Celebrating Success of the Employment & Empowerment Expo

On Saturday, September 16, 2023, Greater Dubuque Development along with the City of Dubuque’s Office of Shared Prosperity and Neighborhood Support and the Multicultural Family Center partnered with Northeast Iowa Community College and IowaWorks to host the Employment & Empowerment Expo.

The collective knowledge of the partners involved, paired with the inclusive and expansive spaces that the Multicultural Family Center offers, provided a positively received platform for: 

• Learning valuable information about Opportunity Dubuque.
• Getting free, professional headshot taken.
• Receiving one-on-one resume building support.
• Gaining insights into the dos and don’ts of interviewing.

Attendees also enjoyed a delicious meal from El Paisano and were able to bring their children with them  to the event as onsite child care was facilitated by the City of Dubuque AmeriCorps program. Complimentary passes to The Jule were provided to all that attended, and three lucky participants had their names drawn to win a $100 Visa gift card. The event was co-funded by an Economic Mobility & Opportunity grant received earlier this year from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Greater Dubuque Development.

Attendance reflected the diversity of our community, with 56% of participants being members of Dubuque’s Pacific Islander population, 22% Black, and 17% Latino. 57% of attendees are actively seeking employment opportunities.

We thank and applaud all partners involved in this effort for lending their expertise and committing their time towards making a positive difference in the lives of all who call Dubuque home. It is events like this, with diverse partners at the table, that help us deliver on our promise that YOU can be great here.

For more information about the Employment & Empowerment Expo or to learn more about how we're working to boost economic mobility by empowering employability, contact Nic Hockenberry, Director of Workforce Programming at nicolash@greaterdubuque.org or 563-557-4049.