUAL AMOUNT, RIGHT.
SO WE WERE ALREADY PAST THE TARGET FOR THIS INDICATOR, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE DATA, UH, FOLKS THAT WE HAVE ON OUR DASHBOARD STEERING COMMITTEE SAID, WELL, YOU KNOW THE GOAL AGAIN, IT'S NOT TO GET TO ZERO.
OR IT SHOULDN'T BE TO GET TO ZERO.
BECAUSE THEN YOU DON'T, YOU DON'T HAVE A FUNCTIONING SORT OF A SYSTEM OR MARKET SYSTEM.
SO, SO YEAH, I THINK WE, BEFORE THE PANDEMIC, WE WERE BELOW THE GOAL AS WELL.
SO THAT'S KIND OF WHY THAT'S, THAT LOOKS, UH, KIND OF STRANGE AS FAR AS, YOU KNOW, HOW WE DO OUR PLANNING, RIGHT.
FOR UNEMPLOYMENT RATE ROLL, THE COUNCIL MEMBER BRINGS UP AN INTERESTING POINT THOUGH.
UH, AND THAT IS THE UNEMPLOYMENT.
RATE'S GOING TO BE DIFFERENT, WHETHER YOU'RE LOOKING AT AUSTIN, WHETHER YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE MSA, UH, WHETHER, YOU KNOW, SO WHAT AREA YOU'RE LOOKING AT.
SO THIS DOESN'T STIPULATE AREA.
WHAT IS THE AREA? IS THE TRAVIS COUNTY.
I MEAN, WE DO IN OUR DASHBOARD HAVE THE CHART THAT SHOWS THE COUNTY, THE CITY, THE MSA, THE STATE AND THE NATIONAL.
SO, BUT THE ONLY ONE WE ACTUALLY, UM, HAVE ON THE DASHBOARD ITSELF.
AND YOU SPECIFICALLY IS TRAVIS COUNTY.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS? SO RAUL WERE NOT ABLE TO TAKE A VOTE ON THIS TODAY BECAUSE OF A QUORUM.
SO WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? DOES THIS GO FORWARD TO THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE WHO CAN MAKE A DECISION OR IS IT BROUGHT BACK AT THE NEXT BOARD MEETING? WE'LL BRING IT BACK AT THE NEXT BOARD MEETING.
UM, I THINK ONE THING WE MIGHT DISCUSS THAT EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE IS, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T HAVE IN OUR BYLAWS AUTHORITY TO TAKE VIRTUAL VOTES.
SO LET'S SAY WE WANTED TO SEND IT TO THE BOARD FOR APPROVAL, WHETHER IT'S THE WORK PLANNER OR THE, UM, THESE CHANGES, UM, THEN THAT'S SOMETHING, WE MIGHT LOOK AT IT TWEAKED THE BYLAWS THAT ALLOWS US TO SEND THINGS OUT WHEN WE MISS A MEETING.
OR WE DON'T MEET IN JULY OR WE DON'T MEET IN MARCH.
AND THERE'S IMPORTANT BUSINESS TO TAKE PLACE.
DO OUR BYLAWS INDICATE THAT THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE CAN TAKE ACTION ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD IN THE EVENT THAT THERE'S NOT A QUORUM OF THE BOARD? NOPE.
THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING ELSE TO CONSIDER TOO, TO KEEP WORK MOVING FORWARD.
IT HAS HAPPENED IN THE PAST WHERE THE BOARD VOTES TO GIVE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE THAT WE DON'T HAVE THAT I THINK UNIVERSALLY, I KNOW THAT WITH MY ORGANIZATION, UH, OUR BYLAWS INDICATE THAT THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE CAN TAKE ACTION ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD IN THE EVENT THAT THE BOARD DOESN'T REACH QUORUM FOR A MEETING, OR THERE IS A TIME SENSITIVE ISSUE THAT MUST BE PROCESSED.
I DON'T KNOW THAT UPDATING THE GOALS FOR THE CAN DASHBOARD QUALIFY AS A PRESSING ISSUE.
IT MAY SURFACE A, UH, A GOVERNANCE, UH, OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO IMPROVE.
SO WHAT I HEAR YOU SAYING JUST TO REITERATE IS THIS, WE'LL COME BACK TO THE BOARD WHEN WE MEET AGAIN AND WE DO NOT MEET IN JULY.
SO IT WOULD BE THE AUGUST BOARD MEETING, BUT WE MAY DISCUSS IT AT THE NEXT, WHICH IS NEXT WEEK.
SO CAN EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE SAYING? BUT THAT EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE WON'T TAKE ACTION ON THESE GOALS.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR CLARIFYING.
LET'S MOVE TO THE, YOUR, YOU HAD ANOTHER TOPIC IN YOUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S REPORT.
AND IT'S THE, UH, CONSIDERATION OF THE 2022 WORK PLAN, UH, WHICH I THINK WE'VE HAD ON, UH, A FEW TIMES MAYBE FOR CONSIDER, I KNOW EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE WAS ON A FEW TIMES, BUT, UM, AND SO YOU SEE AGAIN, I TRIED TO SHOW, UM, WHAT CHANGED RIGHT FROM THE 2021 WORK PLAN TO THE 2022 WORK PLAN, UM, AND THE ONES AGAIN, WHERE THERE'S A GREEN BOX.
AND I THINK THE FOLKS ONLINE CAN, CAN PULL THE, UH, UM, THE DOCUMENT.
UM, BUT THE REVISED LANGUAGE TENDS TO BE KIND OF MINOR CHANGES, RIGHT.
WHERE WE'RE CHANGING THE YEAR OR WE'RE CHANGING, UH, JUST ADDING SOME WORDS OR SOMETIMES IT'D BE LIKE DEVELOP THE RACE EQUITY ACTION FRAMEWORK.
WELL, THIS YEAR, WELL, WE DEVELOPED IT LAST YEAR.
BUT NOW IT CHANGES TO USE RACE EQUITY ACTION FRAMEWORK AS A WAY TO ENGAGE COMMUNITY.
SO, SO THAT'S SOME OF THE MINOR CHANGES WOULD SAY REVISE LANGUAGE IS, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, USUALLY PRETTY MINOR.
THE NEW ACTIONS ARE THE ONES THAT KIND OF, UH, REALLY LOOK AT, UM, THE WORK PLAN PRIORITIES, RIGHT.
WE SELECTED IN NOVEMBER, RIGHT.
[00:30:01]
AT OUR RETREAT, WHICH ARE ADDRESSING, YOU KNOW, COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLNESS, AS WELL AS ENSURING AN EQUITABLE ECONOMIC RECOVERY.UM, ALTHOUGH YOU DO SEE THAT, YOU KNOW, A REFERENCE TO DASHBOARD STEERING COMMITTEE DID GET ADDED TO, UM, YOU KNOW, TO, UH, ACTION OR STRATEGY 1.2, BECAUSE WE HAD NO MENTION IN OUR WORK PLAN THAT WE FACILITATE A DASHBOARD STEERING COMMITTEE, RIGHT.
SO WE WANT OUR WORK PLAN TO REFLECT ALL THE THINGS WE'RE WORKING ON SO THAT THE BOARD HAS A CLEAR VIEW OF AGAIN, OF WHAT A STAFF IS ENGAGED IN.
SO, SO THAT ONE ISN'T REALLY NEW.
IT'S JUST DOCUMENTING WHAT WE ALREADY DO WITH THE DASHBOARD STEERING COMMITTEE.
AND YOU SAW THE END RESULT OF IT RIGHT.
AND THEN THE OTHERS KIND OF REALLY RELATE TO, UM, THE, THE TWO PRIORITY ITEMS. RIGHT.
AND, YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE INCORPORATE THOSE THINGS INTO, UM, INTO OUR WORK PLAN, THE, UH, ENSURING AN EQUITABLE ECONOMIC RECOVERY AND, UM, ADDRESSING COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLNESS.
SO A LOT OF THE ONES WHERE YOU SAY IT'S A NEW ITEM OR NEW ACTION, RIGHT.
UM, HAS TO DO WITH THOSE NEW ITEMS AND ALSO WITH OUR USE OF THE RACE EQUITY ACTION FRAMEWORK RIGHT.
SO I THINK, UH, AGAIN, IN THE POWERPOINT, IT'S SET UP A LITTLE DIFFERENT WHERE, YOU KNOW, I TRIED TO SHOW, I TRIED TO PULL THE ACTIONS THAT RELATE TO ECONOMIC RECOVERY TOGETHER, AND THE ACTIONS THAT RELATE TO RAISE EQUITY TOGETHER AND THE ACTIONS THAT RELATE TO LANGUAGE ACCESS TOGETHER.
SO YOU CAN SEE THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S USUALLY A LITTLE BIT WE'RE DOING ON EACH OF THEM.
CAUSE THERE'S A RESEARCH COMPONENT DATA COMPONENT, BUT THERE'S ALSO AN ENGAGEMENT COMPONENT.
AND THAT'S WHAT YOU SEE IS THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A REFERENCE TO THESE, UH, PRIORITIES BECAUSE IF WE'RE GOING TO ENGAGE AROUND AN ISSUE OR TOPIC, RIGHT, WE'RE GOING TO NEED THE RESEARCH AND WE'RE GOING TO NEED THE PLANNING THAT GOES WITH IT, THE ENGAGEMENT.
SO I'M SO HAPPY TO ANSWER KIND OF ANY QUESTIONS I THINK AT THE VERY END, YOU KNOW, YOU'LL NOTE THAT, UM, IN STRATEGY GOAL THREE, WHICH IS OUR ORGANIZATIONAL KIND OF STRENGTHENING ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE AND MEMBERSHIP IN 3.4, THAT'S WHERE YOU MENTIONED THE MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE, RIGHT.
UM, AND WE'VE KIND OF MADE SOME INVITATIONS TO FOLKS TO PARTICIPATE AND WE HAVE SOME TAKERS.
IT'S JUST THAT WE'RE TRYING TO SCHEDULE AN INITIAL MEETING MAYBE IN LATE JULY, EARLY AUGUST, UH, OR WHENEVER SCHEDULES CAN ALIGN BECAUSE JULY IS PRETTY TRICKY.
UH, SO, BUT THAT'S WHERE WE, YOU SEE, UH, UNDER 3.4, YOU KNOW, ESTABLISH THAT COMMITTEE, RIGHT.
YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT MEMBERSHIP AND CONTRIBUTION LEVELS.
AND THEN THE OTHER ACTION IS, UM, SEE IF THERE'S AN INTEREST IN CREATING THESE ENGAGEMENT TEAMS TO ENGAGE REGIONAL STAKE HOLDERS.
UM, MAYBE AS A WAY TO STRENGTHEN REGIONAL RELATIONSHIPS AND ALSO POTENTIALLY IDENTIFY NEW MEMBERS OR NEW NEW PARTNERS.
SO THOSE REALLY BOTH WILL BE UNDER THE UNDER THAT COMMITTEE WERE FOR MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE THAT, UH, THAT, UH, TAMARA HAS BEGUN ALREADY THE PROCESS OF FORMING.
AND THEN THE LAST WITH IS HOLD THE ANNUAL 3.6 HOLD THE ANNUAL CAN RETREAT ON, OR ABOUT NOVEMBER 20, 22.
YOU KNOW, I THINK ORIGINALLY THE RETREAT WAS IN EVERY OTHER YEAR PROPOSITION.
UM, BUT I KNOW THE LAST FIVE YEARS OR SO WE'VE HAD A RETREAT EVERY NOVEMBER.
SO THAT'S JUST SOMETHING THAT TO THINK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHERE WE ARE WITH OUR WORK PLAN AND OUR PRIORITIES, IF WE FEEL THAT THAT'S, UH, SOMETHING TO CONTINUE JUST AN ANNUAL RETREAT VERSUS GOING TO A EVERY OTHER YEAR.
SO RAUL, UH, WHAT WILL, HOW WILL YOU DECIDE OR HOW WILL THE BOARD DECIDE WHETHER WE'RE GOING TO HOLD A RETREAT THIS YEAR OR NOT? WHAT ARE THE, WHAT'S THE PROCESS FOR MAKING THAT DECISION? BECAUSE I'M AWARE THAT WE ARE IN JUNE AND NOVEMBER IS REALLY JUST AROUND THE CORNER AND IN TERMS OF, UH, PEOPLE SCHEDULING.
SO WHAT ARE THE TRIGGERS FOR DETERMINING WHETHER STAFF IS GOING TO RECOMMEND WE HOLD A RETREAT OR NOT, BUT IT'S ON THERE AS HOLDING IT FOR NOW.
RIGHT? IT SAID WE ACTUALLY HAVE IT, BUT YOU KNOW, WE CAN TALK NEXT WEEK WITH THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE ABOUT HOW ARE WE FEELING? CAUSE, UM, A LOT OF IT'S WHEN WE'RE TRANSITIONING BETWEEN ISSUES LIKE WE DID LAST YEAR, RIGHT.
WE WERE KIND OF SWITCHING FROM KIND OF RACE EQUITY AND LANGUAGE ACCESS TO THESE OTHER TWO AREAS.
UM, SO I THINK THAT, UM, BUT THAT MIGHT BE ANOTHER REASON BECAUSE THERE'S SO MUCH GOING ON, RIGHT.
THAT MIGHT BE A REASON TO BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER SO WE CAN, WE CAN TALK ABOUT IT AND, UM, AND MAKE SURE WE, UM, WE HAVE A PLAN RIGHT.
WHICH IS A PREMIUM FOR, FOR OUR BOARD.
[00:35:02]
OKAY.UH, QUESTIONS FOR REBEL ON THE PROPOSED WORK PLAN, WE WILL NOT BE TAKING A VOTE TODAY AS PREVIOUSLY NOTED, BUT I DO APPRECIATE EVERYONE REVIEWING THIS QUESTIONS PER ROW.
I'M NOT ABLE TO SEE, UH, IN THE REMOTE ROOM.
SO PLEASE LET US KNOW, RAISE YOUR HAND OR WAVE, WAVE YOUR ARMS WILDLY.
WELL, RAUL, I HAVE A QUICK QUESTION.
UM, SO, UH, I JUST WANT TO CONFIRM MY UNDERSTANDING.
SO THERE ARE THREE GOALS LISTED IN THIS WORK PLAN, UH, AND TO MAYBE STATE THE OBVIOUS, BUT JUST TO MAKE SURE WE'RE ALL ON THE SAME PAGE, EACH OF THESE THREE GOALS, THESE ARE THE THREE GOALS OUTLINED IN THE CANNES STRATEGIC PLAN.
AND SO THIS WORK PLAN IS ESSENTIALLY YOUR ACTION PLAN THAT INDICATES TO THE BOARD AND EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, HOW YOU AND THE STAFF AND THE BY EXTENSION, THE BOARD AND COMMUNITY COUNCIL ARE TAKING ACTION, THE, THE, THE ACTION BEHIND THE STRATEGIC PLAN ON AN ANNUAL BASIS, CORRECT? YES.
HOW WE'RE USING THE STRATEGIC PLAN TO DIRECT OUR WORK AND, YOU KNOW, WITH THE PRIORITIES THAT SET KIND OF BY THE BOARD.
SO I THINK THAT'S, UM, YEAH, THAT'S A ACCURATE WAY OF PORTRAYING IT, RIGHT.
IT'S IT IS THE STRATEGIC PLAN, BUT WITH THE, UM, THE ACTUAL, UH, WORK BEING UNDERTAKEN UNDER EACH OBJECTIVE.
AND THEN, UM, SO I SEE THAT THIS SAYS DRAFT 20, 22 WORK PLAN.
I WE'RE HALFWAY THROUGH THE YEAR.
WHAT, UH, ARE YOU, SO I KNOW WE DON'T HAVE A QUORUM TODAY, BUT DO YOU NEED A VOTE FROM THE BOARD IN ORDER TO, UH, MAKE THIS THE FINAL WORK PLAN? HELP ME UNDERSTAND KIND OF WHERE WE ARE PROCESS WAS.
WE USUALLY APPROVE THIS IN JANUARY.
AND, UM, BUT, UM, I'M NOT SURE WHY THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN IN JANUARY THIS YEAR, BUT, UH, AGAIN, I THINK THERE WAS SOME UNUSUAL THING A START TO THE YEAR THAT WE HAD.
UM, AND THEN, UM, SO I THINK THAT'S, UM, AND THEN WE'VE KIND OF GONE.
I THINK, YOU KNOW, WE HADN'T FINISHED REVIEWING IT AT EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, RIGHT.
LIKE HAD A FINAL, UM, VERSION OR ONE WEEK THAT Y'ALL COULD RECOMMEND TO THE FULL BOARD.
AND SO I THINK FEBRUARY MIGHT'VE BEEN THE FIRST TIME THAT WE BROUGHT IT FORWARD, BUT WE, IT WASN'T VOTED ON.
I'LL HAVE TO KIND OF PIECE TOGETHER THE FORENSICS ON THAT.
W WELL, WE WANT TO, WE WANT TO GIVE YOU IN THE, IN THE BOARD, WE WANT TO OFFICIALLY APPROVE IT, BUT DO I UNDERSTAND CORRECTLY? I'M NOT YOU, THE STAFF IS EXECUTING ON THIS AS IF IT WERE YOUR WORK PLAN.
SO YOU'RE IT, BUT WE WANT TO GO ON RECORD OF APPROVING THAT, IS THAT, IS THAT A CORRECT UNDER THE, THAT'S TYPICALLY HOW IT WORKS, BUT I AM OPERATING UNDER THE ASSUMPTION THAT THIS IS THE WORK THAT THE BOARD WANTS ME TO DO.
JUST BECAUSE IT'S BASED ON OUR CONVERSATIONS AND LAST NOVEMBER'S RETREAT.
I'M WONDERING IF IT'S POSSIBLE TO ADD ANOTHER COLUMN TO THIS WORK PLAN OF, FOR YOU AND THE STAFF TO PROVIDE, UH, AT EACH OF OUR BOARD MEETINGS, A BRIEF SUMMARY OF PROGRESS UNDER THESE ACTIONS.
I THINK THAT WOULD BE A REALLY HELPFUL WAY FOR US TO SEE, OKAY, IF THIS IS, IF THESE ARE THE ACTIONS WE'RE TAKING TO SUPPORT OUR STRATEGIC PLAN, UH, AND WE'VE APPROVED THAT, YES, THIS IS WHAT WE WOULD LIKE A CAM TO BE WORKING ON.
GET A, HAVE YOU HIGHLIGHT FOR US ACTION? THAT'S BEEN TAKEN BECAUSE I KNOW THERE IS SO MUCH WORK GOING ON THAT IT IS EASY FOR US AS BOARD MEMBERS TO MISS ACTIONS THAT WE SHOULD BE INVOLVED IN, OR THAT THE STAFF COMMUNITY COUNCIL AND OTHERS ARE TAKING.
AND I THINK IT COULD BE A REALLY GREAT WAY TO DOCUMENT.
YEAH, WE HAVE, UM, WE HAVE A WORK PLAN, UPDATE TEMPLATE, SO I CAN SEND THAT TO EVERYONE.
IS IT A DIFFERENT FORMAT THAN THIS? YEAH.
IS THERE A REASON WHY ADDING A COLUMN AND SUMMARIZING THE ACTIONS, WOULD THAT NOT WORK? YEAH, I THINK THERE'S A THERE'S SO THE VERBAL OR THE, THE WRITTEN UPDATE, AND THEN THERE'S LIKE, IS IT 25% DONE? 50%? UH, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? SO THERE IS A COUPLE OF COLUMNS, BUT WE TRY TO DO IT SO THAT AGAIN, YOU CAN GLEAN SOMETHING BY NOT HAVING TO READ EVERY SINGLE WORD.
WELL, I, I, I DEFER TO YOU, UH, AS OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ON WHAT FORMAT IT TAKES, BUT I DO THINK IT WOULD BE HELPFUL.
UM, I KNOW THAT I, UH, FORGET THINGS.
AND SO BEING ABLE TO SEE, UH, SOME KIND OF A PROGRESS, EVEN IF IT'S JUST A FEW SENTENCES
[00:40:01]
OR A FEW BULLETS THAT SUMMARIZE WHAT ACTION WE'VE TAKEN SINCE WE LAST MET, IT COULD ALSO BE REALLY HELPFUL FOR YOU AND FOR ME AT THE END OF THE YEAR, AS WE LOOK BACK TO SEE A COMBINATION OF THOSE ACTIVITIES.SO YEAH, I THINK THAT, UM, I'M SUPPOSED TO DO TWO UPDATES PER YEAR, BUT WE'RE TRACKING IT SORT OF AS WE GO.
SO, UH, AND WELL, ANYWAY, SO YEAH, SO I CAN, I CAN FIGURE OUT HOW TO MAKE THAT SOMETHING THAT CAN BE REFERENCED MORE EASILY INSTEAD OF WAITING FOR MY EMAIL.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR REBEL? ANY COMMENTS? OKAY.
[Presentation & Discussion: Review & Learnings from CAN Regional Summit & Expanding Opportunity Forums]
WILL MOVE ON TO THE NEXT AGENDA ITEM, WHICH IS PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION REVIEW AND LEARNINGS FROM THE CAN REGIONAL SUMMIT AND EXPANDING OPPORTUNITY FORUMS RO.AND AS YOU KNOW, WE, UH, WE HAD THE SUMMIT, UM, BACK IN NOVEMBER, NOVEMBER 5TH, APPARENTLY, AND PFLUGERVILLE, UH, A FEW OF US HERE WERE THERE.
WE HAD 60 PEOPLE AND IT JUST HAPPENED TO BE THE LOWEST, THE LOWEST INCIDENCE OF COVID SINCE THE START OF THE PANDEMIC AT THAT TIME, IT WAS RIGHT BEFORE I'M A CRUMP.
AND SO WE GOT LUCKY IN THAT SENSE THAT WE, IT WAS SCHEDULED AT RIGHT, AT EXACTLY THE RIGHT TIME FOR IT, UH, AN IN-PERSON MEETING THAT WAS STILL MASKED.
BUT IT WAS IN PERSON WE HAD ABOUT 60 PEOPLE ATTEND.
UM, AND SO, UH, AND THEN SINCE THEN, RIGHT, THERE WAS, YOU KNOW, THERE WAS IN A FOUR HOURS SORT OF SUMMIT.
THERE WASN'T A CHANCE TO REALLY DELVE INTO EVERY SINGLE ISSUE THAT IS RELATED TO THE, UH, ECONOMIC RECOVERY.
AND WE KNEW THAT GOING IN THAT WE WEREN'T GOING TO BE ABLE TO COVER EVERYTHING.
UM, SO WE, UH, INTENTIONALLY ANNOUNCED THAT, YOU KNOW, THE, UH, THAT WE WERE GOING TO HAVE A SERIES OF EXPANDING OPPORTUNITY FORUMS. SO I JUST WANTED TO GIVE FOLKS AN UPDATE ON THAT, YOU KNOW, SO, UM, I SHARED A COUPLE OF QUOTES RIGHT.
UH, RUDY ALWAYS, YOU KNOW, UM, DEPENDABLE FOR STARTING OFF THINGS WITH AN INSPIRATIONAL NOTE, RIGHT.
SO HE'S A BIG CAN SUPPORT HER.
AND, UH, AND HE OBVIOUSLY, UH, WAS VERY HAPPY THAT, UH, WE FOLLOWED THROUGH, ON OUR COMMITMENT TO, UM, TO HAVE THE SUMMIT IN PFLUGERVILLE.
AND TO, UM, AND TO DO IT IN PERSON.
CAUSE WE COULD HAVE JUST, UH, DECIDED TO DO IT ALL VIRTUAL.
UM, BUT HE REALLY KIND OF LIKES THE IDEA OF WORKING COLLECTIVELY OF COURSE, FOR SUCCESS AND FOR, UH, YOU KNOW, THE OPPORTUNITY FOR BEING UNITED RIGHT THROUGH THE CAN NETWORK.
UH, THE NEXT LIE THAT I, UM, THAT I HAVE IS JUST, UH, YOU KNOW, WE HAD, STEVEN PEDIGO WAS OUR, UH, WAS OUR KEYNOTE, RIGHT? SO HE SPOKE TO HIS, UM, YOU KNOW, A PLAN FOR A MORE RESILIENT AND EQUITABLE TEXAS.
UM, AND SO, UH, WHAT YOU SEE HERE IS GO TO THE 10 POINTS HE WALKED THROUGH, YOU KNOW, AS PART OF HIS CONVERSATION AND THAT WE DISCUSSED, YOU KNOW, AND, UM, ABOUT, YOU KNOW, BUILDING PARTNERSHIPS AND, UM, INCLUSION, THE IMPORTANCE OF INCLUSION AND DIVERSITY, UM, YOU KNOW, TALENT AND SKILL DEVELOPMENT FOR TEXANS, RIGHT.
TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OPPORTUNITIES.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, THE HEALTHCARE ESSENTIAL WORKER PIECE.
AND SO YOU SEE THERE AGAIN, JUST SOME OF THE, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THOSE THINGS THAT, UH, HE WAS LOOKING AT IT MORE FROM A STATEWIDE PERSPECTIVE, RIGHT.
BUT IT'S SOMETHING WHERE WE CAN SEE WHICH OF THESE, UM, ELEMENTS RIGHT.
WORK OR IMPORTANT, YOU KNOW, IN OUR LOCAL CONTEXT.
AND, UH, WE GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE AGAIN, UH, REALLY LIKED THIS, UH, THIS QUOTE FROM TAMRA HAPPENS TO BE SITTING RIGHT NEXT TO ME, BUT THAT'S NOT WHY I PICKED IT FOR THE RECORD NOW, BUT AGAIN, JUST ABOUT AGAIN, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE WANT IS, UH, YOU KNOW, WE'VE HAD GROWTH IN BOTH LOW SKILL, LOW WAGE AND HIGH SKILL, HIGH WAGE POSITIONS, BUT YOU KNOW, WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS, IS KIND OF PROLIFERATE JOBS OR CREATE JOBS THAT HAVE A CAREER PATHWAY ASSOCIATED WITH THEM, RIGHT.
SO THAT THAT'S THE KIND OF BUSINESS WHY NOT ATTRACT, RIGHT.
SO THAT, UH, FOLKS HAVE THAT PATHWAY TO INCREASE EARNING, YOU KNOW, AND SKILL DEVELOPMENT.
UM, AND WE'RE GOING TO HEAR MORE ABOUT THE HIRE LOCAL PLAN.
SO I ASSUME THERE'S AN ALIGNMENT THERE.
AND, UH, AND THEN FINALLY, UM, I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, YOU KNOW, I WAS JUST KIND OF GOING OFF OF WHAT SEEMED TO REALLY EXCITE PEOPLE WHO ATTENDED, BUT A TALK ABOUT APPRENTICESHIPS.
AND I KNOW THAT, UH, WE HAD ACC TALK ABOUT ITS PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS AND THE PFLUGERVILLE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, BUT WE HAD NEERAJ AGGARWALL FROM THE MICHAEL AND SUSAN DELL FOUNDATION.
AND HE TALKED A LITTLE BIT, UM, ABOUT, UM, THE WORK MSDF IS MOVING FORWARD AROUND APPRENTICESHIPS AND THE
[00:45:01]
CRITICAL ROLE IT COULD PLAY IN, UM, IN WORKFORCE OPPORTUNITIES.AND AGAIN, HOW IT'S USED IN OTHER COUNTRIES A LOT MORE THAN IT IS HERE, AND THAT THERE'S SOME BILL THAT'S HELD UP IN, IN WASHINGTON THAT COULD PUT A LOT OF MONEY INTO IT.
UM, SO AS I, I JUST KIND OF SHARED THAT THE LEXER, BUT THERE IS, UH, THE SUMMARY THAT'S IN THE SHARED DRIVE IS THE FOUR PAGE SUMMARY THAT KIND OF TALKS MORE ABOUT WHAT THE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT FOLKS TAMRA, AND I'M NOT BLANKING OUT AS, UH, IN THE RURAL CAPITAL, PAUL, PAUL FLETCHER.
AND, UH, AS WELL AS, UH, THE PFLUGERVILLE CDC, WHAT ACC HAD TO SAY.
I THINK IT'S, UH, IT'S A VERY, VERY, VERY GOOD INFORMATION, VERY GOOD STUFF.
UM, AND THEN I PROVIDED A COUPLE OF SUMMARIES.
UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE POWERPOINT ONLY HAS A COUPLE OF SLIDES.
SO IF YOU GO TO THE NEXT, MAYBE TWO SLIDES DOWN FROM HERE, UH, WE HAD OUR X TWO, THREE EXPANDING OPPORTUNITY FORMS THAT KIND OF SUMMARIZED INFORMATION FROM, UH, FROM TWO OF THEM.
SO WE HAD THIS, UH, FORUM IN FEBRUARY, UM, WITH OUR CHAMBER PARTNERS FROM THE, UH, OR, UH, IT'S NOT CALLED MECCA ANYMORE, RIGHT.
DIVERSITY AND ETHNIC FOR ALLIANCE.
UH, BUT WE HAD, UM, FUNG FUNG FROM THE ASIAN CHAMBER IN TAM, FROM THE BLACK CHAMBER IN BRITTANY, FROM THE HISPANIC CHAMBER, UH, HAVE, UH, A GREAT CONVERSATION, YOU KNOW, ABOUT ECONOMIC, UM, THE CHALLENGES THAT, UM, MINORITY BUSINESSES FACED AND, UM, AND SORT OF WHAT WERE SOME OF THE THINGS WE SHOULD LOOK AT GOING FORWARD.
AND SO YOU SEE AGAIN, KIND OF A, A SUMMARY OF 90 MINUTES WORTH OF CONVERSATION HERE.
UM, THE POWERPOINTS THAT ARE IN THE, UH, THAT ARE IN THE, UH, IN THE SHARED DRIVE KIND OF HAVE MORE DETAIL, BUT AGAIN, YOU KNOW, IT WAS, IT WAS INTERESTING TO HEAR ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE OF, YOU KNOW, BLACK BUSINESSES VERSUS ASIAN BUSINESSES, RIGHT.
HISPANIC BUSINESSES, AND EACH ONE HAD A VERY UNIQUE REASON, YOU KNOW, WHY THOSE ENTREPRENEURS WERE CHALLENGED.
UM, AND SOME OF IT, UM, YOU KNOW, IN, YOU KNOW, LIKE IN THE HISPANICS, THEY DIDN'T REALLY GET, UH, ACCESS TO A LOT OF ECONOMIC RELIEF PROGRAMS, RIGHT.
AND THE ASIAN COMMUNITY, I MEAN ALSO HAD THE SAME, UH, EXPERIENCE, BUT THERE WAS A LANGUAGE BARRIER, RIGHT.
A LOT OF TIMES TO GETTING A SUPPORT THAT THEY NEEDED, WHETHER FROM PPE, RIGHT.
TO KIND OF ECONOMIC RELIEF, UH, AND IN THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY, THEY SPOKE A LOT ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THEIR, THEIR MEMBERS BEING SOLE PROPRIETORS AND AT THE VERY BEGINNING, SO PROPRIETORS WEREN'T ALLOWED TO ASK FOR RELIEF.
SO, SO, UH, KIND OF LOOK IT OVER.
I MEAN, IT'S, UH, UH, THIS IS, I THINK IS A, AS, YOU KNOW, PART OF THE WORK PLAN IN THE, YOU KNOW, IN AUGUST WE'LL LAUNCH AN EXPANDING OPPORTUNITY ACTION TEAM.
SO WE'LL TAKE ALL THIS INFORMATION, RIGHT.
AND WE'LL START DEVELOPING, UM, SOME SUGGESTIONS TO THE BOARD ABOUT WHAT ROLE CAN, COULD PLAY RIGHT.
TO HELP WITH THE ECONOMIC RECOVERY.
AND SO WE'RE, UH, AS, AS STATED IN THE WORK PLAN, WE'RE IN THAT ASSESSMENT PHASE WHERE WE'RE ASSESSING WHAT IS INAPPROPRIATE ROLE FOR CAN IN TERMS OF MENTAL HEALTH, BUT ALSO WHAT'S AN APPROPRIATE ROLE FOR CAN WHEN IT COMES TO THE ECONOMIC RECOVERY.
AND THEN IF YOU GO MAYBE A FEW SLIDES DOWN TO, I DON'T KNOW, SLIDE 18, MAYBE.
UH, WE HAD, UH, THE OTHER ONE I SUMMARIZE HERE, AND AGAIN, THESE ARE ALL ON OUR WEBSITE.
IF YOU WANT TO LOOK AT THEM AND WATCH THE ACTUAL LAB PANEL DISCUSSION, BUT WE HAD A VERY, A VERY FRUITFUL DISCUSSION ON WOMEN IN THE POST PANDEMIC RECOVERY.
AND YOU SEE THE PR THE PARTICIPANTS, THERE ARE THE FEATURED PANELISTS.
UH, CAUSE WE KNOW THAT AGAIN, YOU KNOW, VERY EARLY ON, WE, WE, WE KNEW THAT WOMEN WERE BEING MORE ADVERSELY AFFECTED, UM, DURING THE PANDEMIC FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS, AGAIN, THAT WE GOT INTO AS PART OF THAT FORUM AND THEN ALSO THAT WOMEN OF COLOR IN PARTICULAR KIND OF FACE, YOU KNOW, ADDITIONAL CHALLENGES IN THAT PROCESS.
SO, UH, SO WHY DID I JUST GOT TO SHARE THAT INFORMATION THAT KIND OF, WE, UH, WE, AGAIN, MAY DECIDE THERE'S A NEED FOR MORE FORUMS, MORE EXPANDING OPPORTUNITY FORUMS, BUT WE WANTED TO KIND OF BRING SOME, SOME OF OUR, UM, PARTNERS TOGETHER TO LOOK AT THE INFORMATION AND REALLY JUST MAP OUT THE NEXT STEP.
SO THAT WE KNOW IF THERE'S MORE, UM, DISCOVERY RIGHT.
OR ASSESSING WE NEED TO DO, OR ARE WE READY TO SAY THIS IS KIND OF WHAT WE THINK WOULD BE GOOD FOR? CAN, YOU KNOW, TO, TO HELP WITH GOING FORWARD.
SO I THINK THAT'S WHAT I GOT THERE AND HAPPY TO TALK, TALK THROUGH IT.
UH, ANY QUESTIONS FOR RAUL? YES.
[00:50:01]
YOU, DO YOU GET THE SENSE THAT THE, UM, THE, THE WORDS THAT CAN DELIVER THE CHANGES, UH, THE CITY OF THE COUNTY, UM, THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS, UH, THE NONPROFITS THAT CETERA, UM, THAT THEY, UH, RECEIVE THE INFORMATION AND DEVELOP ACTION PLANS, UH, TO INVEST MONEY TO CORRECT THOSE DEFICIENCIES THAT WE, THAT WE FIND, OR, UH, IS THE PURPOSE OF, CAN I GUESS I'M ASKING, DOES IT SERVE THE PURPOSE OF THOSE ENTITIES? DO YOU SEE ACTION PLAN COMING OUT OF IT? UH, AS A RESULT? I MEAN, I THINK WHEN, WHEN WE FIND THE SWEET SPOT, RIGHT, WHICH IS USUALLY A PROCESS THAT TAKES KEN A LITTLE BIT RIGHT.TO, TO FIGURE OUT, WELL, WHAT IS AN APPROPRIATE ROLE AND WITHIN OUR CAPACITY, RIGHT.
AND WITHIN OUR, UM, ABILITY TO, TO UNDERTAKE.
UM, AND, UM, AND SO WHATEVER IT IS THAT WE PICK, TYPICALLY WE GO THROUGH A PLANNING PROCESS AND THEN WE TRY TO IMPLEMENT AND, YOU KNOW, LANGUAGE ACCESS AND RACE EQUITY, YOU KNOW, WE'RE PROBABLY FIVE YEARS INTO THOSE.
SO WE HAVE A LOT THAT'S HAPPENING IN TERMS OF ACTIONS, RIGHT.
UM, AND SO IN THIS ASSESSMENT PHASE, YOU KNOW, UM, I THINK THE REASON WE HAD SUCCESS WITH BOTH OF THOSE IS THAT WE REALLY WERE INTENTIONAL AND METHODICAL ABOUT THE ROLE WE OUTLINED FOR CANNES.
SO I, I STILL THINK WE WERE PRETTY EARLY IN THE PROCESS, BUT IF THERE IS SOMETHING THAT STANDS OUT AS THIS IS THE THING WE WANT CAN TO DO, YOU KNOW, AND THE BOARD REALLY WANTS TO DIVE INTO SOMETHING OR DIG INTO SOMETHING, UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE CAN BE IN THAT COMMITTEE, I THINK THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO, IT SAYS, IS IT ONE OF THOSE THINGS WHERE WE NEED TO ACT NOW AND MOVE WITH URGENCY, UM, OR AGAIN, KEEP TRYING TO, UH, UM, ASSESS WRITER OR DETERMINE WHAT THE CORRECT ROLE IS.
AND WE'RE GOING TO HEAR FROM THE DIVERSITY AND ETHNIC CHAMBER ALLIANCE, RIGHT.
ABOUT THEIR REGIONAL ECONOMIC EQUITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN.
AND SINCE THEY'RE IN THE VERY EARLY STAGES OF THAT PLANNING, THAT MIGHT BE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO WORK TOGETHER WITH THOSE CANNED PARTNERS AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS, RIGHT.
TO, TO HELP SINCE, YOU KNOW, ENSURING AN EQUITABLE ECONOMIC RECOVERY AND DEVELOPING A PLAN FOR ECONOMIC EQUITY, RIGHT.
UH, THEN AGAIN, FOR ME, THAT'S THE WAY I SEE THERE'S NO NEED FOR US TO BE OPERATING KIND OF INDEPENDENTLY OF THAT.
SO HOPEFULLY AS WE LEARN MORE ABOUT THAT, WE'LL SEE KIND OF WHERE THAT SETTING, I HAVE THE SENSE THAT, UH, TO BE HAPPY, YOU HAVE TO FEEL LIKE WE'RE MAKING A DIFFERENCE.
AND I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU FEEL LIKE YOU'RE MAKING A DIFFERENCE.
AND, UH, I THINK IT KEEPS US PRODUCTIVE, UH, RIGHT IN YOUR SHOES.
I WOULD BE CONTINUOUSLY FRUSTRATED CAUSE IT TAKES SPECIAL PEOPLE TO DO SPECIAL JOB.
UM, BECAUSE I, I SOMETIMES WONDER IF, UH, IF WE HAVE ENOUGH COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE LARGE ENTITIES, UM, TO, UM, TO LEVERAGE THE, THE MONEY THAT THEY SPEND, UH, TO AFFECT A GREATER GOOD.
AND PUT IN PART OF OUR ASSESSMENT IS ALWAYS A WIN, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T WANT TO RECREATE, WHAT IS IT? WE DON'T WANT TO RECREATE THE WHEEL.
MY BRAIN'S ALREADY SHOULD ENOUGH.
UH, BUT UH, YOU KNOW, REINVENT THE WHEEL.
UM, BUT, UH, AND AGAIN, SO PART OF IT IS TO LOOK AT, BECAUSE AGAIN, WE'RE NOT THE ONLY ONES WHO THINK THERE'S A NEED FOR EQUITY IN THE ECONOMIC RECOVERY.
SO, YOU KNOW, IT HAS ENOUGH RESEARCH BEEN DONE FOR US TO BE CONFIDENT THAT OKAY, WE CAN, WE CAN KIND OF SEE THE GAPS AND THEN WHERE WE CAN HAVE AN IMPACT.
AND I THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT WAYS WE COULD GO.
AND I THINK THAT'S PART OF WHY WE WANTED TO SORT OF SHARE WHAT WE'VE DONE RIGHT.
IN TERMS OF THE SUMMIT, IN TERMS OF OUR FORUMS, AND THEN HEAR FROM OUR WORKFORCE PARTNER, RIGHT AROUND THE HIRE LOCAL PLAN AND WHERE THEY'RE AT AND HEAR FROM OUR CHAMBER MINORITY CHAMBER MEMBERS, RIGHT.
ABOUT THAT PLAN THAT THEY'RE UNDERTAKING.
AND SO THAT'S PART OF THE DISCOVERY PROCESS.
AND I THINK IT'S, UH, FOR ME, IT'S EXCITING.
CAUSE YOU KNOW, THESE, THESE, THESE, THESE FORUMS HAVE BEEN VERY INSTRUCTIVE.
UM, BUT YOU DO SEE A LOT OF OVERLAP IN TERMS OF WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING.
SO THEN AFTER THAT, IT'S MORE LIKE IF THESE ARE THE THINGS EVERYONE'S SAYS NEED TO BE DONE, THEN HOW DO WE FACILITATE THAT HAPPENING? RIGHT.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? ANY OTHER COMMENTS? ALL RIGHT.
[Presentation & Discussion: Hire Local Workforce Plan]
MOVING ON.NOW WE WILL NOW MOVE TO A PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION OF THE HIRE LOCAL PLAN.
RAUL, JUST SET IT UP SO WELL FOR US.
UH, SO THIS IS, WE'RE GOING TO TAG TEAM ON THIS ONE.
I'M GOING TO PRESENT, UH, THE FIRST SLIDES AND THEN, UM, VICE CHAIR, COUNCIL MEMBER FUENTES IS
[00:55:01]
GOING TO JOIN ME IN THIS PRESENTATION.SO THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBER FOR THIS, UH, TO SET THIS UP FOR EVERYONE BEFORE WE JUMP INTO THIS DECK AND GO THROUGH IT.
UM, I WANT TO, UM, ECHO A COMMENT THAT ROE MADE A FEW MINUTES AGO WHERE HE WAS TALKING ABOUT DR.
PEDAGOGY'S SUMMARY OF RESILIENCE ON A STATEWIDE PERSPECTIVE.
UH, HE NOTED THAT SENATOR WATSON AND DR.
PEDAGO REALLY CALLED OUT TALENT AND SKILL DEVELOPMENT AS KEY FINDINGS FOR HOW COMMUNITIES CAN BE RESILIENT.
AND I WOULD SAY, I DARE TO SAY THAT THE HIGHER LOCAL PLAN THAT I'M GOING TO TALK THROUGH WITH YOU ALL TODAY REPRESENTS AUSTIN, TRAVIS COUNTY'S EFFORTS IN THIS TALENT AND SKILL DEVELOPMENT.
SO WHILE IT'S NOT STATEWIDE, WHILE WE DON'T HAVE THAT AUTHORITY, WE HOPE THAT WE CAN BE A MODEL FOR HOW COMMUNITIES CAN COME TOGETHER TO GROW OUR OWN TALENT FROM WITHIN OUR COMMUNITIES AND SEE THAT, UH, LOCAL RESIDENTS CAN HAVE THE SKILLS TO QUALIFY FOR THE JOBS THAT ARE GROWING OUR ECONOMY.
THAT IS OUR ANSWER, UH, FROM WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS, VANTAGE POINT, THAT IS OUR ANSWER TO AN EQUITABLE ECONOMIC RECOVERY IS, UH, PEOPLE HAVE SKILLS THAT ARE IN DEMAND THEN THAT HELPS THEM GET JOBS THAT PAY, UH, WAGES THAT ALLOW THEM TO AFFORD TO STAY IN THIS COMMUNITY.
SO WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, LET'S JUST JUMP INTO THIS PRESENTATION.
AND I WILL SAY ON MY PRINTOUT, IT LOOKS LIKE A IT'S GOT RUSSIAN OR SOMETHING AT THE TOP OF THE HEADING.
SO HOPEFULLY THE, IF WE COULD ADVANCE TO THE NEXT SLIDE, I'M HOPING THAT NO, NO, I CAN, I CAN SEE IT.
SO SAID SOMETHING ABOUT, UH, PRINTING A, YOUR POWERPOINT LEAD FOR SOME TUBEROUS TO APPEAR.
COULDN'T FIGURE IT OUT IN THE, IN THE, OH GOOD.
I HAVE A MASTER'S DEGREE IN LINGUISTICS, BUT THIS WAS STILL GOING TO CHALLENGE ME.
I GOT TO SAY, ALL RIGHT, WELL, LET'S TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE, A HIGHER LOCAL PLAN AND REALLY THERE'S THREE WAYS THAT WE SEE WITHIN THIS HIGHER LOCAL PLAN THAT WE ARE ABLE TO GROW OUR OWN WORKFORCE.
IT'S REALLY HIGHER SKILLS FOR LOCAL PEOPLE.
SO AGAIN, I MENTIONED EQUITY BRINGING AN EQUITY LENS TO NO WORKER LEFT BEHIND WHEN WE LOOK AT THE DATA AND WE SEE RIGHT NOW AND I'M GOING TO, I DON'T KNOW THAT I HAVE THIS STATISTIC IN HERE, BUT WE SEE THAT, UH, THERE ARE, UM, TWO TIMES AS MANY JOB OPENINGS AS THERE ARE ACTIVE JOB SEEKERS.
UH, WE KNOW THAT WE NEED EVERYONE WHO CAN WORK AND WANTS TO WORK.
WE WANT TO SEE THAT PEOPLE HAVE THE SKILLS TO QUALIFY FOR THE GOOD JOBS IN OUR AREA.
I'M NOTICING THAT THIS DECK HERE IS I THINK MAYBE DIFFERENT THAN THE ONE THAT THE LATEST ONE THAT WAS SENT.
I CAN WORK THROUGH THIS, BUT I THINK THAT MAYBE THIS IS AN OLDER VERSION OF THE SLIDE DECK.
I THINK THAT WAS THE PROBLEM IN THE, IN THE PRINTING OF IT.
WELL, WE'LL KEEP GOING THROUGH THAT.
IT DOESN'T HAVE THE QUESTION PROMPTS.
SO ALLOW US TO DO A LITTLE, UH, HERE ON YOU GUYS, WE'LL GO THROUGH THIS DECK AND THEN WE WILL TURN IT.
SO THIS IS, I THINK THIS IS AN OLDER VERSION RAUL AND CARLOS HAVE THE DECK THAT WAS SENT TO YOU.
IT'S STILL, IT'S STILL ALL RELEVANT.
UM, SO THE PLAN, REALLY THREE COMPONENTS, HIGHER SKILLS FOR LOCAL PEOPLE, HIGHER EARNINGS.
THIS IS HOW WE ADDRESS AFFORDABILITY IS THAT PEOPLE HAVE THE EARNINGS, UH, THAT ALLOW THEM TO CONTINUE TO STAY IN PROSPER IN THIS COMMUNITY.
AND WE WANT TO SHOW GROWING PAYROLLS FOR LOCAL BUSINESSES.
WE WANT TO SEE THAT OUR BUSINESS COMMUNITY IS ALSO PROSPEROUS, UM, AND THAT THEY ARE PROSPEROUS BECAUSE THEY HAVE TALENT FROM OUR LOCAL COMMUNITIES TO FILL THEIR OPEN JOBS.
SO IF WE CAN MOVE TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
SO WHAT ARE THE STRATEGIES THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT WITHIN THIS REALLY, WE'VE GOT FOUR STRATEGIES WITHIN THE HIRE LOCAL PLAN, AND THOSE ARE THESE STRATEGIES THAT HAVEN'T CHANGED FROM THE FIRST VERSION OF OUR PLAN.
SO IF YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN AROUND FOR A WHILE, YOU MAY HAVE HEARD WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS AND OTHERS TALK ABOUT THE COMMUNITY WORKFORCE PLAN, WHICH WAS AN INFINITELY FORGETTABLE TITLE TITLE FOR A PLAN.
SO WE'VE, WE TRIED TO RENAME IT TO MAKE IT A LITTLE CLEARER.
UM, BUT THE STRATEGIES WITHIN THAT FIRST PLAN ARE THE SAME STRATEGIES HERE.
CAUSE WE'VE SEEN THAT THEY WORK.
AND SO STRATEGY ONE IS ABOUT AWARENESS THAT LEADS TO ENROLLMENT IN CAREER PATHWAYS, FOR JOBS THAT ARE IN DEMAND.
SO OVER AND OVER AGAIN, WHEN I TALK TO SCHOOL DISTRICTS, WHEN I TALKED TO SUPERINTENDENTS, TEACHERS, COUNSELORS, COMMUNITY LEADERS, THEY SAY OUR YOUNG PEOPLE, OUR STUDENTS DON'T NECESSARILY KNOW, UM, WHAT JOBS ARE IN DEMAND.
THEY IN HEALTHCARE, THEY'VE HEARD OF GUESTS, WELL GUESS WHAT TWO OCCUPATIONS PEOPLE HAVE HEARD OF IN HEALTHCARE
[01:00:01]
DOCTORS AND NURSES, RIGHT? AND THAT IS TRUE.AND THOSE ARE IN DEMAND, BUT THERE ARE SEVERAL HUNDRED OTHER OCCUPATIONS IN HEALTHCARE THAT ARE ALSO IN DEMAND.
SO WE CAN DO A BETTER JOB AS A COMMUNITY, RAISING AWARENESS ABOUT ALL THE JOBS THAT ARE IN DEMAND AND MAKING SURE THAT PEOPLE UNDERSTAND HOW THEY CAN SEE THEMSELVES GETTING INTO THOSE JOBS AND MAKE THOSE PATHWAYS TO GET INTO THOSE JOBS, STARTING IN HIGH SCHOOL, AS EASY AS POSSIBLE.
SO STRATEGY TWO THEN IS ABOUT TRAINING.
UM, ONCE WE RAISE AWARENESS AND WE HELP PEOPLE UNDERSTAND ABOUT OPPORTUNITIES, WE WANT TO SEE THAT PEOPLE GET WHAT THEY, UH, WHAT THEY NEED, WHICH IS ACCESS TO A TRAINING PROGRAM.
THIS IS WHERE OUR FRIENDS AT AUSTIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE ARE SO IMPORTANT.
I DON'T SEE GOODWILL IN OUR MEETING TODAY, BUT GOODWILL IS ALSO A KEY PARTNER IN TERMS OF THE TRAINING THAT THEY DO.
IT TAKES BOTH COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS AND OUR COMMUNITY COLLEGES.
CHRIS TOLD US AT THE BEGINNING, OUR, OUR COMMUNITY COLLEGE TO PROVIDE THE POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION, UH, THAT IS PART OF THE SKILLS TRANSFER FOR WORKERS IN OUR COMMUNITY.
THEN THE THIRD STRATEGY IS WHERE WE GET TO PLACEMENTS.
SO ALL OF THAT IS REALLY A MEANS TO AN END.
AND WITHIN OUR PLAN, WE'VE GOT SPECIFIC ACTIONS, UM, THAT ARE RELATE TO HOW WE WANT TO HELP PEOPLE GO DIRECTLY FROM A TRAINING PROGRAM, INTO A JOB, OR EVEN BETTER, EVEN BETTER.
WE ARE ACTUALLY, UH, HAVE OPPORTUNITIES AND HAVE VARIETY OF OPTIONS WHERE PEOPLE CAN BE PLACED IN A JOB WHILE THEY'RE LEARNING.
SO WE CALL THAT AN EARNIN LEARN.
IT CAN TAKE SEVERAL DIFFERENT FORMS, INCLUDING APPRENTICESHIP.
IT CAN TAKE, UM, ON THE JOB TRAINING, THERE'S LOTS OF FORMS IT CAN TAKE.
BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE WANT TO SEE THAT EMPLOYERS HAVE SKILLED TALENT AND THAT WORKERS ARE ABLE TO GET INTO JOBS AND START EARNING A PAYCHECK OR ADVANCE IN THEIR PAYCHECK IF THEY'RE ALREADY WORKING.
AND THEN STRATEGY FOUR IS UP-SKILLING, WHICH IS WHERE WE RECOGNIZE THAT FRANKLY, WHEN IT COMES TO WHERE THEIR RESOURCES FOR PEOPLE TO GROW THEIR SKILLS, IT'S WITH EMPLOYERS AND IT'S ON THE JOB.
SO THE ROLE OF THE PUBLIC WORKFORCE SYSTEM, I WOULD SAY THE ROLE OF THE SCHOOL SYSTEM IS TO PROVIDE A FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION SO THAT PEOPLE CAN GO TO WORK.
AND THEN EMPLOYERS IDEALLY ARE ABLE THEN TO TAKE THE WORKERS AND HELP THE WORKERS GROW THEIR SKILLS ON THE JOB.
AND WE HAVE SO MANY GREAT EXAMPLES AND OUR COMMUNITY OF FABULOUS EMPLOYERS, SMALL, MEDIUM, AND LARGE EMPLOYERS THAT ARE INVESTING IN THEIR WORKERS AND GROWING THEM ON THE JOB.
SO THAT'S WHAT UPSKILLING IS ABOUT.
SO WE TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE TACTICS WITHIN EACH OF THESE, AND I WON'T GO THROUGH THESE CAUSE I JUST TALKED ABOUT THEM AT A HIGH LEVEL, BUT NOT UNLIKE THE CONVERSATION WE JUST HAD HERE, UH, WITH RAUL WHERE I ASKED GROWL.
OKAY, SO YOU HAVE A STRATEGIC PLAN AND THEN YOU HAVE A WORK PLAN UNDERNEATH IT.
AND THAT WORK PLAN HAS ACTIONS.
UH, SO DOES OUR HIGHER LOCAL PLAN.
SO WE'VE GOT OUR FOUR STRATEGIES THAT I JUST OUTLINED.
AND THEN UNDERNEATH EACH OF THOSE STRATEGIES, THERE ARE SPECIFIC TACTICS THAT, UH, WE HAVE AN INTERNAL TEAM AT WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS AND ACROSS OUR COMMUNITY ORGANIZED AROUND, UH, ACT BEING ACTION ORIENTED TO SHOW THAT WE ARE ADVANCING GOALS THAT WE HAVE UNDER THIS HIGHER LOCAL PLAN, WHICH IS OUR STRATEGIC PLAN.
SO I WON'T GO THROUGH EACH OF THESE BECAUSE I'VE TALKED ABOUT THEM AT A HIGH LEVEL.
IF WE GO THE NEXT SLIDE, THE TRAINING, THIS IS TRAINING NEXT IS PLACEMENT.
LET'S TALK ABOUT HOW WE'RE GONNA EVALUATE THAT WE'RE MAKING PROGRESS IN THIS HIGHER LOCAL PLAN.
SO THIS IS A REALLY IMPORTANT SLIDE BECAUSE AS, AS I TALKED ABOUT AT THE FIRST SLIDE, THERE REALLY THREE AREAS WHERE WE'RE GOING TO MEASURE SUCCESS.
SO THINK OF IT AS QUANTITY, QUALITY AND POVERTY REDUCTION.
THE NUMBER OF SKILLED WORKERS THAT ARE AVAILABLE.
WE'RE GOING TO MEASURE HOW MANY PEOPLE ACTUALLY COMPLETE TRAINING THE NUMBER OF COMPLETERS THAT GO TO WORK BY INDUSTRY SECTOR, BECAUSE WE ORGANIZE OUR WORK AROUND THE INDUSTRY SECTOR AND THEN THE SHARE OF EMPLOYED OVERALL AND BY THE SECTOR.
SO THAT'S THE QUANTITY WE KNOW THAT WE WANT TO SEE OVERALL, THAT, THAT THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO ARE GRADUATING FROM OUR LOCAL POST-SECONDARY PROGRAMS, UH, THAT HAVE THE SKILLS THAT ARE IN DEMAND.
WE WANT TO SEE THAT THAT CONTINUES TO INCREASE AS A PERCENTAGE OF THOSE THAT ARE SUPPORTED BY THE PUBLIC WORKFORCE SYSTEM AND THEN PLACED IN JOBS.
AND THEN OVERALL ON BEHALF OF THE COMMUNITY FOR THE SECOND METRIC HERE AROUND IMPROVING INCOME.
I TALKED ABOUT THAT AS QUALITY.
SO WE WANT TO SEE THAT PEOPLE ARE EARNING MORE MONEY, UH, AFTER THEY COMPLETE TRAINING.
AND THEN AS THEY GO THROUGH THEIR,
[01:05:01]
ON THE JOB EXPERIENCE AS THEY ARE ON THE JOB LONGER.AND AS THEY EVEN PIVOT FROM TIME TO TIME FROM ONE INDUSTRY TO ANOTHER, WE WANT TO SEE THAT INCOME IS IMPROVED AND WE'RE GOING TO MEASURE THAT.
AND THEN LAST BUT NOT LEAST WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS.
AND OUR FIRST COMMUNITY WORKFORCE REALLY LOOKED AT MOVING PEOPLE OUT OF POVERTY, INTO MID-LEVEL JOBS.
AND OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS DID NOT WANT TO LOSE THAT AS AN EMPHASIS OF THIS PLAN.
SO OUR BOARD VOTED THAT WE RETAIN A METRIC AROUND POVERTY REDUCTION.
SO WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? THAT MEANS THAT WE WILL LOOK AT INDIVIDUALS ACROSS OUR COMMUNITY, THAT WHEN THEY START A JOB TRAINING PROGRAM, IF THEY ARE AT, OR BELOW 200% OF POVERTY, UM, WHEN THEY GET INTO A JOB TRAINING PROGRAM, WE'RE GOING TO LOOK TO SEE AFTER THEY EXIT AND FOR SEVERAL QUARTERS AFTER, UM, ARE THEY PROGRESSING IN THEIR INCOME AND MOVING OUT OF POVERTY? SO IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT WAGES INCREASING.
WE WANT TO SEE THINGS INCREASE AT A LEVEL THAT THEY'RE ABLE TO MOVE OUT OF POVERTY ON BEHALF OF THEIR FAMILIES.
SO WITHIN THE HIRE LOCAL PLAN, WE REALIZED WITH VERSION 1.0 THAT WHEN WE TALKED ABOUT 200% OF POVERTY OR SOME OF THESE OTHER INCOME THRESHOLDS, IT WAS, UH, EASY TO GET PEOPLE CONFUSED.
PEOPLE WHO DON'T LIVE IN OUR WORLD AND THINK IN TERMS OF FEDERAL POVERTY INCOME LEVELS, UH, AND WHO WOULD, BY THE WAY, I DON'T KNOW, BUT WE REALIZED THAT WE NEEDED TO, UH, TERM SUCCESS DIFFERENTLY.
AND GIVEN THAT OUR COMMUNITY WAS REALLY, IS REALLY GRAPPLING WITH AFFORDABILITY.
WE WANTED TO TALK ABOUT OUTCOMES THROUGH THE LENS OF WHAT CAN PEOPLE AFFORD ONCE THEY'RE EARNING A CERTAIN LEVELS OF INCOME.
AND SO WE HAVE CREATED WITH OUR EVALUATION AND RESEARCH PARTNER AT THE RAY MARSHALL CENTER, WE CREATED OUTCOME THRESHOLDS THAT ARE TIED TO WHAT PEOPLE CAN AFFORD CHILDCARE, AN IMPORTANT APARTMENT, UM, A MORTGAGE ON A 30 YEAR MORTGAGE RATES.
SO WE ARE LOOKING AT THESE AND WE WILL LOOK WHAT WE WANT TO SEE OVER TIME.
AS WE START REPORTING THE RESULTS OF THIS PLAN IS WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE, WE HOPE TO SEE, EXPECT TO SEE THAT AS PEOPLE ARE ENTERING THE WORKFORCE WITH THE SKILLS THAT ARE IN DEMAND, WE SHOULD SEE THAT THEY PROGRESS UP THROUGH THESE LEVELS.
AND OUR COMMITMENT TO THE COMMUNITY IS THAT ONCE A YEAR ANNUALLY WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS WILL PRODUCE ON BEHALF OF THE COMMUNITY, HOW WE'RE DOING MOVING PEOPLE.
WE HOPE THROUGH THESE THRESHOLDS.
I'LL ALSO SAY THIS IS A GRAND EXPERIMENT, UH, BECAUSE WE ARE NOT AWARE OF ANY OTHER WORKFORCE BOARD THAT IS TERMING ITS OUTCOMES IN THE SAME WAY.
SO WE'LL SEE, UH, HOW WELL THIS WORKS, BUT WE THINK THAT THIS FOCUS ON AFFORDABILITY AND WHAT PEOPLE CAN AFFORD AS A RESULT OF THEIR TRAININGS AND THEN THEIR ENTRY INTO THE WORKFORCE, WE THINK THIS IS THE RIGHT WAY TO GO.
AND OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS VOTED OVERWHELMINGLY TO ADOPT THIS A WAY OF LOOKING AT OUR OUTCOMES.
SO WE'LL TRY IT FOR THEM THE THREE YEARS OF THIS STRATEGIC PLAN AND SEE HOW IT GOES.
THEN, UH, WE WILL CONTINUE TO REASSESS OUR GOALS AS WE GO THROUGH, UH, BECAUSE THIS IS A GRAND EXPERIMENT AND BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT OUR LABOR MARKET IS IN PRETTY SIGNIFICANT FLUX.
WE WILL CONTINUE WITH OUR PARTNERS AT THE RAY MARSHALL CENTER AND OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS.
AND WE HOPE THIS BODY, THE COMMUNITY ADVANCEMENT NETWORK, TO LOOK AT OUR GOALS REASSESS YEAR TO YEAR, ARE THESE THE RIGHT GOALS? ARE THESE THE RIGHT METRICS? BECAUSE AT THE END OF THE DAY, AGAIN, WAS RAUL SET IT UP.
SO WELL, WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR IS AN EQUITABLE ECONOMIC RECOVERY ON BEHALF OF OUR CITIZENS AND ON BEHALF OF AUSTIN, TRAVIS COUNTY RESIDENTS.
SO I'LL PAUSE BEFORE I TURN IT OVER TO COUNCIL MEMBER CUENTAS TO SEE IF ANYONE HAS ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS OR ANY CONCERNS, JEREMY, UH, COMMENT IN THE QUESTIONS TO THE COMMENT.
I APPRECIATE THE CONTINUUM THAT YOU SHOW FOR THE VARIOUS INCOME LEVELS NECESSARY, UH, TO ACHIEVE AFFORDABLY AFFORDING AN APARTMENT OR A HOUSE.
SO I LIKE THE, UH, INCREASED INFORMATION THAT YOU'RE CONVEYING THERE.
AND I KNOW WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THAT BEFORE, AND I, UH, COMMEND YOU FOR, INCLUDING THAT THE, UH, QUESTION, COULD YOU JUST PROVIDE MORE INFORMATION ON CAREER NAVIGATION? SO IT WAS PART OF STRATEGY, NUMBER TWO, THAT WAS ONE OF THE ACTION PLAN GOALS.
AND SO, UH, JUST FOR MORE CONTEXT ON THE ACTIVITIES THAT, UM, YOU'RE UNDERTAKING AND, UH, FOR YOUR CLIENTS, UH, JUST GIVE A SENSE OF WHAT CAREER NAVIGATION LOOKS LIKE, PLEASE.
YEAH, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
SO A KEY PART OF WHAT WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS AND OUR PARTNERS ARE DOING IS PROVIDING A LEVEL OF CAREER AWARENESS AND HELP FOR INDIVIDUALS ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS TO HELP THEM FIND, AND THEN IF NECESSARY, FIND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO GET
[01:10:01]
INTO A POST-SECONDARY PROGRAM.SO WHAT THAT WOULD LOOK LIKE AT WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS MAY BE DIFFERENT, SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT FROM GOODWILL OR SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT FROM THE URBAN LEAGUE, OR EVEN AT ACC, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, WHAT WE ENDEAVOR TO DO, AND WHAT WE'VE SEEN WORKS IS WHEN AN INDIVIDUAL CAN PROVIDE INDIVIDUALIZED, PERSONALIZED EXPERIENCE, UH, I'M SORRY, UM, ASSISTANCE TO AN INDIVIDUAL WHO IS LOOKING FOR TO GET INTO A POST-SECONDARY PATH.
AND WHEN WE HAVE A SUSTAINED EFFORT, WHEN WE'RE ABLE TO STAY WITH THAT PERSON, UH, THROUGH THEIR JOURNEY AND THEIR POST-SECONDARY EXPERIENCE AND INTO EMPLOYMENT THAT WE HAVE THE BEST OUTCOMES POSSIBLE.
SO THAT'S WHAT CAREER NAVIGATION LOOKS LIKE.
WE DO NOT CURRENTLY HAVE STANDARDS THAT WE HAVE ADOPTED IN AUSTIN FOR WHAT THE MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS ARE FOR CAREER NAVIGATION.
IT'S SOMETHING THAT THE COLLABORATIVE OF CONTRACTORS AND PARTNERS THAT WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS WORKS WITH HAVE TALKED ABOUT BEFORE JEREMY, THAT'S NOT YOUR QUESTION, BUT I'LL JUST ADD THAT BECAUSE, UH, IT, IT REALLY IS AT THIS POINT CAREER NAVIGATION AND THE DEFINITION IS LEFT UP TO EACH INDIVIDUAL ORGANIZATION AT OUR ORGANIZATION.
WE DEVELOP AN INDIVIDUAL EMPLOYMENT PLAN WITH EACH PERSON AND WE PERSONALIZE IT, INDIVIDUALIZE IT, AND THEN WE STAY WITH THAT PERSON UNTIL THEY REACH THE CONCLUSION OF THEIR PLAN AS APPROVED, AS DRIVEN BY OR SELECTED BY THE INDIVIDUAL AND IS SUPPORTED BY WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS.
AND ONE POINT THAT YOU MADE EARLIER, THAT'S WELL TAKEN, GIVEN THE DEMAND FOR HEALTH CARE, FOR INSTANCE, AND WHAT'S KNOWN AS DOCTORS AND NURSES, BUT, UH, WHETHER IT'S A TECHNICIAN OR AN ASSISTANT OR THE VARIOUS OCCUPATIONS THAT ALL COMPRISE THE DEMAND WITHIN HEALTHCARE.
AND THAT'S, UH, WHY I WANTED ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THAT CAREER NAVIGATION, BECAUSE A CAREER IN HEALTHCARE CAN TAKE MANY DIFFERENT PATHS, BUT THAT INDIVIDUAL ATTENTION THAT YOU HAVE WITH YOUR CLIENTS, UH, THANKS FOR PROVIDING THAT ADDITIONAL CONTEXT.
I WILL SAY THAT THIS IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT IS A LITTLE BIT OF A HEAD-SCRATCHER FOR US.
AND, UH, AND IT IS IN OTHER COMMUNITIES THAT I VISIT AS WELL AND TALK TO, UM, WE HEAR FROM EMPLOYERS THAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO BE ABLE TO, UH, RAISE AWARENESS AMONG, UM, ABOUT INDUSTRIES AND OCCUPATIONS TO STUDENTS EARLIER AND EARLIER IN THE SCHOOL SYSTEM.
UM, AS WELL AS THEY WANT TO GET THE HELP, GET THE WORD OUT ABOUT THE JOBS THAT ARE AVAILABLE.
AND THEN INITIALLY, SO WE'RE TRYING LOTS OF DIFFERENT THINGS.
WE'VE GOT EMPLOYERS THAT ARE GOING INTO SCHOOLS TO TALK TO STUDENTS.
WE'VE GOT STAFF THAT ARE WORKING WITH CAREER TECHNICAL EDUCATION, CTE DIRECTORS, AND PRINCIPALS AND SUPERINTENDENTS.
WE HAVE VIRTUAL WORKSHOPS, WE'VE GOT A LOT OF COLLATERAL, BOTH PRINT AND ONLINE, LOTS OF WAYS TO GET THE WORD OUT, BUT I WOULD SAY WE STILL HAVE A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY TO IMPROVE AND GROW.
I WOULD LIKE TO TURN IT NOW TO COUNCIL MEMBER FUENTES.
UM, BEFORE I GO, I DID HAVE A COMMENT ON YOUR, UM, PRESENTATION, THE SLIDE THAT YOU HAD, UM, FOR THE OUTCOME THRESHOLDS AND YOU HAD A CERTAIN HOURLY WAGE PER PER HOUR.
UM, AND I'M JUST CURIOUS, CAUSE IT SAYS ABOVE LIVING WAGE 31,200 WOULD BE $15 PER HOUR.
IS THAT FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN? YES.
UH, THAT WAS A, THERE WAS A VERY HEALTHY DEBATE AMONG OUR BOARD AND OUR ADVISORS ABOUT HOW TO SET LIVING WAGE BECAUSE LIVING WAGE CAN BE DEFINED DIFFERENTLY BY A LOT OF DIFFERENT, UH, ORGANIZATIONS.
AND IN THE END, BECAUSE WE, UH, WORK IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND WORK WITH FUNDING FROM THE CITY OF AUSTIN, WE WENT WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN LIVING WAGE.
SO IF THERE ARE ANY CHANGES TO THAT, THIS WOULD ALSO BE REVISED BY, WELL, THAT'S A PERFECT SEGUE BECAUSE I WILL SHARE WITH YOU WHAT WE ARE FINDING HERE IN OUR, AT THE CITY OF AUSTIN IS WE HAVE VACANCIES ACROSS MULTIPLE DEPARTMENTS.
AND WHEN WE TALK ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, GAPS THAT WE HAVE IN OUR HEALTHCARE FIELDS, WE'RE SEEING IN OUR EMS DEPARTMENT THAT WE'RE NOT ABLE TO RECRUIT ENOUGH PEOPLE TO GO THROUGH OUR, UH, PUBLIC SAFETY TRAINING ACADEMY.
AND IT'S NOT JUST EMS IT'S ACROSS THE BOARD.
UM, SO WE ARE SEEING, WE ARE SEEING, UM, NATIONALLY, NATIONALLY LABOR SHORTAGES, UH, BUT IT, IT IS HAVING AN IMPACT ON HOW THE CITY OF AUSTIN IS ABLE TO DELIVER OUR SERVICES IN A CONSISTENT, RELIABLE MANNER WITHOUT SERVICE DISRUPTIONS.
AND SO, UH, WE ARE HAVING A CONVERSATION ACTUALLY NEXT WEEK, I HAVE A POLICY ITEM THAT I'M BRINGING FORWARD THAT SEEKS TO TAKE A LOOK AT RAISING OUR LIVABLE WAGE, OUR MINIMUM WAGE FOR CITY EMPLOYEES, UH, FROM $15 AN HOUR TO $22 PER HOUR, WHICH IS, UH, QUITE QUITE A JOB.
BUT WE'RE SEEING IN OUR PUBLIC SECTOR ALONE,
[01:15:01]
THAT MANY ENTITIES ARE MOVING TO 22 CAP.METRO ANNOUNCED THAT THERE'LL BE HIRING DRIVERS BEST DRIVERS FOR $22 AN HOUR, INTEGRAL CARE JUST RAISED THEIR MINIMUM WAGE TO $20 AN HOUR.
UM, WHILE OUR RESOLUTION SEEKS TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION AHEAD OF OUR BUDGET SEASON, WE DO KNOW THAT, UH, THE CITY OF AUSTIN CAN, CAN HELP, UH, SET THAT RATE FOR FOLKS.
AND SO I ANTICIPATE THAT WE'LL HAVE, UH, WE'LL BE RAISING OUR LIVABLE WAGE MIGHT NOT BE 22, BUT WE'RE GOING TO GET AS CLOSE AS WE CAN.
UM, BUT WITH THAT, I DID WANT TO SHARE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, UM, MY, MY DISTRICT, THE AREA THAT I REPRESENT AND WHAT ECONOMIC RECOVERY LOOKS LIKE FOR SOUTHEAST AUSTINITES DISTRICT TWO IS A PRIMARILY LATINO DISTRICT, UH, THE MOST LATINO AREA OF THE CITY WITH ABOUT 63% BEING LATINO.
UM, AND WE ALSO HAVE ONE OF THE LOWEST, UM, HIGH SCHOOL ATTAINMENT RATES.
SO WHILE THE CITY, OUR HIGH SCHOOL ATTAINMENT HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION ATTAINMENT IS ABOUT A 90%, UH, FOR DISTRICT TWO, IT'S AT A 53%.
AND THEN, UM, WHEN WE LOOK AT COLLEGE ATTAINMENT, UM, FOR, FOR THE CITY-WIDE POPULATION, EXCUSE ME, THAT 66%, 16% FOR MY DISTRICT AND IT'S 66% FOR THE CITY.
UM, SO WE SEE SIGNIFICANT DISPARITIES.
AND SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE FOCUS WITH THIS HIGHER LOCAL PLAN, WHAT THAT WOULD DO FOR COMMUNITIES LIKE MINE IS PROVIDE US THAT NECESSARY UPSKILLING THAT WE NEED AND THAT NECESSARY, UH, TRAINING THAT WE NEED SO THAT OUR FOLKS GET ACCESS TO THOSE JOBS THAT PAY LIVABLE WAGES, BECAUSE WHEN IN THIS AFFORDABILITY CRISIS THAT WE'RE HAVING IN AUSTIN, IT HAS A DISPROPORTIONATE IMPACT ON, ON OUR WORKING CLASS.
AND SO I AM EXTREMELY EXCITED ABOUT THE HIRE LOCAL PLAN.
SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BRINGING THAT FORWARD AND EXCITED FOR THIS.
THE STIPENDS THAT Y'ALL WILL HAVE A BAIL AVAILABLE AS PART OF IT.
UH, SO AS PART OF OUR GROUP CONVERSATION TODAY, I DID WANT TO ASK A GROUP DISCUSSION TO SEE IF WE COULD TALK THROUGH AND HEAR FROM FOLKS HERE AND ONLINE ABOUT ANY BARRIERS THAT YOUR CONSTITUENTS OR THAT THE CLIENTS THAT YOU SERVE, OR YOUR MEMBERS THAT YOU WORK WITH, ANY BARRIERS THAT YOU'RE SEEING ON RETURNING TO WORK AND TO SECURE A MORE STABLE WORK ENVIRONMENT AND STABLE EMPLOYMENT, WHAT, WHAT ARE YOU EXPERIENCING WITH THE CLIENTS AND ORGANIZATIONS THAT YOU WORK WITH? JUST WHAT I HAVE HEARD ANECDOTALLY OF THAT, UH, EMPLOYEES THAT HAVE, UH, BEEN WORKING, UH, REMOTE WORKING, OR FINDING IT VERY DIFFICULT TO COME BACK TO WORK, UH, IN THE OFFICE.
UH, AND, UM, UH, MY SON-IN-LAW WORKED FOR INSURANCE COMPANY WHERE THEY, UH, THEIR ENTIRE CALL CENTER IS NOW WORKING FROM HOME.
I LIKE IT, WHAT THEY WOULD COME BACK.
IT'S PRETTY SMALL, WHICH IS A GOOD THING, I THINK.
BUT, UM, I IMAGINE YOU ALL HAVE FOLK WORKING FROM HOME AS WELL AT CITY HALL AND OTHER DEPARTMENTS, UH, THAT APPARENTLY IT WOULD BE HAVING, UH, PEOPLE HAVING SOME CONCERN OR DIFFICULT TO COMING BACK TO THE OFFICE.
YES, I WOULD DEFINITELY SAY I THINK MANY EMPLOYERS, UM, AND, AND ALSO THE CITY ARE HAVING TO NAVIGATE THIS HYBRID, UM, WORK ENVIRONMENT FOR THOSE IN POSITIONS THAT WERE FLEXIBLE, WHERE THEY HAD THE OPTION TO WORK FOR HOME.
OF COURSE, WE HAD MANY EMPLOYEES THAT HAD, DIDN'T HAVE A CHOICE AND HAD TO BE, YOU KNOW, WORKING ON THE FRONT LINES THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE PANDEMIC.
UM, BUT I KNOW FOR EXAMPLE, IN MY OWN OFFICE, UM, WE HAVE A HYBRID SCHEDULE WHERE, UH, TWO DAYS A WEEK WE WORK REMOTELY AND THEN, UH, THREE DAYS A WEEK, WE'RE IN PERSON AT CITY HALL.
UM, AND THAT SEEMS TO BE WORKING PRETTY WELL.
I KNOW, UM, EMPLOYEES REALLY VALUE THAT FLEXIBILITY, I WONDER, DOES THAT JUSTICE AN ONLOOKER? UM, I HAVE FELT FOR A LONG TIME THAT, UH, EMPLOYERS NEEDED TO FIND A BETTER WAY TO JUDGE EFFECTIVENESS OTHER THAN JUST HAVING PEOPLE PRESENT.
AND I WONDER IF THERE'S ANY WORK BEING DONE ALONG THOSE LINES.
JEREMY, DO YOU HAVE SOME COMMENTS? I DON'T HAVE A QUICK ANSWER TO JUAN'S LAST QUESTION, BUT, UM, OH, I WAS PONDERING THAT.
UM, SO THE FIRST THING THAT CAME TO MIND WHILE I HAD ALREADY MENTIONED MATCHING BENEFITS AND EXPECTATIONS GIVEN, UM, THE CHANGING REALITY WITH REMOTE WORK AND FLEXIBILITY AND HOW TO COMMUNICATE EMPLOYER EXPECTATIONS AND EMPLOYEE EXPECTATIONS, AND, UH, FIND A COMMON GROUND THERE THAT'S ONE CHALLENGE.
AND THE OTHER IS JUST THE WAGE PRESSURE, UM, BECAUSE, UH, PRIOR TO THE, UH, INFLATIONARY PRESSURES, UM, AS THERE WERE SHIFTS IN THE LABOR FORCE SHIFTS IN EMPLOYMENT, UH, THERE WERE, UM, SOME POSITIONS THAT, UH, HAD
[01:20:01]
A HIGHER MARKET RATE AVAILABLE AND COULD EMPLOYERS MAINTAIN AND RETAIN THEIR EXISTING TALENT.AND HOW DID THEY RESPOND TO THOSE MARKET PRESSURES AS IT RELATED TO WAGES? SO THAT HAS HAD A TREMENDOUS IMPACT ON SOME EMPLOYERS IN TERMS OF RETAINMENT AND RECRUITMENT OF EMPLOYEES.
I'M, I'M DRIVING SO APOLOGIZE FOR BACKGROUND NOISE, BUT I WOULD SAY, YOU KNOW, CHILDCARE IS SOMETHING THAT ALWAYS KIND OF, UH, BUBBLES UP, UH, IN OUR CONVERSATIONS, NOT ONLY WITH STUDENTS AS A BARRIER TO ACCESS, BUT ALSO ON A FACULTY STAFF EMPLOYEE SIDE, UH, YOU KNOW, THE, THE ISSUES RELATED TO LACK OF CHILDCARE, FLEXIBLE CHILDCARE, UH, IS SOMETHING THAT IS, UH, IT'S SOMETHING WE'RE KEEPING A KEEN EYE ON AND, AND THINKING THROUGH, UM, YES, CHILDCARE.
THAT HAS, I THINK WHAT THE PANDEMIC HAS MAGNIFIED IS OUR CHILDCARE CENTERS AND JUST LOOKING AT OUR CHILDCARE WORKERS, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH AVAILABILITY OF CHILDCARE WORKERS BECAUSE THEY ARE SOME OF OUR LOWEST PAID.
UH, SO THAT'S ANOTHER BIG ISSUE.
UH, I'M CURIOUS TO HEAR MORE, I KNOW YOU DO SOME WORK WITH OUR CHILDCARE PROVIDERS.
UM, ANY THOUGHTS ON, ON THAT AS A BARRIER? YEAH, I AGREE WITH EVERYTHING YOU SAID COUNCIL MEMBER, AND I'LL SAY THAT, UM, THROUGH FEDERAL STIMULUS PASSED DOWN FROM THE, TO THE TEXAS WORKFORCE COMMISSION AND THEN TO WORKFORCE BOARDS, WE ACTUALLY HAVE RESOURCES WE'RE PUTTING INTO BOTH CHILDCARE CENTERS, UM, AS WELL AS SCHOLARSHIPS FOR FAMILIES RIGHT NOW TO TRY TO HELP WITH THOSE AS WELL AS DOLLARS FOR TA, UH, OFFSET THE WAGES OF CHILDCARE WORKERS.
SO THERE'S A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT WAYS WE'RE TRYING TO ADDRESS IT, BUT WE NOT.
ONE OF THEM IS A SILVER BULLET.
AND SO IT'S GOING TO TAKE US WORKING ON ALL THESE, AND I WANT TO THANK THE CITY OF AUSTIN, UM, FOR PUTTING, UH, ARPA DOLLARS INTO YOU ALL PUT STIMULUS DOLLARS TO ADDRESSING CHILDCARE NEEDS.
SO, UM, EVERY LITTLE BIT HELPS BECAUSE IT'S A, IT'S A PERVASIVE NEED THAT IS IMPACTING OUR WORKFORCE.
SO THE NEXT QUESTION WE HAVE IS HOW CAN WE BEST ENGAGE AND GET THE WORD TO YOUR COMMUNITIES TO STRENGTHEN THE WORKFORCE? SO HOW CAN WE BEST ENGAGE AND GET THE WORD OUT TO YOUR COMMUNITIES TO STRENGTHEN THE WORKFORCE? YES,
SO HOW DOES ALL OF THIS AND YOUR SCALE, UH, HOW WILL THAT ALSO IMPACT FOOD ACCESS AND, AND HOW CAN THERE, HOW CAN, HOW CAN IT WORK TOGETHER? BECAUSE A LOT OF THE SAME PEOPLE THAT YOU'RE LOOKING TO ATTRACT FOR PROGRAMS AND SITUATIONS KIND OF LIKE THIS TO SKILL UP ARE THE SAME PEOPLE THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO ASSIST SO THAT THEY HAVE THE RESOURCES AVAILABLE.
SO IT'S JUST ANOTHER LENS THAT I'M LOOKING AT.
AND MY, MY LITTLE HAMSTERS ARE RUNNING AT FULL SPEED INSIDE MY HEAD, UM, WITH DIFFERENT POSSIBILITIES.
BUT THAT IS, THAT IS ONE THING IS PARTNERING WITH OTHER ORGANIZATIONS WHO ARE STILL, UM, WHO ARE, WHO ARE UTILIZED OR WE'RE PROVIDING RESOURCES TO THE DIFFERENT TIERS THAT WE'VE SEEN ON THAT LAST SLIDE THAT SHE SHOWED AND BEING ABLE TO USE THEM AS A CONDUIT, UM, TO EXPAND THE POSSIBILITIES IN DIFFERENT REGIONS.
WELL, I LOVE, I LOVE THAT, UH, THE WAY YOU'RE THINKING DONOVAN.
UM, IN FACT, WHAT, WHAT I WOULD HOPE IS THAT WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS AND CENTRAL TEXAS FOOD BANK WOULD BE ABLE TO PARTNER, UM, ON GETTING THE WORD OUT TO YOUR CLIENTS, BECAUSE IF, UH, IDEALLY IF WE DO OUR JOB WELL, THEN THAT WILL ADDRESS SOME OF THE NEED THAT YOU ALL SEE AROUND FOOD INSECURITY.
I KNOW IN THE PAST, OUR ORGANIZATIONS HAVE HAD SOME LEVEL OF PARTNERSHIP, BUT I THINK THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO STRENGTHEN IT, ESPECIALLY NOW AS YOU HAVE A NEW LEADER THERE.
HEY, THIS, THAT THAT'S ACTUALLY, THIS IS CHRIS.
I'D LIKE TO BUILD ON WHAT TAMAR JUST SAID.
UM, WE COULD MARKET TO THE HEALTH, AND I THINK IN SOME WAYS WE HAVE MARKETED TO THE HEALTH AND I DON'T KNOW THAT MARKETING GETS THE JOB DONE, AND I THINK IT WOULD, WHAT IT REQUIRES IS MORE HANDS HAND ON THE GROUND.
UH, COLLABORATION'S LIKE TAMRA, JUST KIND OF OUTLINED THAT.
I THINK THAT'S GOING TO BE KEY BECAUSE WE NEED TRUSTED COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE LARGE CLIENTELE KIND OF WORKING WITH THEIR,
[01:25:01]
UM, THEIR CLIENTS, TALKING ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITIES, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE COULD, WE COULD PUT UP A MILLION TV COMMERCIALS AND IT, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT SEEMS TO ONLY MOVE THE NEEDLE SO MUCH.UM, ONE THING THAT YOUR QUESTION REMINDED ME OF IS WHAT OUR CHAIR MENTIONED EARLIER IS THE SUPPLY DEMAND DIFFICULTIES THAT WE HAVE, UM, BASED ON OUR LATEST DATA, THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE IS 2.5%.
UM, THE SUPPLY OF AVAILABLE JOBS, 90,000 POSTINGS VERSUS THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE ACTIVELY LOOKING 34,000.
SO THERE'S A MISMATCH IN TERMS OF WHAT'S AVAILABLE AND WHO'S AVAILABLE.
UM, BUT THAT'S FROM A SYSTEMIC REGIONAL PERSPECTIVE.
PART OF THE CHALLENGE ALSO IS WHAT ARE THE OPPORTUNITIES WITHIN A COMPANY OR AN ORGANIZATION WHERE PEOPLE ALREADY ARE, UH, BECAUSE THESE ARE OPPORTUNITIES FOR PEOPLE TO MOVE INTO AN ORGANIZATION, BUT HOW DO THEY MOVE UP AND WITHIN AN ORGANIZATION, AND ARE THOSE OPPORTUNITIES KNOWN, UH, WITHIN, ESPECIALLY FOR SOME OF OUR LARGEST EMPLOYERS, UH, PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTOR, UM, FROM THE, UM, OVERALL, HOW DO WE GET THE WORD OUT? UM, CHRIS'S POINT IS WELL TAKEN.
THERE ARE, UM, EXTENSIVE MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS EFFORTS, BUT, UM, REACHING TARGETED AUDIENCE WITH TARGETED MESSAGE THAT'S WHERE THERE'S DIFFICULTY AND DISCONNECT, UH, THAT REQUIRES CONSTANT ATTENTION AND REFINEMENT.
YOU KNOW, AND THAT, TO ME, JUST, IT FURTHER EXEMPLIFIES WHY WE HAVE TO THINK REGIONALLY WITH ALL OF THE ISSUES HERE IN AUSTIN.
UM, BECAUSE TRULY, I MEAN, JUST GETTING AT THE NUMBERS, YOU RAISE WITH THE NUMBER OF JOB POSTINGS VERSUS THE AMOUNT OF PEOPLE LOOKING FOR JOBS.
AND SO OUR AFFORDABILITY CRISIS THAT WE'RE IN IS INTERCONNECTED TO THE REGION, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER.
AND SO TO THE EXTENT THAT WE CAN, UM, THINK MORE BROADLY WITH THESE ISSUES, UH, AND COORDINATE ACROSS JURISDICTIONS, THE BETTER YES, I CAN REMEMBER.
UM, I THINK GETTING THE WORD OUT IS GOING TO INVOLVE SPENDING MORE MONEY.
AND SO, UH, WE HAVE THE NON-PROFITS WORKING IN THE, IN THE COMMUNITY, UH, THE SPECIALIZE IN DEVELOPING A WORKFORCE, THEY NEED MORE FUNDING, ALL OF, I THINK, AND I THINK THE CITY COUNCIL NEEDS TO BE, UM, WILLING TO BITE THE BULLET AND SPEND THE MONEY, UM, THINK ABOUT IT.
WE'RE GOING TO SPEND BILLIONS OF DOLLARS BUILDING A RAIL SYSTEM.
THAT'S WHAT, THREE CENTURIES OLD AND LET TECHNOLOGY.
AND, UH, AND WE'RE IN A, I THINK A RAPIDLY CHANGING, UH, CURRENT ENVIRONMENT.
UH, BUT WE'RE WILLING TO DO THAT AND WE SHOULD BE WILLING TO INVEST DOLLARS IN OUR WORKFORCE.
AND IF IN FACT, WE'RE GOING TO TRY TO HIRE LOCAL, THAT'S GONNA TAKE MONEY.
IT'S LABOR INTENSIVE, THAT THEY GET THOSE PEOPLE PREPARED TO GO TO WORK.
INVESTING IN OUR WORKFORCE IS TOP OF MIND FOR ME, WHICH IS REALLY, I REALLY HOPE OUR RAISING THE LIVABLE WAGE IS A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE.
SO WITH THAT, I THINK WE HAVE, WE WERE A LITTLE AHEAD OF TIME, SO I'LL TOSS IT BACK TO YOU, MADAM.
THANK YOU SO MUCH COUNCIL MEMBER, AND THANK YOU.
CAN BOARD MEMBERS FOR THAT PR UH, THAT CONVERSATION,
[Presentation & Discussion: DECA’s Efforts to Develop a Regional Economic Equity Development Plan]
UH, MOINES, I'D LIKE TO SEE IF I CAN CALL ON YOU NOW FOR THE NEXT, UH, SECTION.IT IS THE PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION OF DECK AS EFFORTS TO DEVELOP A REGIONAL ECONOMIC EQUITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING THE SPOKESPERSON TODAY.
MOINES, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO YOU.
AND THANK YOU OR A HOLE FOR SETTING THE TONE AND FEEL PRETTY MUCH.
YOU HAVE A COWARD, MY PRESENTATION, UH, ALSO INCORPORATING, UH, THE PERSPECTIVE OF THEIR WORST CITY INTO IT.
UH, THAT KIND OF RESONATES WITH WHAT THEY WERE, WHICH, UH, WITH EVERYONE WHO DISCUSSED OR PRESENTED THEIR ORGANIZATION TODAY DURING THIS MEETING.
SO I FEEL LIKE WE CAN DEFINITELY BUILD A BETTER PARTNERSHIP, UH, TO IMPLEMENT THE READ PLAN.
UM, SO, UH, IF YOU CAN PLEASE GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
THE REGION OF DECA IS TO BETTER THE INTEGRATION OF INDIVIDUALS, FIRMS AND COMMUNITIES WHO HAVEN'T SHARED PROPORTIONALLY IN ORAL, ALL RISE AND LOCAL PROSPERITY.
SO DURING ALL THE, UH, THE MAGIC WORK IS HAPPENING, THERE HAS BEEN LACK ON THE FRANCE OF MINORITIES AND THE COMMUNITIES OF COLOR.
SO THIS IS LIKE AN INITIATIVE FROM MINORITY CHAMBERS TO COME TOGETHER AND BE PART OF THAT LOCAL PROSPERITY.
UH, THE DECA COLLABORATION IS A MILESTONE, THE FIRST COLLABORATION OF ITS KIND IN THE COUNTRY.
AND THANK YOU, UH, THE CITY OF AUSTIN FOR APPROVING FUNDING TO MAKING THIS THING, UH, POSSIBLE.
AND IF YOU COMPLETE IT, GO TO THE
[01:30:01]
NEXT LINE, UM, WE WERE PREVIOUSLY KNOWN AS MACRA TIMBERS.NOW WE HAVE RECENTLY BRANDED OURSELVES AS THE WORST CITY AND APP TO MAKE THE CHAMBER ALLIANCE.
UM, WE COMPRISE IT OR LIKE DECO COMPRISES OF AUSTIN, LGBT CHAMBER, AUSTIN AGENT CHAMBER, AUSTIN, BLACK CHAMBER, AND AUSTIN HISPANIC CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.
WE PRIMARILY FOCUS ON THREE MAJOR MISSIONS FIRST, MAKE A MARKETING AUSTIN AS A PLACE TO OPERATE A BUSINESS WITH A DIVERSE WORKFORCE AND CREATE JOBS FOR MINORITY AND LGBT COMMUNITIES.
SECOND DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING A REGIONAL ECONOMIC EQUITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN READ, AND THIRD ATTRACTING RETAINING, EXPANDING MINORITY AND LGBT BUSINESSES HERE IN AUSTIN.
UH, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE, UH, WORKING WITH OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS, WE WILL BUILD ON THE REED REGIONAL ECONOMIC EQUITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN TO BETTER DEVELOP OPPORTUNITIES FOR UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES HERE IN AUSTIN, WE SHARE THE GOAL OF ADVANCING AUSTIN AS A HOME TO A DIVERSE WORKFORCE AND A DESTINATION FOR MINORITY AND LGBT BUSINESSES.
UH, THE PARTNERSHIPS WILL CREATE AN EMPHASIZE COMMUNITY COLLABORATION TO MORE STRONGLY BENEFIT OUR UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES AND THE COMMUNITIES OF COLOR.
EACH OF THE FOUR DECKER CHAMBERS WERE WORKING INDEPENDENTLY ON THESE GOALS, BUT WE'LL COLLABORATE.
UH, Y OUR DEVELOPMENT IMPLEMENTATION AND FUNDRAISING IN PARTICULAR, THE ASIAN CHAMBER WE'LL DRAW OUR STRENGTHS AND FOCUS ON INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT HERE IN AUSTIN.
OUR SLOGAN FOR COMING YEARS IS TO MAKE AUSTIN MORE GLOBAL.
LIKEWISE, OUR SISTER CHAMBERS, UH, HISPANIC CHAMBER, UH, WE'LL BE WORKING ON TRANSIT TRANSIT AND PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION.
UH, UH, BLACK CHAMBER WILL BE WORKING ON ADVOCATING ON FR AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND AUSTIN LGBT CHAMBER.
WE'LL BE WORKING ON WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND CAREER NAVIGATION.
UH, WE HERE IN WHITE ARE, ARE, CAN PARTNERS FROM BOTH PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTORS TO START THIS IMPORTANT CONVERSATION BY REACHING OUT TO US ALL THE FOUR CHAMBERS, ALL THE ASIAN CHAMBER.
SO IT SHOULDN'T CHAMBER WILL BE THE SPOKESPERSON WITH THE IDEAS AND RESOURCES ON HOW THEY, HOW WE CAN BE BOUGHT OFF THE READ PLAN.
ALL WE WANT, OUR OBJECTIVE OR A BIGGER OBJECTIVE IS TO, UH, HAVE SUCCESS WELL TO GROWTH IN ALL OUR COMMUNITIES AND MAKE AUSTIN MORE PROSPEROUS FOR EVERYONE.
UH, PRETTY MUCH, I MEAN, UH, EVERYTHING HAS BEEN DISCUSSED.
SO THERE'S NOT MUCH TO DISCUSS, UH, HERE, UH, UH, AGAIN, W THIS WOULD BE OUR FIRST YEAR OF, UH, THIS GREAT COLLABORATION AMONGST, UH, MINORITY CHAMBERS.
UH, AS WE MOVE FORWARD WITH ALL THE PROGRESS, WE'LL SHARE OUR UPDATES WITH OUR CAMP PARTNERS.
AND AS I SAID EARLIER, WE'D LOVE TO HAVE YOUR SUPPORT, UH, TO MAKE THIS THING HAPPEN.
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ARE MORE THAN WELCOME TO ASK.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT PRESENTATION.
ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE GROUP? I HAVE A QUESTION ON YOUR LAST SLIDE YOU INDICATE, I THINK YOU SAID MOINES THAT WHILE ALL OF THE DECA MEMBERS WOULD FOCUS ON THE AREAS OF, UM, IMPORTANCE TO YOUR PLAN, YOU ARE ORGANIZING IT WHERE EACH OF THE FOUR WILL HAVE A, UM, A SPECIALTY AREA, RIGHT.
THAT'S WHAT YOUR SLIDE IS INDICATING.
SO THEN THE AUSTIN LGBT CHAMBER IT'S AREA OF FOCUS IS ON OUR SPECIALTIES WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, CORRECT? I THINK SO.
SO THEN AS WE LOOK AT HOW WE, UH, TO CHRIS'S POINT A FEW MINUTES AGO ABOUT, UM, KIND OF GROUND LEVEL SUPPORT, I'LL CALL IT IN PROMOTING WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, THE HIRE LOCAL PLAN.
UM, WOULD YOU, WOULD YOU SUGGEST MOINES THAT IN THAT WITH THE HIRE LOCAL PLAN THAT, UH, I TAUGHT, WE TARGET FIRST THE, UH, LGBT CHAMBER, GIVEN THAT THEIR SPECIALTIES WORKFORCE, AND THEN HOW THEN WE CAN FURTHER WORK WITH DECA? IS THAT WHERE YOU WOULD SUGGEST THAT WE START, UM, IT COULD WORK EITHER WAY YOU CAN COME TO THE AGENT CHAMBER.
SO AGENT CHAMBER WOULD BE THE CONDUIT BETWEEN OUR PARTNERS CAN PARTNERS AND THE DACA PARTNERS.
UH, YOU ARE ALWAYS WELCOME TO REACH OUT TO THE LGBT CHAMBERS DIRECTLY.
WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT CLARIFICATION.
AND I APPRECIATE YOUR LEADERSHIP ON OUR CANNED BOARD REPRESENTING DECA.
ANY, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? YES, JEREMY, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
I APPRECIATE THE OVERVIEW THAT YOU PROVIDED.
AND MY QUESTION IS SPECIFIC TO THE
[01:35:01]
ROLE THAT YOU IN THE ASIAN CHAMBER WILL PLAYING WITH RESPECT TO INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, MAKING AUSTIN GLOBAL.DO YOU HAVE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THAT PARTICULAR SPECIALTY THAT YOU CAN SHARE WITH US TODAY? ABSOLUTELY.
UH, SO BY DEFAULT, WE ARE THE INTERNATIONAL OFFICE HERE FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
ALTHOUGH THEY DO HAVE THEIR OWN GLOBAL OFFICE.
UM, EVERY QUARTER WE ARRANGE AN INTERNATIONAL MARKET BRIEFING, UH, BRINGING SOMEONE LIKE A FOREIGN ENTITY THAT WORKS WITH THEIR GOVERNMENT TO GIVE A BRIEFING ON THE MARKET.
AND JUST LIKE SOMETHING LIKE IN, IN JUNE, UH, WE ARE BRINGING SINGAPORE, SORRY, MY, MY BAD JULY.
UH, WE ARE SHARING A COUPLE OF SUCCESS STORIES THAT THE COMPANIES THAT ARE BASED OUT OF HERE IN AUSTIN, THOSE WHO HAVE MOVED FROM SINGAPORE TO AUSTIN.
SO, UH, THESE ARE SOME OF THE INITIATIVES, QUARTERLY INTERNATIONAL MARKET BRIEFINGS.
AND FOR THIS YEAR, FOR THE FIRST TIME WE ARE PUTTING TOGETHER THE FIRST TAXES AGENT ECONOMIC SUMMIT.
NOW OUR AIM IS TO BRING INTERNATIONAL COMPANIES TO MAKE AUSTIN THEIR FIRST DESTINATION HERE IN THE U S GREAT, THANK YOU FOR THE ADDITIONAL INFO YOU DON'T WANT.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS HEARING NONE.
AND THEN LOOKING AT THE AGENDA.
I BELIEVE WE HAVE COMPLETED THE AGENDA EARLY ON A FRIDAY AFTERNOON.
IT IS TWO THIRTY EIGHT BY MY PHONE, SO I WILL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO ADJOURN.
WELL, I GUESS I'M SORRY WE DON'T NEED ONE BECAUSE WE DON'T EVEN HAVE A QUORUM.
SO WITH THAT, I WILL, UH, I WILL CLOSE THIS INFORMATION SHARING SESSION BECAUSE WE DIDN'T ACTUALLY, UH, CALL OUR MEETING TO ORDER.
AND THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH FOR BEING HERE TODAY.
THANK YOU FOR SPENDING YOUR FRIDAY AFTERNOON WITH US.
HOPE EVERYONE HAS A SAFE, UH, WEEKEND AND STAY COOL.
AND RAUL, WE DO NOT HAVE A BOARD MEETING IN JULY, CORRECT? THAT'S RIGHT.
SO I WILL SEE YOU ALL IN AUGUST.
IT'S FUN TO BE BACK IN PERSON YESTERDAY.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SAYING THAT.