Future Ready Northshore Wins $150,000 to Build Pathways to Economic Mobility
Tchefuncta Country Club was filled with people who care deeply about the Northshore’s future. Leaders from business, education, philanthropy, and community organizations gathered on September 29 for the inaugural Northshore Collective Impact Fund pitch competition, united by a commitment to improving lives in the communities they call home.
The beautiful room, wonderful food, and refreshments created a festive atmosphere for an evening of compelling stories and shared possibilities. Anticipation built as Leslie Landry, President and CEO of the Northshore Community Foundation, prepared to announce the winners.
For JA and Elevate HTM, the announcement marked an exciting new chapter: Future Ready Northshore won $150,000 to invest in young people across St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, and Washington Parishes.
Larry Washington, President and CEO of JA, and Bryant Hawkins, Sr., founder of Elevate HTM, presented a vision rooted in years of working together: help young people discover careers they may never have considered, build relationships with professionals, and find pathways to good jobs close to home.
“When we create pathways to economic mobility, we address the root causes of so many challenges facing young people and their families,” Washington said. “That means breaking down silos and connecting schools, employers, and community partners in service of young people. A student’s future should not depend on whether they happen to know the right person. Together, we can build those connections and open those doors.”
The partnership has already shown how powerful those connections can be. Through JA career and work readiness programming in Javon’s high school, he was prepared when he was introduced to healthcare technology management—the field responsible for maintaining the equipment used to diagnose and treat patients. He went on to shadow biomedical equipment technicians and found a mentor in Hawkins. What began as an introduction to an unfamiliar career helped him choose a field of study and take steps toward his future. He graduated from an HTM college last week, is completing an internship at the same hospital where he first shadowed Hawkins and is poised to begin his career there soon.
For Hawkins, the announcement brought the purpose of the work into sharp focus. “When we won, I almost cried. I thought about the students who will benefit and everyone who helped us reach that moment,” he said. “After more than 34 years in HTM, helping a young person discover this career still means everything to me.”
The process also strengthened the partnership behind the proposal. As Hawkins reflected, “Together, we moved beyond supporting each other’s work to designing a shared pathway for Northshore youth.”
Future Ready Northshore will bring possibilities to more students. JA will coordinate with schools, prepare volunteers, engage employers across sectors, and connect career experiences to classroom learning. Elevate HTM will provide a deeper pathway in healthcare technology management through hands-on experiences, mentorship, and connections to training and employment. Together, the partners will make it easier for schools to offer meaningful career exploration without having to build every employer relationship on their own.
The three-year initiative aims to provide 1,500 student experiences in year one, 2,500 in year two, and 3,500 in year three, including workplace visits, job shadows, hands-on demonstrations, work-readiness activities, and mentorship. Employer partnerships will span healthcare, construction, skilled trades, finance, technology, and logistics.
For students, these experiences can change what they imagine for themselves. Meeting a professional can reveal a career they did not know existed. Visiting a workplace can help them picture themselves there. Having a mentor can give them someone to turn to when the next step feels uncertain.
Katharine Kay, a member of JA’s Board of Governors and Co-Chair of the Fund Development Committee, congratulated Washington, Hawkins, and the JA team on their presentation and win. Reflecting on the compelling stories shared by the other competing teams, she emphasized “the long-term sustainable impact that this Future Ready collaboration will have on the North Shore and across our communities for years to come.”
We are deeply grateful to Leslie Landry and her team at the Northshore Community Foundation for providing this opportunity, supporting the participating organizations, and creating such a fun, inspiring evening that celebrated the remarkable work happening across the region. We also thank the Foundation’s board and advisory committee for creating and supporting a collaborative funding opportunity that encourages organizations to combine their strengths in service of their communities.
A special thank-you goes to Future Ready Northshore’s pitch mentor, Marty Mayer, for being so generous with his time, insight, and encouragement. Mayer founded Just One Voice, a nonprofit dedicated to connecting people and local organizations with relationships, resources, and opportunities that build stronger futures across New Orleans’ underserved communities. We also thank Ashley Llewellyn, Vice President of St. Tammany Economic Development Corporation, and Cenzo Caronna, Entrepreneur in Residence and Executive Director of StartUP Northshore, for their support.
JA could not do this work without industry partners willing to share their knowledge, open their workplaces, and invest their time in young people. Hawkins has been among our most dedicated volunteers, mentors, and partners, helping students turn an initial spark of interest into a direction for their lives.
The award brings resources to that work. The relationships strengthened throughout the evening bring people ready to help carry it forward. Together, they offer more young people the chance to build a future of opportunity, stability, and belonging right there on the Northshore.