Episode Details

What does it take to turn opportunity from something determined by luck into something every New Yorker can count on?

Greg sits down with Richard Buery, CEO of Robin Hood, for a wide-ranging conversation about poverty, workforce development, education, racial equity, public service, and building systems that create real economic opportunity.

Rich reflects on growing up in East New York, discovering his passion for service while working with young people in Roxbury, and the path that took him from founding community programs to leading major nonprofits, serving as Deputy Mayor of New York City, and now heading one of the city’s largest anti-poverty organizations.

Greg and Rich discuss what New York learned from building Pre-K for All, why stronger leadership and coordination are essential to the city’s fragmented workforce system, and why success should be measured by whether people land good jobs with strong wages, benefits, and lasting opportunity. They also explore the connections among higher education, child care, workforce development, and economic mobility, and why systems designed to expand opportunity must confront persistent racial inequities.

The conversation also turns to artificial intelligence and the choices New York City must make as AI reshapes education and the workforce. Rich makes the case for preparing young people to use emerging technology thoughtfully rather than allowing fear of its risks to widen existing opportunity gaps, and reflects on Robin Hood’s efforts to build the long-term resources needed to fight poverty and respond to future crises.

Produced by: New York City Employment and Training Coalition
Published by: New York City Employment and Training Coalition
Filmed at The Greene Space
Topics: workforce development; poverty; economic mobility; good jobs; education; higher education; child care; artificial intelligence; racial equity; public service; philanthropy; New York City