October 14, 2026

What will it take to put more children and young adults in Forsyth County on a path to economic mobility? That question brought together over 100  leaders from education, business, government, healthcare, philanthropy and community organizations Tuesday for the inaugural Thriving Together Policy Forum: Postsecondary Attainment & Economic Mobility, co-hosted by Thriving Together Forsyth and Forsyth Technical Community College.

The forum advanced a central message: Educational attainment and economic mobility do not begin at graduation. They are shaped by the conditions children experience from before birth through adulthood.

From access to quality early childhood education and strong public schools to stable housing, healthcare, family economic security, and pathways to meaningful employment, the forum examined how interconnected challenges from prenatal to career require more coordinated solutions.

Highlights of the event included showcasing infrastructure being built by Thriving Together Forsyth and Forsyth Family Power (whole child continuum network) and the launch of the Postsecondary Attainment Network (PAN), led by Forsyth Tech. The Postsecondary Attainment Network which will bring together education, workforce and community partners to align strategies, address barriers, and expand pathways from postsecondary education and training to employment and career advancement.

Connecting Lifelong Learning and the Conditions for Wellbeing

Throughout the morning, speakers challenged participants to consider two questions: How are the children in Forsyth County? And what will it take to place more children and young adults on the path to economic mobility?

The questions reflect the work of Thriving Together Forsyth, a community-wide effort to strengthen the Seven Vital Conditions for Wellbeing and bring greater alignment to the policies, programs, and investments that influence outcomes for children and families. These are long-standing values held by its backbone partners: Action4Equity, Forsyth Futures, and Love Out Loud.

Rather than viewing early childhood, K–12 education, postsecondary attainment and workforce development as separate challenges, the forum explored how they are part of a connected continuum of learning and care.

Kellie Easton, Co-CEO of Action4Equity and Thriving Together Lead, has shared about the collaboration: “We cannot expect different outcomes for our children if we continue to approach their lives as a collection of disconnected problems. Educational attainment is connected to housing, health, safety, family stability and opportunity. Our challenge is to organize our efforts, align our investments, and change the policies and practices that stand in the way of children thriving. The measure of our success is not what we discussed today, but what changes because we came together.”

New Postsecondary Attainment Network Builds on Shared Goals

The forum launched the Postsecondary Attainment Network, led by Forsyth Technical Community College.

The network is designed to accelerate collaboration among organizations working to expand postsecondary attainment, workforce readiness, and economic mobility. Participants were invited to contribute to shared outcomes, identify opportunities for greater alignment, and help address barriers that prevent residents from accessing and completing education and training programs that lead to meaningful employment.

The launch represents an important connection between efforts focused on the earliest years of a child’s life and those focused on postsecondary education, career preparation and advancement.

“At Forsyth Tech, we see every day how education and training can change the trajectory of a person’s life. But we also recognize that the path to opportunity begins long before a student arrives on our campus,” said Dr. Janet N. Spriggs, president of Forsyth Tech. “Through the Postsecondary Attainment Network, we have an opportunity to work more intentionally with partners across our community, strengthen the pathways that lead to meaningful careers, and help more Forsyth County residents achieve economic mobility.”

Using Shared Data to Drive Smarter Investment

The forum also featured a presentation by Adam Hill, Executive Director of Forsyth Futures, examining local data across the prenatal-to-career continuum.

Hill introduced a pilot community dashboard being developed as part of Thriving Together’s shared learning and measurement infrastructure. The tool is intended to help community partners better understand how strategies and investments connect to shared outcomes, identify gaps and opportunities, and track progress over time.

The dashboard is part of a broader infrastructure effort to move beyond isolated programs and measures toward a more connected understanding of what is working, where additional investment is needed, and how collective efforts can achieve greater impact.

Economic Mobility Begins Before Birth

Two panel discussions explored the connections between educational attainment and the conditions that shape children’s lives.

The first, Educational Attainment Begins Before Birth, featured leaders in early childhood and public education discussing the importance of prenatal health, access to child care, high-quality Pre-K, kindergarten readiness, and early literacy. Panelists examined how investments and policies in the earliest years influence educational success, workforce participation, and long-term economic opportunity.

The second panel, Centering Community Voice: What Community Tells Us About the Conditions for Wellbeing, brought together community, healthcare, and philanthropic perspectives to examine the barriers families identify as most urgent, including housing, mental wellbeing, healthcare, safety, transportation, and economic security.

Together, the discussions reinforced the importance of combining community experience with data and institutional expertise to shape more effective policies, partnerships, and investments.

From Shared Understanding to Coordinated Action

In closing remarks, Kellie Easton, Co-CEO of Action4Equity, challenged participants to move beyond awareness and incremental progress toward meaningful changes in how the community works together.

Participants were encouraged to identify barriers they could help remove, partnerships they could strengthen, and practices they could change to improve outcomes for children and families.

The forum also highlighted the work of Forsyth Family Power, a network within Thriving Together focused on strengthening the continuum of learning and care, and their growing infrastructure to support coordinated community action.

The inaugural forum marks an opportunity for Forsyth County to build on existing efforts and strengthen a shared approach to ensuring that more children and young adults have the conditions, educational opportunities, and support necessary to thrive.

The ultimate measure of success will be whether the conversations, relationships, and commitments generated at the forum translate into better outcomes for Forsyth County’s children and families.