Announcing REAL LIFE Industries

We officially announced REAL LIFE Industries, a bold new vision that will combine workforce development, life coaching, paid work and training through social enterprises, and long-term support to create pathways to employment, stability, and thriving futures.

As Dr. Sarah Scarbrough shared today, “While employment changes income, belonging changes lives.” REAL LIFE Industries is built on that belief, combining meaningful work with coaching, mentorship, accountability, and community to help people build lives filled with purpose.

Thank you to REAL LIFE Board Member Julie Dime of the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association, Wes Smith of the Virginia Manufacturers Association, Dana Newcomer of the Community College Workforce Alliance, and Attorney General Jay Jones for helping us introduce this vision. We are also so grateful to everyone who joined us today to celebrate this exciting milestone.

This is just the beginning.

Together, we’re building new pathways to opportunity, strengthening our workforce, and creating a future where every second chance has a pathway.