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Council approves $17,500 to expand high‑school leadership conference after discussion on metrics and scaling
Summary
After questions about long‑term tracking and cost per pupil, the Wyoming Workforce Development Council approved a $17,500 grant to support the Lift high‑school leadership conference in Casper, with members urging stronger measurement and private partnerships to scale the program.
The Wyoming Workforce Development Council voted to award $17,500 to the Lift high‑school leadership conference in Casper after a presentation and extended council discussion about program impact, metrics and scalability.
Tom (presenter) described Lift as an eight‑year, volunteer‑run leadership conference aimed at high‑school student councils and other student leaders. He said the event drew roughly 230–275 students this year and highlighted career interests reported by participants (health and medicine, business, engineering) as well as aims to encourage more Wyoming students to stay in the state. "Many of the kids ... said no this actually did have an impact on my future decisions," Tom said when asked about immediate feedback.
Council members pressed for better evaluation and private sector engagement. Tom Manley (council member) urged the organizer to strengthen support metrics and include trades and non‑college career paths in measurement and outreach, saying, "we are very thin on supporting metrics" and that stronger tracking would help defend future funding. Several members suggested partnering with DVR and local employers to create internships and reduce cost per participant.
Charlie Wilson moved to approve the remaining $17,500 requested to cover personnel, outreach, transportation, teacher coverage and speakers; the motion was seconded by Tony Cross. A roll‑call vote was conducted and the chair announced the motion passed with 15 yes votes. Tom thanked the council for the support and said he would pursue broader partnerships and better data collection.
Why it matters: council support will help Lift hire a program director and fund outreach to recruit more student leaders across Wyoming; council members conditioned broader support on better metrics and private partnerships.
What’s next: the presenter said he will follow up with council members and staff about partnerships with DVR and other state programs and work to improve participant tracking for future evaluations.
