The Florida Chamber Foundation Team is Uniting Leaders on the Road to 2030 – July 2023 Update
By: Susan Towler, Florida Blue Executive Director, CSR/Florida Blue Foundation; Chair of the Florida Chamber Foundation Board of Trustees
The Florida Chamber Foundation team is building momentum behind the Florida 2030 Blueprint’s mission of securing Florida’s future as a top 10 global economy as we continue to prioritize leading and participating in the strategic conversations that will help us achieve our mission. I’m proud to share with you some recent highlights of our Foundation team uniting leaders at the local and national levels.
Our Senior Director of Future of Work Rachel Ludwig recently participated in a re-entry simulation hosted by the Florida Department of Corrections at the Suwannee Correctional Institution which provided an eye-opening experience to the barriers faced by the re-entry population on their journey to positively reacclimate into society. Under Rachel’s leadership, Future of Work Florida has launched a Second Chance Hiring initiative to raise awareness among the Florida business community about the opportunities available to explore the re-entry population as an integral talent solution. The initiative is looking to recruit at least 100 Florida job creators to participate in training on hiring, legal and retention strategies for previously incarcerated individuals. If your company would like to learn more, please contact Rachel directly at 850-521-1254 or rludwig@flchamber.com.
In other updates, our Florida Prosperity Project received national attention at the National Association of Counties (NACo)’s Annual Conference & Expo, held in Texas. This conference is the largest gathering of county elected and appointed officials representing counties of all sizes across the U.S. The goal of the conference is to help shape NACo’s policy agenda, share promising practices, and connect key players on the mission to improve the lives of residents and county government efficiency. Our SVP of Equality of Opportunity Kyle Baltuch addressed the group on the zip code-level efforts of the Florida Prosperity Project and how it is serving as the national model to end childhood poverty, one zip code at a time. As you all know, the Florida Prosperity Project is near and dear to my and Florida Blue’s hearts, and if you are not already engaged, I hope that you will consider joining us in tackling Florida childhood poverty, one zip code at a time. To learn more about this amazing initiative, please contact Kyle at 850-521-1218 or kbaltuch@flfoundation.org.
I would like to wrap up this update by welcoming Braulio Colon of Florida College Access Network Third Bank to the Foundation’s Board of Trustees. On behalf of the entire Board, we look forward to engaging with you on the solutions to grow and propel our great state!
If you haven’t already done so, please be sure to register for our October 24 Board of Trustees Meeting HERE>, held in conjunction with our 2023 Florida Chamber Annual Meeting & Future of Florida Forum, October 23-24. Please make plans to attend both we will look back at the wins of 2023 and look ahead at the great things to come!
Thank you all for your time and investment in the Foundation’s work and for making the Florida 2030 Blueprint mission your own. Stay tuned for more updates next month on our team’s momentum-building efforts to secure Florida’s future.
Until next time,
Susan
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