myFutureNC Inaugural Champion Wayne County Reentry Council Named Program of the Year

The Wayne County Reentry Council, one of myFutureNC’s inaugural 2025 Champions for Attainment, has earned another statewide honor — being named Program of the Year by the North Carolina Gang Investigators Association.

Operated by Wayne Community College, the council was recognized for its community impact and its work helping justice-involved individuals overcome barriers and successfully transition back into their communities.

The recognition builds on the council’s selection as a 2025 myFutureNC Champion for Attainment, when it was honored for expanding access to education, workforce training, employment and critical support services for formerly incarcerated North Carolinians.

Established in 2022, the Wayne County Reentry Council brings together community organizations and government agencies to connect individuals and families with resources that can include educational opportunities, job-search assistance, workforce training, counseling, transportation, housing support and other services.

The council also provides ongoing case management and hosts workshops, job and resource fairs, information sessions and other activities designed to help participants establish goals, prepare for employment and build pathways toward long-term stability.

Creating Opportunity by Removing Barriers

North Carolina’s goal of 2 million individuals ages 25–44 with a high-quality credential or postsecondary degree by 2030 will require reaching people who have historically faced significant barriers to education, employment, and economic mobility.

Justice-involved North Carolinians are part of that work.

A credential can open a door, but individuals also need a realistic pathway to use that education — including connections to employment, transportation, housing and other supports that make continued progress possible.

That is where the Wayne County Reentry Council’s approach matters.

By connecting education and workforce preparation with individualized support, the council helps create opportunities for people to reenter the workforce, build financial stability and contribute their skills and talents to their communities.

And those individual successes add up.

Every North Carolinian who is able to earn a credential, connect to meaningful employment and move toward greater economic mobility strengthens not only their own future, but also North Carolina’s workforce and economy.

This is the connection at the heart of the state’s attainment work: educational attainment is the measure, but opportunity is the outcome.

A Champion Worth Watching

The Wayne County Reentry Council was named a Champion for Attainment because its work demonstrates how local partnerships can remove barriers and create pathways to postsecondary education, employment and economic mobility.

Its latest statewide recognition reinforces the value of identifying and elevating approaches that are working in communities across North Carolina.

Reaching 2 million by 2030 will not happen through one institution, program or policy. It will happen one individual at a time and one community at a time — as North Carolinians are connected to the education, resources, and opportunities they need to succeed.

The Wayne County Reentry Council is showing what that looks like in practice.

Congratulations to Wayne Community College, the Wayne County Reentry Council and the many community partners helping create stronger pathways to opportunity in Wayne County.