Woodbridge, VA – August 11, 2023 – First Home Alliance (FHA) is excited to welcome Manassas Mayor Michelle Davis-Younger to a recent episode of Rock Your Block. Starting in 2018 she proudly served on numerous boards and participated in various associations as a springboard to civic duty. A Manassas native with two children educated in Manassas public schools Davis-Younger is the first black woman to hold the city’s highest office.
Larry Laws, FHA Founder and President, interviewed Davis-Younger and they talked about her drive for breaking barriers to produce positive change in a city that’s progressed from a town in segregation to her award-winning role in the town’s evolution. Davis-Younger also spoke about working hard to encourage Manassas residents to civic participation and to partake in an active life with the city.
They discussed several of the programs she has instituted in Manassas to help others overcome a fear of government and to help break down some of those walls. In Spring, she has initiated a Walk with the Mayor, which gives residents a chance to interact directly with her while walking through old town and back to the Manassas Farmer’s Market. In Summer, residents can participate in Mid-day with the Mayor to “chat and chew” over lunch to discuss upcoming events in Manassas.
She has also started a civics program called My Mayor Looks Like Me to introduce young women(primarily 10-16) to civics and how local government works. Laws and Davis-Younger also talked about the important growth and evolution of the Manassas Airport to bring more jobs and, in a couple of years, domestic flights to the town. She also talks about how her focus is not on competition, but convenience, and the significance of converting an aging hotel in the middle of old town into an exciting new venture for the city to bring in more tourism.
Last but not least, she also shared a partnership with NOVA Community College to create the Grow Manassas project where residents do not have to pay to get some technical and healthcare professional certifications. They also briefly talked about the unique situation of Davis-Younger sitting for her official city portrait. And the challenges of being a mother, mayor, and small business owner.
Davis-Younger owns and operates The1ForHR, LLC and has assisted many residents in the City of Manassas with career coaching and resume writing. Also providing HR consulting services for local and regional small businesses. You can watch the full interview here:
More information on her position as Mayor is available here on the Manassas city website: https://www.manassasva.gov/connect/mayor_and_council/michelle_davis-younger.php
Rock Your Block is a weekly tv program aired by Fairfax Public Access (FPA) on Channel 10. The show shines a spotlight on Fairfax County and Washington-area neighborhoods and individuals doing good in their communities and encouraging others in similar acts. Channel 10 airs local programming indicative of the diverse lifestyles and interests of the Washington metro area. Rock Your Block airs Tuesdays at 2:30pm, Fridays at 6pm, and Saturdays at 12:30am.
First Home Alliance is a HUD-approved 501(c)3 not-for-profit housing counseling agency promoting financial literacy and economic self-sufficiency. Their mission is to increase home ownership among low-to-moderate income communities and to sustain ownership through loss-mitigation counseling and foreclosure intervention. For more information or to make a tax-deductible donation to empower their mission please visit: www.FirstHomeAlliance.org.
