Network for Southern Economic Mobility

For too many youth in the South, high poverty schools and low postsecondary attainment, tenuous links with the labor market, the South’s historically low investment in human capital, and an overreliance on low-wage, low-skill jobs, translate into stalled upward economic mobility. The Network for Southern Economic Mobility is a group of Southern communities–Athens, Ga., Chattanooga, Tenn. Greenville, S.C., and Jacksonville, Fla. in the first cohort–committed to increasing upward economic mobility for youth and young adults in the lowest income brackets. Through on-site coaching, expert programmatic technical assistance, and facilitated peer-learning, the Network is designed to help communities deepen, accelerate, and align strategic investments for systemic change that position these youth and young adults for economic success. Managed by the Network for Southern Economic Mobility and funded by MDC Foundation.