Lewinsville Presbyterian Church and Redeemer Lutheran Church of McLean, Virginia, are partnering to launch a monthly series of panel discussions on “Pathways Out of Poverty in Northern Virginia.”

This event focused on Job Preparedness. The event features Michelle Morgan, Administrator of the Fairfax County Adult High School; Paul Steiner, Adult and Community Education Administrator for Fairfax County Public Schools; Laura Siko, Director of Enrollment Management and G3 Project Manager at NOVA’s Loudoun campus; and Joan Wise, Director of Self Sufficiency Services at Cornerstones of Reston. James Foster, a member of the Lewinsville congregation, will moderate the panel discussion.

In this third event of the Pathways series, we examine the role of job preparedness training in removing barriers facing the poor as they seek out better livelihoods. Michelle Morgan and Paul Steiner will describe FCPS efforts to help adult students obtain high school equivalency credentials. Laura Siko will describe NOVA’s new Virginia G3 (Get trained. Get a job. Give back.) scholarships program for low- and moderate-income Virginians seeking jobs in high-demand fields. Joan Wise will share how Cornerstone’s soft skills training is helping convert the possibility of a better job into a reality. James Foster, who is currently in academic administration at the George Washington University, will moderate the discussion and Q&A.

About the Series. Pathways out of Poverty in Northern Virginia begins with the knowledge that affluent Northern Virginia is home to many poor families and individuals who are confronted daily with a multitude of simultaneous challenges. The goal of the series is to understand these barriers, and to explore policies, programs, and individual actions that can help remove the barriers facing our neighbors.