Greater Phoenix Chamber celebrating 135th anniversary

The Greater Phoenix Chamber is celebrating 135 years of assisting upwards of 3,000 valley businesses.

We welcomed Todd Sanders, President and CEO of the Greater Phoenix Chamber, and Jennifer Mellor, the Chief Innovation Officer of the Greater Phoenix Chamber Foundation.

The Chamber represents a variety of industries such as banking, financial services, small businesses, and more. The Chamber is focused on community developments, specifically on workforce and education.

“We have continued to hear for years and years that we don’t have the workforce we need to continue to grow our businesses and economy, so we have been doing a lot of work bringing the industry together and try to align ways and improve,” Mellor said.

In 2016, the Greater Phoenix Chamber also created the Greater Phoenix Chamber Foundation, which is a nonprofit organization leading the charitable and educational initiatives of the Chamber. One such program is ElevateEdAZ, which prepares Arizona students for college and career through work-based learning experiences, high-wage and high-demand career pathways, industry recognized credentials and more.

“We are also working with schools to get more dual enrollment. We had a 40% increase in dual enrollment across Mesa public schools and Phoenix Union, which we then took on to some legislative activity under the Chamber’s umbrella,” Mellor said.