Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger (D) got a firsthand look at Alexandria-based nonprofit Cornerstone Craftsman Tuesday morning (Sept. 15).
Spanberger made expanding workforce programs for children a part of her Growing Virginia Plan when she ran for governor. She toured the space and met with Cornerstone Craftsman’s stakeholders, including Alexandria Sheriff Sean Casey, Alexandria City School Board Chair Chris Harris and Clark Mercer, chair of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.
Micah King-Talbert, 17, and his brother Maliki, 16, spoke with Spanberger. The brothers have been pre-apprentices for several years, and want to become electricians after high school.
“It was amazing being able to tell her about what we do and the stuff we want to do in the future,” Micah said.
After the tour, Spanberger said she was impressed by what she saw.
“This is their community, and then they graduate out and go into the building trades, having that support of a community around them if they choose to continue in construction and join a union, I think it’s really incredible,” Spanberger said. “I was incredibly impressed by [Cornerstone] before I had a chance to actually see it, and we’ve got some people here from our Secretariat of Labor, so we will be diving in deep.”