U.S. Labor Secretary Visits UMCES

(CAMBRIDGE, Md) – A member of the U.S. Cabinet visited University of Maryland’s Horn Point Lab research campus on Friday.

Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer toured the oyster hatchery as part of her 50-state “America At Work” tour across the country. With the goal of focusing on state specific markets.

In Maryland’s case, that includes environmental research to help watermen.

Secretary Chavez-DeRemer tells us, “What we’re seeing is while working with our universities, our community colleges, our technical schools, centers of excellence. We’re really trying to focus on the skilled trades as well as, again, what market demands are are needed, and how can the department invest, and fill those.”

Center of Environmental Sciences President Fernando Mirallies-Wilhelm spoke with us after a closed-door roundtable with the Labor Secretary. He highlights the need to showcase Chesapeake Bay research and how that can impact local economies.

He says, “It allows us to share the connection that we do between the research in the science that goes on in our labs to the creation of jobs, to the development of the economy in the state and beyond…”

And as the campus president tells us, this can be a major boost to careers in the Chesapeake area in the long run.

“We also left the door open to a better understanding of funding opportunities, investments in workforce development,” says Miralles-Wilhelm.

Secretary Chavez-DeRemer says she plans to bring research from this tour in Dorchester County back to Washington.

She says, “Two out of every three new jobs is created by a small business owner. So right here in Maryland, this industry is important. It’s important to the ancillary jobs that it will affect. So the more we grow this economy, the better off and more prosperity we’ll have.”

Maryland was the 36th State Secretrary Chavez-DeRemer has visited on this “America At Work” Tour