Today's youth are the workforce of tomorrow. In this episode of "The Connector," IEI Director Sarah Hall sits down with two leaders who are revolutionizing high school education and workforce development: SparkNC President Dr. Lynn Moody and District C CEO Dan Gonzalez, to talk about their unique model for empowering high school students to build skills and explore careers in the tech industry. Now in more than 25 school districts across the state, SparkNC ignites students' passions through learner-centered, industry-relevant experiences, while District C's re-imagined internships, known as "teamships," provide students with a hands-on, team-based approach to solve real-world problems.

Hall, Gonzalez and Dr. Moody also discuss the outcomes of the inaugural SparkNC Exchange, which brought together more than 130 high school students at UNC Wilmington to explore tech fields and build valuable professional skills.

The Connector podcast explores connections being made across sectors, regions and perspectives resulting in a more vibrant and prosperous North Carolina. To learn more about the Institute for Emerging Issues, visit emergingissues.org.

Imagine getting a raise, only to lose more in vital public assistance for necessities like food, housing and childcare. This is referred to as the “benefits cliff,” a concept many North Carolinians learned about at the 2024 Emerging Issues Forum on financial resilience. Public assistance programs often lack a gradual reduction in benefits as a household's income increases, leading to an abrupt “drop off” once a certain income threshold is met.

In this episode of “The Connector,” Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont Stakeholder Engagement Manager Justin Taylor joins IEI Communications and Marketing Director Jennifer Heiss to talk about the basics of the benefits cliff, how the cliff impacts the financial well-being of households, and strategies organizations can use to navigate the cliff and better support their communities. Taylor also shares the Career Ladder Identifier and Financial Forecaster, also known as CLIFF tools, to help employees and job seekers understand how higher earnings affect public benefits so they can make informed decisions.

The Connector podcast explores connections being made across sectors, regions and perspectives resulting in a more vibrant and prosperous North Carolina. To learn more about the Institute for Emerging Issues, visit emergingissues.org.

How can we empower the next generation to shape sustainable cities? In this special episode of “The Connector,” IEI’s 2024-2025 Hunt Intern Katherine Helms speaks with three urban planning experts: NC State University Joseph D. Moore Distinguished Professor and Faculty Scholar Dr. Kofi Boone, City of Raleigh Senior Energy & Sustainability Strategist James Hardin and McAdams Principal and Vice President of Urban Planning Mitchell Silver. They explore the crucial role education and community engagement plays in fostering sustainable urban living, discuss how students can get involved, and share emerging trends and technologies in sustainable urban design. This episode also features questions about urban planning from NC State students shared by IEI interns Jenny Browne, Crystal Leung and Nathan Yilma.

This discussion is part of IEI’s ongoing series related to the 2025-2027 Emerging Issues Forums exploring North Carolina’s future-forward infrastructure, with particular focus on energy, water and housing.

The Connector podcast explores connections being made across sectors, regions and perspectives resulting in a more vibrant and prosperous North Carolina. To learn more about the Institute for Emerging Issues, visit emergingissues.org.

North Carolina’s rapid population growth presents significant housing and real estate challenges. In this episode of “The Connector,” IEI Director Sarah Hall is joined by award-winning author and Peter A. Pappas Real Estate Development Program Director Chuck Flink. Together, they chat about the backstory of the Pappas Real Estate Development Program within NC State’s College of Design, and how this unique educational program equips students and professionals with the skills to build resilient communities and promote sustainable land use through practicum-based academics, sponsored research and real-world application. Hall and Flink also explore the impactful outcomes of the program and crucial next steps in addressing the state’s evolving infrastructure needs.

Housing will also be the focus of the 2027 Emerging Issues Forum, part of IEI’s 2025-2027 Emerging Issues Forum series on North Carolina’s future-forward infrastructure.

The Connector podcast explores connections being made across sectors, regions and perspectives resulting in a more vibrant and prosperous North Carolina. To learn more about the Institute for Emerging Issues, visit emergingissues.org.

Many families across North Carolina are unprepared for an economic downturn or just one emergency away from a financial crisis. According to a 2023 survey by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 40 percent of American households reported they would be unable to cover more than a month’s expenses if they lost their main source of income. The 2024 Emerging Issues Forum examined financial resilience: a household’s ability to financially withstand and recover from economic challenges.

In this episode of “The Connector” IEI Director Sarah Hall and United Way of North Carolina President and CEO Brittany Pruitt Fletcher unpack the newly released ALICE Report – “Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed.” The report is a comprehensive depiction of financial need in the state, placing a spotlight on households earning more than the official Federal Poverty Level, but not enough to afford basic expenses such as housing, transportation, food and childcare.

The Connector podcast explores connections being made across sectors, regions and perspectives resulting in a more vibrant and prosperous North Carolina. To learn more about the Institute for Emerging Issues, visit emergingissues.org.

The 2023 Emerging Issues Forum, Talent First Economics, examined labor force participation and the barriers various worker groups face in finding and keeping jobs. A key barrier identified was access to childcare for parents and caregivers of young children.

This episode of "The Connector" features IEI Director Sarah Hall joined by three special guests: NC Department of Commerce Child Care Business Liaison Samantha Cole, NC Partnership for Children Director of Strategic Initiatives Mary Scott and Cleveland County Partnership for Children Executive Director Dr. Shannon White.

They dive into the new Child Care Business Liaison role, created to address the childcare gap as part of the state's economic development plan, and NC Tri-Share, a pilot program designed to make childcare more accessible for working families.

The Connector podcast explores connections being made across sectors, regions and perspectives resulting in a more vibrant and prosperous North Carolina. To learn more about the Institute for Emerging Issues, visit emergingissues.org.

Over the next three years, IEI’s Emerging Issues Forum will examine North Carolina’s key infrastructure needs as a result of the state’s rapidly growing population and evolving economic opportunities. The Future Forward Infrastructure series will focus on three interrelated issues: energy, water and housing, while also folding in other challenges and themes like transportation, broadband access, workforce development and affordability.

In this episode, IEI Community Initiatives Director Samantha Graham and City of Raleigh Sustainability Director Megan Anderson dive into the past, present and future of sustainable infrastructure plans and programming in Raleigh and ways North Carolinians can get involved in the City’s efforts.

The Connector podcast explores connections being made across sectors, regions and perspectives resulting in a more vibrant and prosperous North Carolina. To learn more about the Institute for Emerging Issues, visit emergingissues.org.

What exactly is the educational attainment gap? Why should North Carolinians care and how are we tackling this challenge?

For the 2022 Emerging Issues Forum, IEI partnered with myFutureNC to highlight North Carolina’s educational attainment gap and the state’s goal of 2 million North Carolinians aged 25-44 holding an industry-valued credential or postsecondary degree by the year 2030. 

In this episode of The Connector, IEI Director Sarah Hall and myFutureNC President and CEO Cecilia Holden break down what the educational attainment gap is, the story behind “2 million by 2030” and where we are now in reaching that goal. They also explore the latest insights from the 2025 State of Educational Attainment Report as well as next steps to achieve this ambitious goal.

The Connector podcast explores connections being made across sectors, regions and perspectives resulting in a more vibrant and prosperous North Carolina. To learn more about the Institute for Emerging Issues, visit emergingissues.org.

In this episode of The Connector, IEI Director Sarah Hall is joined by Forbes Field Associates Principal Ron Painter to talk about workforce development in North Carolina and the importance of bolstering today's workforce leaders while building the leaders of tomorrow. They also give a preview of the 2025 Strategic Workforce Leadership Initiative, a comprehensive professional development program designed for leaders engaged in workforce or economic development. 

The program, which takes place April 29 - May 2 at NC State University, aims to equip professionals with the strategic insights and leadership skills needed to understand the economic conditions of their community and state, and leverage those strengths to capitalize on opportunities as they emerge.

To learn more about the 2025 Strategic Workforce Leadership Initiative and to reserve your spot, visit go.ncsu.edu/workforceleader.

The Connector podcast explores connections being made across sectors, regions and perspectives resulting in a more vibrant and prosperous North Carolina. To learn more about the Institute for Emerging Issues, visit emergingissues.org.

In this episode of “The Connector,” IEI Policy and Program Manager Tarik Woods sits down with Chris Carmody, Executive Director of the Carolinas Clean Energy Business Association, and Dr. Deb Wojcik, Executive Director of Research Triangle Cleantech Cluster. Together, they discuss North Carolina’s energy goals, what it will take to achieve them, and the economic advantages of a forward-thinking energy economy that balances the needs of both residents and industry. They also offer insights into the future of energy generation in the state.

This episode is also a continuation of the special series previewing the 2025 Emerging Issues Forum: Future Forward Energy on Feb. 19. Tickets for the forum are available at go.ncsu.edu/2025forum.

Find The Connector on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform—or watch this episode on IEI’s YouTube channel.

The Connector podcast explores connections being made across sectors, regions and perspectives resulting in a more vibrant and prosperous North Carolina. To learn more about the Institute for Emerging Issues, visit emergingissues.org.