When Gaston Araoz first encountered ACT, he was Regional Director for Senator Tim Kaine attending an event organized by ACT at the First Baptist Church in Alexandria. He was extremely impressed by the positive environment of the gathering and the leadership style of John Porter, former Executive Director of ACT. Years later, after representing nonprofits during Spring2ACTion campaigns and diving deep into community partnerships through his work with Dominion Energy, Gaston found himself back in the orbit of ACT, this time, through a collaborative mission to support youth employment and career readiness.
In October of 2023, Gaston joined Dominion Energy as an external affairs representative, and one of his first official meetings took place at City Hall. At this meeting, he learned about youth employment initiatives such as the Summer Youth Employment Program. Thanks to this important conversation, Gaston joined ACT’s Youth Employment & Career and Technical Education (CTE) Working Group.
What he discovered wasn’t just another meeting of minds, but something much more impactful: “ACT got everyone in the same room to remove the silos,” Gaston says. “It’s been amazing getting to know everyone and what everyone is working on.”
Connecting the Dots
The Youth Employment & CTE Working Group exemplifies ACT’s unique power as a convener. “What’s special about this group,” Gaston reflects, “is the diversity of voices at the table and how open everyone is. Normally, people come to these spaces with their own agendas. But ACT sets a tone where every conversation centers on students and their future.”
That commitment came to life last summer when ACT shared updates with the working group. Gaston learned that participants of the Summer Youth Employment Program were going to have career exploration trips to a couple of organizations. He saw an opportunity and said: Why not welcome these students to our Dominion Energy Alexandria Field Office? And so, 51 Alexandria students spent most of the day immersed in the world of energy, meeting employees in the field, learning from a panel of professionals in diverse roles, and hearing from a VP who joined Dominion as a lawyer and built a whole new career.
For one student, the day was transformative. “At the end of the event, a young man told me he wanted to work at Dominion Energy,” Gaston shares. “He saw a path for himself in the trades instead of college. That was a big win.”
Rooted in Representation
With deep ties to the Latino community, Gaston also sees his role as expanding access: “As a Latino, it matters to me that students from all backgrounds can see themselves in our workforce. Dominion Energy has great people, real opportunities, and a strong commitment to diversity. We want young people in Alexandria to know: this can be a starting point for you.”
Thanks to Dominion Energy’s Speakers Bureau, Gaston and his colleagues will continue giving presentations at Alexandria City High School and at local nonprofits such as Cornerstone Craftsman about the diverse career paths that one can find at this company. Additionally, he plans to host “Dominion Energy Days” in the spring and fall. These experiences would be open to any student in the Alexandria City Public Schools, regardless of their participation in the Summer Youth Employment Program.
Looking Ahead
The partnership is still growing. A new Dominion Energy HR representative dedicated to Northern Virginia started recently, with plans to join future ACT convenings. “We want to be more than a utility company,” Gaston says. “We want to be a bridge to career opportunities.”
And thanks to ACT’s role in fostering connection, those bridges are being built – one student, one site visit, one conversation at a time.