DES MOINES – The American Legion is hosting its National Credentialing Summit in Washington at the Mayflower Hotel on Feb. 17-18. The invitation-only event will bring together more than 200 key executives, thought leaders and lawmakers from across America to focus on best practices for helping veterans and transitioning service members get credentials for civilian jobs.
The summit will showcase panels of experts from the private sector, nonprofits, the military, federal agencies and other organizations, and feature guest speakers including Secretary of Labor Tom Perez, Teamsters President James Hoffa, Jr., Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds of Iowa, and Gen. David Perkins, head of the U.S. Army’s training and doctrine command.
Reynolds, Iowa’s Lt. Governor, has played a key role in leading the state’s innovative Home Base Iowa initiative. The Home Base Iowa Act, signed by Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad in 2014, aims to recruit veterans leaving the service to Iowa to be matched with the high-quality careers available in the state.
“In Iowa, we believe in welcoming our nation’s veterans and their families into our state and communities, and helping them find high-quality careers when leaving the service,” said Reynolds. “Iowa’s Home Base Iowa initiative continues to attract veterans to our great state and match their unique skill sets with 21st century careers.”
Verna Jones, the Legion’s executive director in Washington, said much progress has been made since the country’s largest organization of wartime veterans held its first credentialing summit in 2012, cosponsored by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
“This summit will be a real learning experience for individuals who are committed to our military community, but may not know what specific steps need to be taken to provide veterans and their spouses with the credentials they need for the civilian work force,” Jones said.
“We want this event to have a ripple effect, so that each person who attends will go back to his or her company, college, legislature or association and effect real changes to help veterans get jobs.”
Panel topics include credentialing best practices in health care and in transportation, assessing the quality and value of credentials, credentialing of spouses, and tracking the outcomes of credentialing.
Jones said the upcoming summit is The American Legion’s latest effort in its longstanding involvement with credentialing for the military community. “We’ve been testifying before Congress on this particular issue since 1997.”
The summit will be held in the Mayflower Renaissance Hotel at 1127 Connecticut Ave. NW in Washington.
