In March, the Los Angeles Digital Equity Action League (LA DEAL) team led a breakout session during the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation's (LAEDC's) 88 Cities Summit, "Empowering the Workforce of Tomorrow and Creating Digital Opportunities: Youth, Broadband and the Digital Economy in Los Angeles County." The panel featured two catalytic projects, Gateway Cities Council of Governments 25 Cities Fiber Connect Project and Destination Crenshaw, a project empowering broadband in the Crenshaw Corridor, led by Jason Foster, a UNITE-LA board member. Destination Crenshaw received $25 million from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) Federal Funding Award to build out a network to serve community businesses and residents.

The Opportunity Youth Collaborative (of which UNITE-LA is a co-convener), along with partners from the Economic & Workforce Development Department (EWDD) and LAUSD's Student Support and Attendance Services and Division of Adult and Career Technical Education, also presented at LAEDC's 88 Cities Summit. This presentation spotlighted effective practices in Los Angeles to reengage youth disengaged from education and employment. The co-location of services between EWDD and various LAUSD departments has resulted in the reengagement of 4,056 youth between July 2024 and December 2024. The efforts highlighted aim to better provide and connect holistic education and workforce development supports to youth, ages 16-24. These efforts are part of a broader strategy to meet the L.A. regional goal of reducing the number of youth, ages 16-24, who are neither working nor in school by 32,000 by 2028. To learn more about this effort, please see the Horizons 32K strategic plan.