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Dallas and All Stars Project expand Dallas Works with paid internships and year‑round supports
Summary
Mayor Eric Johnson and city leaders announced a new partnership with the All Stars Project to expand Dallas Works, offering paid summer internships and year‑round workforce supports; officials cited early engagement numbers and called on businesses to provide more placements.
Mayor Eric Johnson announced an expanded Dallas Works program and a new partnership with the All Stars Project on a morning City Hall stage, saying he was "very excited" to "officially kick off a new year of Dallas Works." The mayor described the program as providing paid summer internships and workforce development opportunities for Dallas high school and college students and thanked corporate and institutional sponsors for stepping up to provide placements.
Why it matters: City officials said the program is intended to increase access to career pathways for young people and to strengthen the local workforce. Lynn McBee, the mayor's workforce czar, framed the problem as one of access rather than talent and said the summer internships will target neighborhoods including West Dallas and Southern Dallas.
Details and figures: Mayor Johnson said the initiative has "already" engaged more than 1,000 students and that "nearly 150" had signed up for summer internships. Candace Hardy, who manages the city's summer internship program, said 13 unique departments participated in 2023; for the coming season eight departments were slated to participate and the program would employ 20 interns. City officials listed employers and partners providing internships and support, including Hunt Oil Company, Bank of America, the Dallas Regional Chamber, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of Texas, Parkland Hospital, Amelie Residential, Dallas College, The Arnold Companies and KFM Engineering.
Program design and partnership: Chris Street, CEO of the All Stars Project, said the organization brings a 25‑year track record and outlined three priorities for the Dallas program: create a year‑round model, center quality of work placements, and connect youth with "world class" business leaders. Street said the All Stars had connected with more than 1,000 young people since November and urged the city and partners to "get it right this summer" by collecting data, analyzing results and iterating before scaling. Hunter Hunt, chairman and CEO of Hunt Consolidated Energy, urged more Dallas businesses to host interns, saying the city currently has more trained young people ready for placements than internships available.
Voices from the event: Mayor Eric Johnson said Dallas Works opens "life changing opportunities" and thanked partners for investing in youth. Lynn McBee said the program will "level the playing field" for neighborhoods with historically limited access. Candace Hardy described this year's departmental participation and intern counts; Chris Street emphasized program quality and long‑term evaluation.
Next steps: Officials asked employers and sponsors to increase internship slots this summer and said program managers will collect data and refine the model over the coming year. The press conference concluded with a photo opportunity and no formal votes or policy actions were taken.
