At Skillpoint Alliance, our people are our most valuable asset. With the passion and drive of our staff, Board of Directors, and partners, Skillpoint Alliance is able to offer the opportunity of growth and success to more and more Central Texans each year. Today is the first post in our newest blog series, Meet Skillpoint, where we’ll give you the opportunity to hear from the incredible people involved in our organization.
In May, Skillpoint welcomed six new members to our Board of Directors, one of whom is Matt Glazer, Executive Director of the Austin Young Chamber of Commerce. Glazer is a Texas native who has successfully launched two companies and a statewide non-profit in Texas. Prior to his role at AYC, Glazer was the inaugural Executive Director of Progress Texas and the Texas Research Institute, and worked for local and national groups including – the American Heart Association, Weird Homes Tour, KTBC Fox 7 Austin, Texas Campaigns to Prevent Teen Pregnancy and dozens of political candidates and causes across the country. We’re excited that he’s now bringing his experience to Skillpoint.
Recently, we asked Glazer for his thoughts on the state of Austin, and his involvement with Skillpoint. Read more below:
What piqued your interest about Skillpoint?
Skillpoint is one of the few organizations that is focused on making both lasting and generational change in our community. Skillpoint works in an affirmative way to make an impact at an individual level. That commitment to the person impacts the community immediately and in a long-term way. Few organizations have a positive mission that can have such a lasting impact in our city.
In 2015, Forbes ranked Austin the #2 fastest growing city in the U.S. Austin is also ranked the #1 economically segregated city in the nation. For you personally, what are the most important issues we – as a community – need to focus on to close the gap in our city?
The city’s focus is too often on high paying jobs. We bring in the best tech companies or the big new manufacturing group. They bring their elite staff into Austin and Austinites are too often left picking up, literally, after the new residents. By increasing the skills and access to quality jobs and professional tracks, we can close the segregation gap and income gap without stifling economic development. We know the industries we are targeting in Austin, and Skillpoint can look toward the future while preparing those currently in need.
There are multiple groups working on increasing opportunity to STEM education and workforce development, and none have it completely figured out. It’s a problem that will take at least a generation to fix, and I’m excited to work on it outside of corporate models I’ve experienced like General Assembly and MakerSquare.
What do you enjoy most about Austin?
The people are what I love most about living in Austin. Through my work on Skillpoint’s board, I hope to make a positive impact on the lives of Austinites any way that I can.
If you’d like to connect with Matt, you can find him on Twitter or LinkedIn.
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