Photo (Dropbox) | Video (YouTube) | Audio (mp3)

BOSTON – Today, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) visited the Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology (BFIT) to deliver $300,000 in direct federal funding for the development of a Clean Energy Building Automation Systems certificate and associate degree program. Rep. Pressley was joined by students and community members for a roundtable discussion and press conference to highlight how the funding will allow students to receive the training needed to pursue good-paying jobs in the clean energy sector.

“I was thrilled to visit the Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology campus this morning to celebrate the federal funding we secured to help launch BFIT’s new green jobs certificate and associated degree program,” said Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07). “These federal dollars will help BFIT train the next generation—particularly our most vulnerable and lowest-income students—to combat today’s climate crisis while building a career in the high-paying clean energy sector. I’m grateful to Dr. Francis and the entire BFIT community for their close partnership in developing this promising program, and I look forward to seeing these BFIT students preserve our planet and make our physical infrastructure more sustainable.”

“We were honored to have Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley host a roundtable discussion at Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology to highlight the potential of clean energy jobs and the economic opportunities available to our students and others that support sustainability,” said Dr. Aisha Francis, President and CEO of Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology. “As a minority-serving institution with students from across Greater Boston, we understand the economic opportunities connected to the high-demand, high-paying careers that align with a sustainable future and green jobs. From renewable solar and wind energy to green building technology to electric vehicles, BFIT is committed to ensuring the clean tech workforce of the future will be highly trained, career-ready, and diverse.”

View photos from the event here and watch the recorded livestream here.

Rep. Pressley secured the federal funding for BFIT in the government spending package that passed Congress and was signed into law by President Biden in March. In total, Rep. Pressley secured over $8 million for 10 community projects across the Massachusetts 7th Congressional District, capping off nearly a year of advocacy by Rep. Pressley and local leaders.

In March, she visited La Colaborativa in Chelsea to celebrate the $300,000 in federal community project funding that she delivered for La Colaborativa’s COVID Employment Recovery Program, and in April she visited Randolph to deliver $1,000,000 in federal community project funding for a new school-based community health center at Randolph High School. Last month, she visited Bunker Hill Community College to celebrate the $1,000,000 in federal community project funding she secured to expand the City of Boston’s Tuition-Free Community College program.

Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology is a Minority Serving Institution that serves a student body with 74% students of color, 57% first generation college students, and students have an average household income of $23,800 upon entry. The new program will improve access to postsecondary education in the clean energy sector for these students, resulting in good paying jobs in a growing industry.

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