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Writer's pictureProject on Workforce Team

Convening on Advancing Economic Mobility at Community Colleges



Overview 


The Project on Workforce at Harvard, Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA), and the Education Design Lab are bringing together community college leaders from across the country for a day-long convening designed to strengthen colleges’ capacity to drive economic mobility and regional growth. Building on the research and findings in America’s Hidden Economic Engines, the event will facilitate deep learning and connections among community college leaders. It will be an opportunity to share best practices and develop joint solutions to pressing workforce challenges.


The convening will take place on Wednesday, July 24 at NOVA’s Annandale campus and feature a full day of programming. The morning will be dedicated to panel discussions with college presidents and other leaders on key topics, including establishing meaningful employer-college partnerships and leveraging industrial policy to drive innovation. In the afternoon, attendees will participate in workshops designed to develop evidence-based strategies to workforce challenges–such as leveraging real-time labor market information and new technologies, designing new financing mechanisms, and developing college leadership pipelines.


This is an in-person, invite-only event.


Date: Wednesday, July 24 

Time: 8:30a - 4:30p

Location: NOVA’s Annandale Campus (8430 Center Drive Annandale, VA 22003), Ernst Community Cultural Center

Dress code: Business casual



 


Tentative Agenda


8:30a - 9a Breakfast


9a - 9:15p Welcome Remarks


9:15a - 12p Panel Discussions


9:15-10:15a Insights from America’s Hidden Economic Engines 

Speakers:

Dr. Anne Kress, President, NOVA

Lee Lambert, Chancellor and CEO, Foothill-DeAnza Community College District, former Chancellor, Pima Community College

Bob Schwartz, Co-Editor, America’s Hidden Economic Engines 

Kerry McKittrick (moderator), Co-Director, The Project on Workforce at Harvard University

10:15-10:30a Break 

10:30-11:15a Building employer-college partnerships

Speakers:

Steve Jolly, Data Center Manager, Amazon Web Services

Dr. Chad Knights, Vice President of Information & Engineering Technologies, NOVA

Renee Haltom, Vice President and Regional Executive, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond

Kordell Williams, NOVA Alum and Data Center Engineer Operations Tech, Amazon Web Services

Joseph Fuller (moderator), Faculty Co-Director, The Project on Workforce at Harvard University

11:15a-12p  Industrial policy and regional innovation

Speakers:

David Shahoulian, Director of Workforce Policy, Intel Corporation

Tracy Green, Vice President of Strategic and Institutional Development, Lorain County Community College

Margaux Fontaine, Senior Advisor for Policy Outreach, U.S. Department of Commerce

Bill Hughes (moderator), President and CEO, Education Design Lab


12p - 1p Lunch


1p - 4p Workshops


1-1:50p 

Workshop A: Leveraging labor market information

Steven Partridge, Vice President of Strategy, Research, and Workforce Innovation, NOVA

Workshop B: Strengthening dual-enrollment 

Dr. Paula Chrin Dibley, Chief Officer of Student Success and Strategic Innovation, Forsyth Tech

Dr. Jessica Lauritsen, Senior Education Designer, Education Design Lab

Workshop C: Connecting credit and non-credit offerings 

Dr. Ian Roark, Vice Chancellor of Workforce Development & Innovation, Pima Community College


2-2:50p 

Workshop A: Building student supports

Dr. Deidra Peaslee, President, Saint Paul College

Kay Francis Garland, Associate Vice President, Saint Paul College

Workshop B: Innovative financing mechanisms 

Kenneth Adams, President, LaGuardia Community College

Workshop C: Developing college leaders 

Dr. Rufus Glasper, President and CEO, The League for Innovation in the Community College

3-3:50p  

Workshop A: Regional economic development 

Dr. DeAnna R. Burt-Nanna, President, Monroe Community College

Matt Hurlbutt, President & CEO, Greater Rochester Enterprise

Workshop B: Addressing the Social Determinants of Work Through Education and Partnership

Dr. Michael Baston, President, Cuyahoga Community College

Workshop C: Leveraging AI and emerging technologies

Patricia Clay, Chief Innovation Officer of Hudson County Community College


4p - 4:30p Close

 


Travel Information


The convening will take place in Annandale, Virginia, conveniently located near numerous hotel options for those opting to arrive ahead of schedule or depart the following day. We have compiled a few options, below:


Falls Church Marriott Fairview Park

3111 Fairview Park Dr, Falls Church, VA 22042


Archer Hotel Falls Church

8296 Glass Alley, Fairfax, VA 22031


Homewood Suites by Hilton Falls Church

8130 Porter Rd, Falls Church, VA 22042



Directions to Venue


Northern Virginia Community College

8430 Center Drive

Annandale, VA 22003


Enter the Ernst Cultural Center, which will take you to the main lobby/atrium. Either go up the central floor staircase, or use the elevator just behind the stairs. At the top of the stairs is the Long Nguyen & Kimmy Duong Forum where the event is located. 


Parking will be in a designated parking lot close to the building. More information to come.





 

America’s Hidden Economic Engines


This convening is inspired by the volume, America’s Hidden Economic Engines: How Community Colleges Can Drive Shared Prosperity, edited by Bob Schwartz and Rachel Lipson. To learn more about the book or to purchase a copy, please visit the Harvard Education Press website.




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