On June 26, Mayor Ras Baraka launched a bold initiative to connect 2,020 Newark residents to local work that pays a living wage by 2020. The Institute’s research, conducted by Senior Counsel & Director of the Economic Mobility Initiative Demelza Baer and published in the report, Bridging the Two Americas: Employment & Economic Opportunity in Newark & Beyond, formed the foundation of showing why this initiative is necessary and how it can be a success.