This past week, I had the chance to attend Jobs for the Future’s (JFF’s) Horizons 2025 conference in New Orleans – solo but far from alone. As a first-time attendee and long-time admirer of Jobs for the Future, I wasn’t just impressed by the sheer scale of the event (60+ sessions, roughly 1,500 change-makers, and a second line parade to close it all out). I was struck by the clarity of purpose that echoed across every panel, hallway chat, and brass band interlude: how do we build and scale opportunity pathways that lead to truly quality jobs for everyone?
It’s a question that resonates deeply with us at EcoMap, where we spend every day mapping the ecosystems of opportunity that power communities forward.
And at Horizons, it was clear we were among kindred spirits.
A Bold Theme with NOLA Soul
Hosted in the city where Horizons began a decade ago, this year’s theme “Dare to Be Brave” wasn’t just a call to action, it was a whole vibe. From CEO Maria Flynn’s opening remarks to the last sax riff of the second line, bravery meant challenging broken systems, investing in new models, and leading with heart even when the way forward isn’t certain.
Maria framed it beautifully to kick off the conference: “We have to stop defending systems that don’t work and be bold enough to build new ones.” The crowd applauded, fully on beat.
She also reminded us of JFF’s North Star goal: ensuring 75 million people are in quality jobs by 2033. As of this year, we’re at 51 million, surpassing early benchmarks, but there was no victory lap in sight. “We’re not done,” Maria noted. “We’re not satisfied until we get there.” That sense of purpose reverberated throughout the conference: not just celebrating progress, but doubling down on the path forward.
The Pulse of the Workforce: Jobs ≠ Quality Jobs
A central rhythm throughout the event was the distinction between “just a job” and a quality job – one that provides dignity, voice, growth, and stability. To bring some data to the dance floor, JFF, Gallup, and the Families & Workers Fund debuted findings from their American Quality Jobs Survey. It identified five dimensions of a quality job:
- Enough pay for financial wellbeing
- Safety and respect at work
- Voice in decisions that affect you
- Opportunities to grow and advance
- Control over your schedule and tasks
These are the kinds of metrics we need to elevate when we talk about workforce systems – not just employment rates, but the experience of work itself.
Policy Meets Practice: Secretary Wu, Governor Sununu & the Policy Ecosystem
We also heard from leaders like Portia Wu, Maryland’s Secretary of Labor, who laid out our home state’s bold plan to get 40% of high schoolers into career pathways or apprenticeships by 2030. That’s not just a workforce strategy – it’s ecosystem-building at its best: connecting education, policy, and community to create frictionless onramps into meaningful work. We’re proud of the work being done across Maryland led by Governor Moore and Secretary Wu to bring quality jobs to our state.
In the closing session for Day 1, Former New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu emphasized that cross-sector collaboration isn’t a partisan idea – it’s a pragmatic one. “Show people the door,” he said, “and they’ll walk through it.” (At EcoMap, we’d add: Let’s make sure they know where the door is – and that it’s actually open.)
Fair Chance, Fair Play
A personal highlight was the lunch session featuring Susan Burton (A New Way of Life) and Darvelle Hutchins (VP of Impact & Culture for the Saints & Pelicans). Their session “Fair Chance, Fair Play” focused on the economic and human imperative of opening employment pathways for formerly incarcerated individuals.
Their message was clear: second chances aren’t a liability, they’re an economic and moral imperative. With one in three U.S. adults holding a criminal record, fair-chance hiring could reclaim over $55 billion in lost wages annually. Burton’s powerful story of advocacy paired perfectly with Hutchins’ NOLA-rooted example of how local employers – including iconic sports teams – are embedding fair chance hiring practices into their operations. It was workforce development with cleats on the ground and community in its heart.
And Then Came AI
Another high note came from the sessions focused on AI’s growing role in the workforce – not as a looming existential threat, but as a powerful (and potentially perilous) tool. The dominant question wasn’t “Will AI take our jobs?” but rather, “Will AI help us make work better?” Many of the sessions emphasized that we’re standing at a fork in the road: one path leads to more exclusion, more opacity, and more power concentrated in the hands of a few.
Panelists across sectors explored how AI could streamline training, remove barriers to information, and personalize support in ways we’ve never been able to do before – especially for frontline workers, underserved learners, and employers navigating complex systems. But that future isn’t guaranteed. As one speaker put it, “The genie’s out of the bottle. Now we need to make sure it has a conscience.”
In that spirit, JFF launched The Studio, a new platform developed with CreatorUp and WorkingNation, designed to produce engaging, high-quality educational content that helps everyone – from policymakers to students – better understand AI’s implications for the labor market. It’s an early, but important step toward building an AI ecosystem that’s people-centered, not just profit-centered.
Where EcoMap Fits In
At EcoMap, we talk a lot about ecosystems – how people, programs, policies, and places all connect to create opportunity. What JFF and the Horizons community are doing is building and nurturing these ecosystems at scale.
We’re excited to be building new tools designed to help organizations like JFF map, track, and strengthen the opportunity pathways they create – making it easier to see what exists, identify what’s missing, and measure what works.
So while I may have flown solo to Horizons, I felt completely at home. Huge thanks to our friends Caroline Soares, David Soo, and the entire JFF team for pulling off a conference that was as inspiring as it was impeccably run. Organizing that many moving parts in New Orleans sunshowers and humidity? That’s bravery.
Until Next Time
From the second line to the main stage, Horizons 2025 was a masterclass in how to convene the doers, dreamers, and data‑lovers working to ensure everyone gets a fair shot at a quality job.
I’m walking away with a deeper understanding of the systems at play – and an even stronger belief that opportunity isn’t a solo – it’s a jazz ensemble. It takes vision, coordination, and a willingness to improvise.
See y’all in D.C. next year!