BALTIMORE, MD – Urban Alliance, a national youth workforce development nonprofit, has named Chas Ackley its Baltimore Executive Director. Since 2008, at the invitation of Baltimore City Public Schools, Urban Alliance has partnered with M&T Bank, Morgan State University, the Black Speakers Network, Verizon, and others to provide young people in Baltimore with paid high school internships, personalized mentorship, and post high school career development.
“I am thrilled to welcome Chas to Urban Alliance, said Elizabeth Lindsey, CEO of Urban Alliance, “He has spent the majority of his career supporting, and uplifting, and creating opportunities for young people. We can’t wait to see his experiences come to life for the young people in our Baltimore community.”
As Executive Director of Urban Alliance Baltimore, Ackley will provide strategic leadership, cultivate relationships, and lead a dedicated team to further ensure the needs of Baltimore’s young people are met.
A proud Marylander, Ackley is a graduate of Penn State University, and holds a master’s degree in Public Administration from West Chester University of Pennsylvania. Ackley knows firsthand how to cultivate youth talent through his previous role as Chief Program Officer, Target Investment Zone (TIZ) for the Living Classrooms Foundation, where he oversaw all operations and programming.
“There is no better time in our country’s history to rightfully reframe the narrative about the unlimited potential of young people of color,” said Ackley “At the intersection of a rapidly changing workforce and continued racial reckoning, young people are both the future and the now for creating the greatest good for all.”
Urban Alliance works with schools, local organizations, students, and employers to build a more equitable, diverse next-generation workforce. The organization does so by offering deep-touch professional soft skills training, mentoring, and 9-month paid high school internships to young people, as well as curriculum outreach for workforce facilitators and employers. For more information visit us at www.www.urbanalliance.org and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.