From left to right: Dr. Ximena Gates Hartsock, CEO, BuildWithin; Dr. Paul Kihn, DC Deputy Mayor for Education; Dr. Ina Gjikondi, Director, Learning Innovation & Strategic Growth, GW Center for Excellence in Public Leadership; Dr. Liesl Riddle, Dean, GW College of Professional Studies; Dr. Andrew Flagel, President & CEO, Consortium of Universities of the Washington Metropolitan Area; Kyle Detrich, Founder & CEO of Grounded Idealist.
Check out Talent Capital, a first-of-its-kind workforce resource designed to support displaced federal workers—and any job seekers—across the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia.
GW’s College of Professional Studies (GW CPS) is proud to join the Metropolitan Washington Council of Government (MWCOG) and other regional leaders in building this workforce infrastructure— pairing AI-driven job matching with human-centered services.
The recently launched initiative reflects the strategic guidance of regional stakeholders and the visionary leadership of DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, DC Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development Nina Albert, DC Deputy Mayor for Education Paul Kihn, DC Secretary of Labor Dr. Unique Morris-Hughes, VA Secretary of Labor Bryan Slater, MD Secretary of Labor Portia Wu, and other leaders.
By uniting government, business, higher education, and nonprofit partners, the launch marks the first step of a broader regional civic alliance focused on transforming workforce development and accelerating re-employment for skilled professionals affected by federal transitions.
As part of our partnership, GW CPS is committed to providing real pathways to opportunity, including:
- 36 complimentary executive coaching hours and up to 50% off professional development courses offered by our GW Center for Excellence in Public Leadership;
- 20% tuition savings on degree programs for those impacted by federal downsizing, including degrees in The Graduate School of Political Management;
- Free samplers and microcredentials in high-demand fields like cybersecurity, AI, data analytics, and homeland security through our upskilling and reskilling platform, GW RevU.
“This moment represents a major milestone for our region and the thousands of public servants who have dedicated their careers to strengthening our democracy,” said Liesl Riddle, Dean of the College of Professional Studies.
“With Talent Capital, we are combining innovation and compassion—bringing together cutting-edge tools and hands-on support—so workers can chart clear, confident next steps.”
According to GW’s October 1 press release, Talent Capital combines AI-enabled job matching with human-centered services to help displaced federal workers rapidly connect to quality employment, skill-building opportunities, and wraparound support across the DMV region.
Unlike static job boards or directories, it is powered by BuildWithin’s agentic AI system; technology that reasons, adapts, and takes initiative on behalf of each user. Job matches are personalized not just to past roles, but also to transferable skills, career stage, aspirations, and location, while training and credentials are surfaced to strengthen transition opportunities.
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Explore the Talent Capital Website