Laura Ullrich, Director, Community College Initiative, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond

Laura Ullrich is a regional economist and senior manager at the Charlotte branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. In the latter role, she oversees the team in the Regional and Community Analysis unit that produces the Richmond Fed Survey of Community College Outcomes. Aligning the incentives of community colleges, students and employers is imperative to maximize credential attainment and workforce outcomes. The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond aims to improve employment outcome and to better align incentives with their Survey of Community College Outcomes. Results from this year’s survey highlight the variety of ways colleges are serving their students and the local workforce, and highlights the role non-credit programs play in the higher education ecosystem.

Nancy Rohland-Henrich, EVP, Community Engagement, National University 

Beth Doyle, Ed.D., Chief of Strategy, CAEL

Dr. Beth Doyle has extensive experience transforming departments into highly driven, results-oriented teams. As a former and forever adult learner, she demonstrates an uncompromised commitment to the mission and holds herself accountable to lead and deliver results. Doyle specializes in approaches to support adult learners in higher education, designing and implementing high-quality credit for prior learning (CPL) programs and marketing strategies targeted to adult populations. 

The Crucial Role of Apprenticeships in the Workforce Ecosystem

Bill McKinney, Senior Director, Higher Education Initiatives, CAEL 

A nationally recognized teacher, scholar, and academic leader, McKinney has extensive experience in strategic enrollment management, student success, community and civic engagement, strategic planning, curriculum development and assessment, alumni relations, and fundraising. In all of his leadership positions, he has prioritized the public purpose of higher education by building strong relationships between educators, elected officials, business leaders, and employers. 

SNAP Employment & Training 101: Learn about how you can leverage SNAP E&T to serve more low-income students

Speakers:

Brandy Whisman, OE Consultant, American Public Human Services Association (APHSA)

Brandy brings over 10 years of project management, facilitation, training, and human services experience to the OE team. Prior to joining APHSA, Brandy worked at the Council of State Governments as a Policy Analyst managing the Medicaid Policy Academy, serving as a staff liaison for the Healthy States National Task Force and Future of Work National Task Force, and first chairing the Shared State Legislation Committee.

Deanna Rader, Senior Consultant, Seattle Jobs Initiative (SJI)

Deanna Rader is a Senior Consultant for SJI, and is an advocate for low-income populations and a well respected expert in Welfare Reform.

Paige Hernandez, Manager, Fresh Success, Foundation for California Community Colleges

Paige Hernandez is the Manager of the Fresh Success CalFresh Employment & Training program at the Foundation for California Community Colleges. With a background in higher education administration, Paige is dedicated to supporting underserved communities and enhancing access for learners across California. She leads Fresh Success' statewide expansion, ensuring effective program implementation and sustainability through training and technical assistance.

Optimize, Innovate, Fund: How research can streamline operations, improve programs, and secure resources

Unlock the power of research to revolutionize your workforce development strategies. Join the Policy & Innovation Center and the San Diego Workforce Partnership as we share concrete examples of how strategic collaboration and data-driven insights can streamline operations, inform program design decisions, and secure significant funding for the region. Examples include how a more robust approach to statistical analysis can increase automatic WIOA eligibility, how research into special populations can build more effective programs, and how priority-sector research can inspire transformative funding and policy reform. Learn how you can leverage research to attract funders, optimize programming and build a resilient talent pipeline in your region. Leave with actionable strategies to achieve your strategic goals through impactful research.  

Rachel Bereza, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Sacramento Steps Forward

Rachel Bereza is a multilingual executive who has championed workforce innovation across California for more than 15 years. Bereza’s selection follows a notable career spanning farmworker advocacy, vocational training and homelessness solutions. Most recently, as Deputy Chief Executive Officer at Sacramento Steps Forward, she led internal and external operations and program innovation.

Dr. Daniel Enemark, Chief Economist, The San Diego Regional Policy and Innovation Center

Dr. Daniel Enemark is chief economist at the Policy& Innovation Center (PIC) and former chief economist at the San Diego Workforce Partnership. He leads an interdisciplinary team of research scientists assessing regional challenges and identifying policy and investment priorities. 

11:45- 12 PM

Remarks from Nancy- Rohland -Henrich, EVP, Community Engagement National University 

12-1 PM

Building California’s Workforce: A Fireside Chat with Abby Snay

Join Abby Snay, Deputy Secretary for Workforce Strategy at the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency, for an insightful fireside chat with Matt Waltz, Senior VP of Partnerships and Development at CAEL, on The Master Plan for Career Education. This discussion will explore how California is strengthening career pathways, prioritizing hands-on learning, and advancing access and affordability to prepare all learners for the workforce of tomorrow. Learn how streamlined collaboration and innovative partnerships are shaping a future where every Californian can navigate toward career-sustaining jobs.

Abby Snay, Deputy Secretary for Workforce Strategy at the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency

Abby Snay is Deputy Secretary for Workforce Strategy at the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency. She has worked to increase economic mobility for opportunity youth, immigrants and refugees and people with disabilities, to create a new healthcare workforce initiative in partnership with the California Health and Human Service Agency, to expand apprenticeships in California, and to develop training and workforce opportunities through the state’s climate strategies.

Matt Waltz, Senior VP, Partnerships & Development, CAEL

Matthew Waltz joined CAEL as vice president of partnerships in 2021. An experienced leader, Waltz focuses on building high-impact, revenue-generating partnerships in states and regions across the country, managing teams and creating systems to support them. He brings significant expertise to developing education-to-career strategies and cross-sector collaboration that yield long-term impact and value for adults and the communities in which they live and work. 

Coffee Break 1:00- 1:15 PM

Breakout Sessions - Round Two

Preparing to Be AI Enabled: Navigating Technology and Generative AI within the Workforce Ecosystem: Krystal Rawls, PhD, Director, Workforce Integration Network, California State University-Dominguez Hills

Partnering Through SNAP E&T to Increase Collaboration: Everyone in the workforce ecosystem has a role they can play: Vanessa Preston, Executive Vice President, Grant Associates, Brandy Whisman, OE Consultant, American Public Services Association (APHSA), 

Mapping Your Role in the Regional Workforce Ecosystem: Ashley Wilhelm, Senior Director, Initiatives, CAEL, and Matt Waltz, Senior VP, Partnerships & Development, CAEL

Putting It All Together:  Informal Roundtable Conversations

In this 60-minute informal session, CAEL Initiatives Team members will facilitate roundtable conversations based on takeaways gleaned from the day’s sessions. During the roundtable discussions, we will learn from other attendees about their innovative work and find new ways that the diverse range of session topics can be leveraged to enhance regional workforce ecosystems. 

Bill McKinney, Senior Director, Higher Education Initiatives, CAEL 

Bill serves as senior director of higher education initiatives at CAEL, joining the organization in 2023 and directing projects that directly enhance the lives of all adult learners.

Ashley Wilhelm, Senior Director, Initiatives, CAEL

Ashley manages CAEL’s workforce & economic development projects focused on data analysis, targeted industry pathway development, and national/regional stakeholder engagement that maximizes client impact for adult learners.

It Takes a Village: Exploring Institutional and Statewide Roles in PLA Implementation

Successfully implementing Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) or Credit for Prior Learning (CPL) requires a coordinated, institution-wide and statewide effort to ensure a seamless and effective process for students. Academic departments must evaluate and validate prior learning credits to align with curriculum standards, while administrative teams develop clear policies that comply with accreditation and state regulations. Student services and advising play a crucial role in guiding students through the PLA/CPL process, and articulation offices ensure accurate documentation and credit transferability. Sustaining a rigorous, fair, and transparent system also requires ongoing communication, training, and collaboration. This session will explore strategies for fostering shared ownership and enhancing coordination across all stakeholders to support successful PLA/CPL implementation.

Rose Rojas, director, center for curriculum and transfer articulation at the Maricopa community colleges (Arizona)

Rose Rojas has established Maricopa as a national leader in student transfer by creating a university partnership model adapted by community college systems across the country. Rose has demonstrated strengths in the coordination, planning and management of academic and student affairs, curriculum development, transfer operations, and prior learning assessment. She is a recognized leader with a record of achievement in program management, partnership cultivation and long-term strategic plans for organizational growth and success. In previous roles, Rose worked in faculty support, marketing, and financial aid. Rose is a community college graduate, and holds a B.A. in psychology from Arizona state university and an M.A. in education leadership from northern Arizona University.

Building sustainable career pathways for untapped talent: Collaborative models between education and industry drive rapid outcomes for employers and multilingual employees

Come join experts in multilingual workforce development from the IRC and EnGen to discuss promising models that equip participants with English skills they need for in-demand roles, industry-recognized credentials, and family-sustaining wages. This session will include examples of successful programs that have generated meaningful workforce outcomes for both employers and employees. There will be time for discussion, collaboration, and questions so that attendees are able to apply lessons learned in their own contexts.

Dr. Katie Brown, Founder & Chief Education Officer, EnGen

Dr. Katie Brown has spent nearly three decades leveraging the science behind high-impact language instruction to create scalable, sustainable English learning solutions for immigrants, refugees, and speakers of other languages. As founder and chief education officer of EnGen, a Certified B Corporation, she is pioneering a personalized, career-aligned, mobile-first approach to English upskilling and is engaging cross-sector partners – Fortune 500 companies, regional employers, higher education institutions, apprenticeship programs, and government institutions – to advance economic mobility, workforce inclusion, and talent pipeline development across the U.S. 

Amber Shevin, Senior Technical Advisor, Economic Empowerment, International Rescue Committee

As Senior Technical Advisor, Economic Empowerment, Amber supports the development, implementation, and evaluation of economic empowerment programs that serve more than 20,000 refugee, immigrant, and low-income families in nearly 30 communities across the U.S. Amber serves as a lead TA on several external projects including the CA EDD WIOA ELL Co-enrollment Pilot Programs (2020) and the ELL IET PY 20-21 grant, working closely with grantee teams to implement effective programs. In 2020, she provided systems-level analysis to four regional workforce systems with the goal of strengthening their ability to serve immigrants. 

Right Size, Right Now Credentials: Bridging Learner and Employer Demand

Chris Graham, Ed.D., Executive VP, Workforce Education Solutions (WES), National University

Chris Graham is the Executive Vice President of Workforce Education Solutions, the university’s corporate partnership and employee education arm.  He has overseen all aspects of alumni relations, public relations, career services, government relations, and corporate and community involvement for the National University System. Prior to joining National University System, Dr. Graham held senior-level positions in external relations at San Diego State University, where he was the Executive Director of the office of Corporate and Community involvement, which included administration and enrollment for the Executive MBA, Sports MBA, employer outreach, and career development. Chris holds an MBA and B.A. from San Diego State University and an Ed.D. from City University of Seattle.

Sponsored By: National University