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Mary Ellen Ardouny is the Interim CEO and Vice President of External Affairs at The Corps Network. Mary Ellen has directed all of The Corps Network’s advocacy work, including work with Capitol Hill, federal agencies, and grassroots outreach. She possesses expertise in government relations with a focus on education and workforce development. She is currently serving as a member of the federal advisory committee tasked with providing recommendations to federal land management agencies on how to implement a 21st Century Service Corps. Alice Murphy: When did you first become interested in education and workforce development? What was your motivation? Mary Ellen Ardouny: During my junior year of college at the University of Michigan, as a Bush Foundation Fellow, I worked with and tracked the learning progress of Detroit-area children who had been exposed to crack cocaine during prenatal development. I also worked with other fellows to publish a guidebook, called "Taking Steps for Children," to help average citizens effectively advocate on behalf of disadvantaged youth. Through these experiences, I recognized structural inequalities that act as barriers to educational and economic advancement for this population. Convinced that the best way to break the cycle of poverty is to ensure that all children, particularly those in low-income communities have access to high quality education, I became interested in focusing my career on education and workforce development. After graduation, I came to Washington DC and was fortunate to get a job with a senior member of the House Committee on Education and Labor, where I learned about and worked on federal policy targeting education and workforce development. I have remained passionate about these issues ever since. Alice: Much of your career has been focused on promoting legislation dealing with education, workforce investment, and environmental conservation. Can you describe some of the connections you see in these three policy areas? Mary Ellen: The link between education and workforce development policy is fairly straightforward. A solid educational foundation that includes access to preschool through postsecondary education is essential to success in the workforce. Research shows that workers with a college degree make on average, $1 million more over the course of their careers, than workers with just a high school diploma. At the same time, a skilled and educated workforce is critical to employers and to America's global economic competitiveness. It’s also true that many young people learn better outside of a classroom through hands-on experience (often service), which can often take place in the great outdoors. In addition, the great outdoors can provide a new and healthy environment for inner-city youth. Taken together, education and workforce development delivered through conservation service on our public lands can provide a powerful and transformational experience for many young people. In addition, it can provide them with a sense of ownership and responsibility for their communities, their country, and our natural resources. The depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps, which is widely held as one of the most successful federal programs, was built on this same principle. Alice: In 2011, NCoC produced research finding a strong positive connection between civic engagement and economic resilience—and we’re continuing to build upon that research this year. How do these findings resonate with your work and the mission and vision of The Corps Network ? Do you feel that this view is represented in the policy sphere? Mary Ellen: Among the 33,000 young people that serve in Corps each year, we consistently see a correlation between civic engagement and educational and economic success. Young people who feel they have something to offer their neighbors and a responsibility for their neighborhood carry that feeling of self-worth and responsibility into school and into their jobs. Pride in themselves and their work leads to increased productivity and improved performance. Unfortunately, I think that many policymakers and elected officials view civic engagement and service as something that is "nice to do," but not necessary for academic and economic success. The service community needs to do a better job of making policy makers understand the ancillary benefits (civic engagement, workforce development, self esteem, etc.) of service to the service providers. Alice: In your opinion, why is establishing a 'green workforce' crucial to helping distressed communities? Mary Ellen: Traditionally, residents of low-income and minority communities have been left out of economic development and job growth. Efforts at urban renewal more often displace than engage the original residents of the community. At the same time, these low-income and minority neighborhoods have been subject to a disproportionate share of environmental degradation (pollution, industrial waste, etc.). Therefore, as we take steps to make our cities more environmentally sustainable, such as retrofitting older buildings and developing more urban parks and green spaces, we need to provide the residents of these communities with opportunities to learn, work, and establish careers. Meanwhile, the current workers of "greening industries," like construction and manufacturing, are aging. As a result, we need to ensure that the next generation of workers, many of whom live in these distressed communities, are educated and skilled and ready to lead in an increasingly competitive global market. Alice: President Obama’s signing of the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act in 2009 was a momentous occasion for many service related organizations. How has your mission progressed since? Has the Serve America Act provided lasting impact? Mary Ellen: The Serve America Act helped people view service and average citizens as a way of addressing some of our most pressing national problems, like poor academic achievement, poverty, and environmental unsustainability. As a result, many of The Corps Network's (TCN) long-time partners, such as the Departments of Agriculture and Interior, have begun to look for new and innovative ways to spend existing funding on Service and Conservation Corps, which can help the land management agencies accomplish necessary work at a fraction of the usual cost. While I think that many will continue to view "service as a solution" as a result of the Serve America Act, in the absence of additional funding, which we all hoped would follow the passage of the SAA, service programs may have a difficult time demonstrating a real and significant impact on the issue areas outlined in the Act. Alice: There have been several bills introduced (and re-introduced) over the years that aim to amend the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to provide for the establishment of Youth Corps programs and provide for wider dissemination of the Youth Corps model. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) introduced the latest bill ( S. 2108: Youth Corps Act of 2012 ) in February. However, according to govtrack.us, this bill has a 1% chance of passing. Do you agree? What needs to change for this kind of legislation to move forward? Mary Ellen: Regrettably, given the current economic and political climate, I agree that the Youth Corps Act, which would create a new program and require additional funding, has little chance of becoming law. As a result of the Budget Control Act, existing programs are fighting large, across-the-board cuts. Furthermore, even the most non-controversial bills are tied up by partisan politics. The reality is, this is not a good time to be seeking new funding. A change in position by Congress and/or the Administration - recognizing that economic recovery and job growth cannot be accomplished without federal investment - could make passage of legislation like the Youth Corps Act possible. However, there are other ways - besides new legislation and new funding - to help sustain and grow Service and Conservation Corps. The Corps Network, as mentioned, is working with DOA and DOI to figure out how to spend more of existing budgets on projects with Corps. In addition, TCN is working with the Department of Labor and the National Association of Workforce Boards to encourage increased investment by local Workforce Investment Boards in partnerships with Service and Conservation Corps. Alice: If you could pose a debate question to Mitt Romney and President Obama, what would it be? Mary Ellen: There are two questions I would like the presidential candidates to answer: 1. Nearly 90 percent of Americans believe that "government is broken." What would you do to restore civility and productivity to the federal government? 2. Approximately 6.7 million young people between the ages of 18 and 24 are considered disconnected or "opportunity" youth. Given that neither the Department of Education nor the Department of Labor has the ability or capacity to serve this population on their own, what would you propose to reengage these young people and provide them with the services they need to become contributing citizens and productive workers? 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