Gregory J. Morris sits down with Jennifer Jones Austin, CEO and Executive Director of FPWA, for a powerful conversation about purpose-driven leadership, the realities of economic deprivation, and the urgent need to rethink how we measure and achieve economic dignity for New Yorkers.
Jennifer opens up about her personal journey, from growing up as the daughter of civil rights leader Rev. William Augustus Jones Jr. to facing and overcoming a life-threatening battle with leukemia. Through stories of faith, family, and recovery, she shares how these deeply formative experiences shaped her unwavering commitment to service, equity, and systems change.
Greg and Jennifer dig into her career spanning senior city government roles, leading the NYC Racial Justice Commission, and shepherding the groundbreaking “True Cost of Living” ballot measure into law. They unpack the concept of “structural economic deprivation,” revealing how outdated poverty metrics and flawed policy design leave too many working New Yorkers unable to make ends meet.
From low wages and benefits cliffs to inaccessible child care and the often-overlooked toll of trauma, Jennifer makes the case for a new framework, one that treats advocacy, wraparound supports, and trauma-informed care as essential pillars of workforce development.
This conversation moves from the deeply personal to the urgently political, offering both inspiration and a clear-eyed call to action for policymakers, practitioners, and anyone who believes that economic security should be a right, not a privilege.
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Published by: New York City Employment and Training Coalition (NYCETC)
Produced by: Manhattan Neighborhood Network
Topics: Purpose-driven leadership, structural economic deprivation, economic dignity, workforce equity, poverty measurement reform, trauma-informed care, advocacy as infrastructure, FPWA, True Cost of Living, NYC public policy, racial equity, systemic change, child care access, wraparound supports, NYCETC
