JobsFirst NYC, Fordham University, and The Green Economy Network’s Strategic Briefing to Advance A Policy Roadmap That Connects Green Investments to Local Talent
Aligning New York City’s infrastructure investments and decarbonization goals with a sustainable workforce requires an urgent, unified approach. Delivering on these ambitious climate goals demands a coordinated policy framework that turns historic funding into career opportunities for New Yorkers; because life is only affordable when good jobs are accessible.
Moving from recommendations to reality, JobsFirst NYC, and its Green Economy Network, in partnership with Fordham University convened key city officials, philanthropists, labor leaders, and industry giants on May 29, 2026 at Fordham’s Lincoln Center campus. This strategic briefing was designed to turn blueprints into action, unifying leaders to deploy the framework laid out in Building a Workforce Infrastructure for the Green Transition and connect New Yorkers to the green economy.
Featured Speakers
- Nathan Berger, Program and Policy Officer, Robin Hood
- Chris Collins, Founding Executive Director, Solar One; Co-chair of GEN’s Policy & Development Work Group
- Melissa Enoch, Assistant Commissioner, NYC Department of Environmental Protection
- Vanessa Fajans-Turner, Executive Director, Environmental Advocates NY
- Tonya Gayle, Executive Director, Green City Force
- Jennifer Mitchell, President & CEO, The Doe Fund; Treasurer of GEN’s Executive Committee
- Travis Proulx, Vice President, External Affairs, Fordham University
- Ahmed Tigani, Commissioner, NYC Department of Buildings
- Julie Tighe, President at New York League of Conservation Voters and New York League of Conservation Voters Education Fund
We gathered to map out the workforce and investment strategy to address the challenges of a fragmented system. With NYC targeting 230,000 green jobs by 2030, we must bridge the workforce development gap between multi-billion-dollar capital investments and local talent pipelines. As JobsFirst and JobsFirst NYC CEO Marjorie Parker noted in her opening remarks, “Young adults move ahead when systems move together.”
From Action Plan to Implementation
Taking to the stage to bridge the gap between policy goals and real-world execution, leaders from government, labor, and climate sectors unpacked the key frameworks needed to connect fragmented agencies, leverage statewide funding, and establish local procurement standards.
Key Insights
- Workforce training, apprenticeship pathways, and local hiring can be embedded directly into infrastructure and capital projects instead of funded separately through short-term workforce programs.
- The proposed 500-school retrofit initiative provides a scalable model for connecting climate infrastructure, public education, paid work-based learning, and union career pathways.
- Updates to building codes, zoning reform, and electrification policy are already driving demand for green infrastructure work across New York City.
- Procurement and capital planning can be used to better align public investment, workforce systems, employers, and labor around shared hiring goals.
- Existing climate and infrastructure funding streams can support workforce recruitment, training, and retention as part of long-term project delivery.
Thank you to everyone who joined us to move beyond theory towards operationalizing real solutions for New York’s green economy. The Green Economy Network has built a citywide partnership infrastructure capable of transforming practice, policy, and investment. With our proposals now before the Mamdani Administration, we must maintain this momentum.
To learn more about the Green Economy Network, please reach out to Malia Darby at mdarby@jobsfirstnyc.org.
Thank you for showing up, not just for the green economy, but for the New Yorkers who are ready to build it.
Watch this space for further information and insights from the briefing.
Let’s get to work.
JobsFirst NYC & the Green Economy Network
@2026 JobsFirstNYC. All rights reserved