Mecklenburg County hires 2 new leaders to build a ‘national model’ in Charlotte
Mecklenburg is bringing on two new leaders as County Manager Mike Bryant implements his vision for the county in his first year in office.
Virginia Covill will take on the role of assistant county manager of Workforce Development and Upward Mobility this month, the county announced. Chris Rivera will also start in January as director of a new economic mobility division within the county’s Department of Community Resources.
Both will be focused on economic and workforce development — helping people access job training and educational opportunities, and connecting prospective employees and employers. Those areas have been a point of emphasis in Mecklenburg since a nationwide study ranked the Charlotte area among the worst for economic mobility.
Bryant, who took office in June, previously announced plans to bring on new leadership “solely dedicated to upward mobility.”
“Upward mobility begins with a decision — the community’s decision that all residents regardless of zip code will have a chance to improve their economic, educational, social, or professional standing,” Bryant said in a statement on the latest hires. “These two roles will be foundational in my commitment to continuous growth, resilience and the belief that effort can transform opportunity into achievement.”
Covill and Rivera, who both have experience in North Carolina, say they’re eager to help unite governmental, business and nonprofit resources in Charlotte to make it easier for residents to improve their lives while crafting a “national model” for advancement.
“We have the opportunity here locally to lead the way nationally,” Covill told The Charlotte Observer.
Helping the ‘front lines’
When Covill first arrived in Charlotte for graduate school about 16 years ago, she was “focused on individual health and wellness and clinical psychology.” But as she studied, she “pretty quickly realized that individuals can’t thrive if we don’t have systems that support them.”
That led her to expand her focus and a career that’s included stops with Communities In Schools of Charlotte-Mecklenburg and Leading on Opportunity, the Foundation For The Carolinas’ economic mobility wing.
Covill said she tries to leverage her expertise in the data and strategy side of workforce development to help people working directly with the community, like teachers and social workers.
“It helps me contribute in indirect ways to folks who are really making the difference on the front lines,” she said.
Rivera also has experience in workforce development in North Carolina, having previously led Greensboro’s workforce development board. But he described his journey into the field as “complete happenstance.”
He was working in restaurant management for Five Guys in Florida when a chance encounter with an older manager while traveling led him to reevaluate his professional goals. After “some soul searching and praying,” he reached out to an acquaintance in workforce development he knew through recruiting for restaurants.
The acquaintance had a job opening, and Rivera’s been in the field ever since.
In his new role in Charlotte, Rivera said one of his main goals is “giving our residents a competitive edge to becoming more meaningfully employed.”
Embracing Bryant’s ‘organizational reset’
Both Covill and Rivera said the opportunity to help execute Bryant’s vision for county government is part of what drew them to Mecklenburg.
After more than two decades within county government, Bryant succeeded his mentor Dena Diorio after her summer retirement. He pledged an “organizational reset” that’s already included the departure of a deputy county manager and the hiring of two new deputies.
He’s cited the “Chetty study,” a 2014 analysis by Harvard researchers that rated Charlotte 50th out of 50 major U.S. cities for economic mobility, as motivation for a focus on helping people improve their economic situation.
“I’m really motivated and inspired by his vision,” Covill said of Bryant.
Having worked in the nonprofit sector locally, Covill’s particularly interested in working with Bryant on his efforts to increase collaboration between local governments, businesses and community organizations to help make it easier for residents to access resources.
“There’s a lot of great work that’s happening, but we’re not always aligning that work … and breaking down silos,” Covill said.
Building relationships and opportunities
After four years as Leading on Opportunity’s deputy director of Strategy and Operations, Covill said she’s eager to “institutionalize” what she’s learned and “continue to work on partnerships that will lead to change for residents.”
Rivera said he too wants to build partnerships with local businesses to get a better feel for what they’re looking for in employees as part of his workforce development efforts. That will make it easier for residents to get the help they need to find gainful employment and for employers to find qualified applicants already in Mecklenburg, he believes.
“There’s a lot of synergies that I think are going to need to happen to begin to really move the needle for our residents,” he said.
