News

EXCLUSIVE: Gov. Abigail Spanberger tours Alexandria nonprofit Cornerstone Craftsman

By James Cullum
Smiling woman in a black suit shakes hands with construction workers in high‑visibility vests and white hard hats indoors.
Businesswoman shakes hands with construction workers in a lobby, colleagues watching nearby.
Man in a dark suit points to the left while four colleagues stand nearby—three women and a man, all in business attire, outdoors in a parking lot.
Man in a dark suit talks to a woman in a black business suit inside a shop while several people look on and photographers snap photos in the background.
Three professionals in a small office discuss a topic, with a wall slogan reading 'Reality is what you make it' behind them.
Group of construction workers in hard hats and high-visibility vests inside a building undergoing construction, with onlookers nearby.
Woman in red blouse and black blazer posing with two construction workers in yellow safety vests and hard hats as others take photos nearby in an industrial space.
Professionals in a hallway chatting; a smiling blonde woman in a black suit and red blouse converses with a man in a dark suit while others look on.
Woman in a blazer writes on a light-green wall with a marker; handwritten notes cover the wall beside a mounted TV.
Handwritten note on pale green paper praising Cornerstone students and their future skills.
Four professionals in business attire standing side by side in a conference room, smiling at the camera while a desk with notebooks sits in front of them.
Instructor with long hair teaching math beside an interactive whiteboard filled with equations and fractions, gesturing with hands.
Older man in a dark suit raises his fist while speaking to a small group of professionals in an office hallway/conference area.
Two construction workers in high-visibility vests and white helmets greet a group of formally dressed professionals in an office lobby.
Man in a navy suit and pink tie speaks, gesturing with hands, with a uniformed officer and a woman listening nearby.
Group of professionally dressed people standing in a conference room, smiling at an event, with a man in a blue checkered shirt in the foreground.
Ten students in yellow safety vests and hard hats stand with two adults in business attire for a group photo in a classroom workshop.
Two professionals in dark suits smile while posing in front of a whiteboard filled with handwritten equations and notes.
1/18

Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger (D) got a firsthand look at Alexandria-based nonprofit Cornerstone Craftsman Tuesday morning (Sept. 15).

Spanberger made expanding workforce programs for children a part of her Growing Virginia Plan when she ran for governor. She toured the space and met with Cornerstone Craftsman’s stakeholders, including Alexandria Sheriff Sean Casey, Alexandria City School Board Chair Chris Harris and Clark Mercer, chair of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.

Micah King-Talbert, 17, and his brother Maliki, 16, spoke with Spanberger. The brothers have been pre-apprentices for several years, and want to become electricians after high school.

“It was amazing being able to tell her about what we do and the stuff we want to do in the future,” Micah said.

After the tour, Spanberger said she was impressed by what she saw.

“This is their community, and then they graduate out and go into the building trades, having that support of a community around them if they choose to continue in construction and join a union, I think it’s really incredible,” Spanberger said. “I was incredibly impressed by [Cornerstone] before I had a chance to actually see it, and we’ve got some people here from our Secretariat of Labor, so we will be diving in deep.”

Roberto Gomez founded the nonprofit in 2021. The program currently works with 28 pre-apprentices, providing mentorship and training in skilled trades, as well as math and science tutoring. It operates from an office in the city’s Eisenhower East neighborhood that was donated by Alexandria developer Don Simpson.

“I think the model we’ve created under my leadership could be replicated,” Gomez said. “It’s intentionally designed to remove barriers for young people getting to workforce.”

Del. R. Kirk McPike (D-5) attended the tour, and said Spanberger can replicate Cornerstone’s model across Virginia.

“I hope that the governor left here today inspired to work with the General Assembly, work with Roberto here in Alexandria, to make sure this model is sustainable locally, and then to expand it across the Commonwealth,” McPike told ALXnow. “This is an opportunity to take a program that we’ve seen can make real positive change in the lives of young people, solidify it and export it across the Commonwealth.”

About the Author

  • Reporter James Cullum has spent nearly 20 years covering Northern Virginia. He began working with ALXnow in 2020, and has covered every story under the sun for the publication, from investigative stories to features and photo galleries. His work includes coverage of national and international situations, as well as from the White House, Capitol, Pentagon, Supreme Court and State Department. He's covered protests and riots throughout the U.S. (including the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol), in addition to earthquake-ridden Haiti, Western Sahara in North Africa and war-torn South Sudan. He has photographed presidents and other world leaders, celebrities and famous musicians, and excels under pressure.