Today, I joined the @AustinChamber 2026 InterCity Visit alongside Dr. Henri Ford and Dr. Hudson Santos of @univmiami, and Dr. Jorge Valdés of @FIU, to discuss how our institutions advance that work together, serving as a model for the country. From @MDCPS to @MDCollege and onward to @FIU, @univmiami, or the workforce, we connect education to opportunity and align talent with our region’s needs. Together, we work on the Academic Leaders Council of @beaconcouncil and on the Workforce and Innovation Committee at @MiamiChamber to ensure Miami has a skilled workforce. At MDC, we have expanded our healthcare programs to meet the critical workforce needs of our hospital and community partners. By preparing more students for these essential careers, we expand economic opportunity and strengthen our community’s capacity to care for its residents.

Miami’s economic future depends on our ability to develop, retain, and connect local talent to opportunity. This morning, I joined Talent Strong Miami and @UnitedWayMiami, alongside partners like the @FLCollegeAccess, @HeliosEdFnd and the @beaconcouncil for a crucial conversation on building the workforce our region needs and driving economic mobility for Miamians. At @MDCollege, that means building pathways in partnership with top employers like @AARCORP, @MasTec, and @intel, while creating stackable credentials that allow working adults to keep learning, earning, and advancing. The data reinforces what we know: the single strongest predictor of whether a region retains skilled talent is whether those individuals were local before beginning their training. Investing in Miami talent matters. Every credential earned here strengthens a family, expands opportunity, and fuels our region's economy. Thank you to Talent Strong Miami, United Way Miami, and leaders like @brauliocolon for bringing our community together around this critical work.