Our talent collaboration, now award-winning 🏆

Opportunity Miami wins an international award for the Academic Leaders Council

FEATURED CONTENT:
Read the full award announcement from the IEDC here.

Learn more about how talent is today’s currency in this Opportunity Miami Interview with Beacon’s Rod Miller and Madeline Pumariega, President of Miami Dade College.

For over three years, we have been playing our part to prepare today’s students for tomorrow’s Miami – to ensure they have the skills, access, and opportunities to thrive in our rapidly changing economy.

Talent is at the heart of Miami’s future, and helping to build that talent pipeline requires collaboration across academia and business.

That’s why we’re proud to share that Opportunity Miami has been awarded the Bronze 2025 Excellence in Economic Development Award from the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) in the Postsecondary Education Partnership category. The honor recognizes the work of our Academic Leaders Council (ALC), a collaboration between Miami’s largest educational institutions and Miami-Dade County Public Schools.

About the Academic Leaders Council

The ALC provides a forum for Miami’s higher education leaders, comprised of the presidents from Barry University, Florida International University, Florida Memorial University, Miami Dade College, St. Thomas University, the University of Miami, and the Superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Together, these institutions educate more than 500,000 students each year.

Meeting quarterly and hosting public forums twice a year, the ALC connects academia with industry to ensure Miami’s talent pipeline is aligned with the needs of a changing economy. It is housed within Opportunity Miami, the Miami-Dade Beacon Council’s initiative to envision and build the Miami of 2040.

“The big wins at the ALC as it relates to talent is clarifying what kind of talent is needed, which is done largely by our industry side, and then the ALC saying we’ve got the solution for that,” said Rod Miller, CEO of the Beacon Council.

For the past three years, Madeline Pumariega, President of Miami-Dade College, has served as chair of the ALC. “Talent is the economic currency of the day”, she said in an Opportunity Miami interview. “I've seen firsthand how the power of education can transform lives, how it can build pathways to economic prosperity, how it can bring communities together, and how it drives economic development.”

Some highlights of the ALC’s work include the 2040 Talent Development Goals, which aims to raise the share of adults with an associate degree or credential from 45.5% to 65% by 2040. The ALC published a series of essays starting in 2022 on the future of talent, which has also been compiled into a book. There have also been forums on topics such as artificial intelligence, education access, and economic opportunity.

Looking ahead, the ALC is developing a Talent Action Blueprint that will outline how each institution will boost degree production toward the 2040 goal.

Powered by Education

The ALC is an excellent example of collaboration in service of the greater community. Universities are more used to competing than collaborating – whether for enrollments, rankings, and research grants. The ALC sets a nationwide example of universities and schools aligning around a shared vision to create a stronger, more robust economy powered by education.

By convening leaders, engaging the community, and committing to measurable action, this initiative is already reshaping Miami’s future and the IEDC award underscores what makes Miami, and Opportunity Miami, unique: when we work together, we can transform our biggest challenges into our greatest opportunities.

PITCH US

If you have a company or an entrepreneur to suggest or an idea to share that relates to building Miami’s future, email us at next@opportunity.miami. We invite you to subscribe to our YouTube channel and follow us on our social media channels. If you were forwarded this newsletter, you can subscribe by clicking here. And if you are new to Opportunity Miami, you can learn about our mission and work here.

~ Opportunity Miami