From Gang Member to Center Director: Corey Davis on Changing the Trajectory of Young Lives

From Gang Member to Center Director: Corey Davis on Changing the Trajectory of Young Lives

What does it take to go from the streets to the front office? For Corey Davis, Center Director at the Gadsden Job Corps Center in Gadsden, Alabama, the answer is equal parts hustle, humility, and an unshakeable belief that every young person deserves a shot. Corey didn’t grow up on a clear path. He was a former gang member, made mistakes, stayed in trouble — his words, not ours. But a praying mama, a chance encounter with Job Corps, and eighteen years of grinding through every level of the program transformed him into one of the most passionate, authentic leaders in workforce development today. In this episode of the iBuild America Podcast, host Lorraine Lane sits down with Corey to talk about what’s really happening at the Gadsden Job Corps Center — a unique program located on the campus of Gadsden State Community College, an HBCU, creating a one-of-a-kind partnership that’s opening doors for young people ages 16 to 24. He shares how Gadsden is pioneering pre-apprenticeship programs in culinary arts and material handling — not just the hard trades people typically think of — and how every student is tracked and supported for a full year after leaving the program. He talks about AI training hitting Job Corps before most adults even knew to ask for it, leisure-time jobs that double as career pipelines, and why he believes “comfortability is a beautiful place to visit, but nothing grows there.” And then there’s Zach — a student who came to Job Corps, wasn’t ready the first time, left, came back, pushed through, and last week signed a $16,000 signing bonus with the Army. That’s the kind of story that keeps Corey going. And it’s the kind of story that’ll keep you listening. Key Takeaways from This Episode: • How Corey went from touring with a rap group to running one of Alabama’s most impactful Job Corps centers • Why culinary arts is the next frontier in pre-apprenticeship training — and what that means for students • The power of wraparound services: being a mentor, counselor, and uncle all at once • How Gadsden is already integrating AI training — and why the students are ahead of the adults • The real secret to workforce retention: following students for a full year after they leave • Why employers need to stop sleeping on Job Corps graduates — and give them the chance • What it means to turn a leisure-time job into a full career pathway Whether you’re a young person looking for your next move, an employer wanting to tap into an underrated talent pipeline, or a workforce professional who lives for this work, this episode is for you. Subscribe, share, and drop a comment. Because this is exactly how we build America — one young person at a time. Build America — Building Workforce Success, One Podcast at a Time.

$100 Billion on the Table — Is Your Business Ready?

Ever heard someone say, “The dream is free, but the hustle is sold separately?” That’s not a quote from a motivational poster — that’s the lived philosophy of Walter L. Simmons, the Secretary of the newly-created Maryland Department of Social and Economic Mobility (DOSM) — the first cabinet-level agency in America dedicated to social equity and economic mobility.Walter didn’t start in a boardroom. He started on a football field in rural South Carolina, chasing a scholarship and a dream of law enforcement. But somewhere between criminal justice classes and real-world reality, he had a realization that changed everything: by the time someone touches the criminal justice system, the trauma has already happened. So instead of responding to the problem, he decided to prevent it.That shift in mindset set Walter on a path that took him from managing economic mobility centers with the United Way, to the 2014 White House Summit for Working Families under President Obama, through Prince George’s County where he grew a workforce organization to a $30 million annual budget with 150 employees — and ultimately to the office he holds today, leading a system designed to give Maryland’s small, minority, women-owned, veteran-owned, and disadvantaged businesses access to over $100 billion in annual state commerce.In this episode, Walter sits down with host Lorraine Lane to unpack what economic mobility actually looks like in practice — from the difference between being eligible and being suitable for a contract, to the five-level ecosystem DOSM is building across all 24 Maryland jurisdictions. He breaks down why public-private partnerships are the backbone of economic change, why workforce development isn’t about entitlement but about opportunity, and why R&D in this field stands for something entirely different than you’d expect.Key Takeaways from This Episode:• Why poverty and the criminal justice system are dangerously intertwined — and how workforce development breaks the cycle• The three stages of economic mobility: instability, stability, and prosperity — and where you are right now• What Maryland’s $100 billion procurement landscape means for minority and small businesses• The real difference between being eligible and being suitable for a contract• Why “life is written in pencil” — and how to keep erasing and rewriting your story• Walter’s mantra: “You can never be ready, but you can always be prepared”Subscribe, share, and drop a comment — because conversations like this one are exactly how we build a workforce that works for everyone. iBuild America Podcast — Building Workforce Success, One Podcast at a Time.

Half the Time, Twice the Impact: Rethinking Apprenticeship for a New Generation

What happens when two women who've spent careers in the trenches of workforce development sit down and just… tell the truth? Host Lorraine Lane is joined by Meghan Burke, Director of School Employment Programs for Metro South/West Workforce Board, and Apryl Simmons, Consultant for Workforce Development, Healthy Homes Repair Manager, Sussex County Habitat for Humanity. What starts as a conversation about WIOA and apprenticeship quickly turns into something much bigger — a real, unfiltered look at what's broken, what's possible, and what's at stake for America's next generation of workers. The hard questions don't get avoided here: Why is Job Corps so siloed from the community resources right outside its fence? Why are students still being set up to train for careers their records will never let them enter? And why aren't young people in these programs being treated like college students instead of high school students? But it's not all problems. Meghan and Apryl bring ideas that cut through the noise — from crediting Job Corps training toward apprenticeship hours (cutting training time in half), to building apprenticeship programs for Job Corps staff, to partnering nationally with mental health platforms to meet a youth mental health crisis that the field can no longer afford to ignore. This is the kind of conversation that makes the complicated feel solvable. Subscribe to the iBuild America Podcast wherever you listen — new conversations every week on the people, programs, and ideas building America's workforce from the ground up.

From Job Corps Counselor to CEO: A Journey of Purpose

What happens when someone believes in you before you believe in yourself? What started as a role helping students at Job Corps became a lifelong mission. Korey Adams reflects on his journey from Job Corps counselor to CEO of Distinction, LLC—and the purpose that guided him every step of the way. But this conversation goes deeper than business. It’s about risk. Resilience. Purpose. And the power of truly seeing people—not just for where they are, but for who they can become. From life lessons at a gas station to leading a growing federal contracting company, Korey opens up about: Why belief changes lives * The realities of leadership and entrepreneurship * What makes Job Corps transformational * Why students succeed when people genuinely care One message stands out: People don’t care what you know until they know that you care. 🎧 Listen now, subscribe, and hear why purpose-driven leadership still matters.

From Rural Roots to Limitless Possibilities: Inside Talking Leaves Job Corps

What if the life you want is waiting—just outside of what you’ve always known?At the Talking Leaves Job Corps Center, located in the heart of the Cherokee Nation, that’s exactly what’s happening. In this episode, Jill Zimmer shares how this unique center is helping young people—many from rural and tribal communities—step into new opportunities while staying connected to their culture, identity, and community. From open spaces and hands-on training to cultural traditions like Cherokee stickball, Talking Leaves is more than a training center—it’s a place where students begin to see a bigger future for themselves. Because for many, this is the first time they’ve stepped outside what they’ve always known. And that’s where everything changes. Take a chance. Give yourself a chance. Listen now, subscribe, and discover how opportunity and culture come together to shape the next generation.