The Future Of Work
Pasadena City College presents The Future Of Work. We are leading the conversation of how to begin closing the gap between what our students are learning and what the demands of the workforce will be once they enter. We’ll be talking to policy makers, business owners, educators and the students we are advocating for. We’ll explore topics like how education can partner with industry, how to be more equitable and how to attain one of our highest goals, more internships. This conversation impacts the future of all of us.
info_outline
TRANSCRIPT-How To Develop Soft Skills for Future Tech-Driven Jobs with Tara Chklovski, founder/CEO of Technovation Episode 166
04/28/2026
TRANSCRIPT-How To Develop Soft Skills for Future Tech-Driven Jobs with Tara Chklovski, founder/CEO of Technovation Episode 166
Tara Chklovski [00:00:00]: I would recommend to everyone, firstly, learn how to code, play along, and actually build technology. Don't just do the chatbot like prompt engineering, but actually build something with code so that you build your own confidence. Honestly, number two, I would say read more about all of this stuff of what is happening, because the more you know, the less you're afraid of what's coming, because you have time to process it. And trying to look ahead takes so much energy, but that's a very important thing to be doing right now. Christina Barsi [00:00:33]: The workforce landscape is rapidly changing, and educators and their institutions need to keep up. Preparing students before they enter the workforce to make our communities and businesses stronger is at the core of getting an education. But we need to understand how to change and adjust so that we can begin to project where things are headed before we even get there. So, how do we begin to predict the future? Salvatrice Cummo [00:01:03]: Hi, I'm Salvatrice Cummo, Vice President of Economic and Workforce Development at Pasadena City College and host of this podcast. Christina Barsi [00:01:11]: And I'm Christina Barsi, producer and co-host of this podcast. Salvatrice Cummo [00:01:15]: And we are starting the conversation about the future of work. We'll explore topics like how education can partner with industry, how to be more equitable, and how to attain one of our highest goals: more internships and PCC students in the workforce. We at Pasadena City College want to lead the charge in closing the gap between what our students are learning and what the demands of the workforce will be once they enter. This is a conversation that impacts all of us. You, the employers, the policymakers, the educational institutions, and the community as a whole. Christina Barsi [00:01:34]: We believe change happens when we work together, and it all starts with having a conversation. I'm Christina Barsi. Salvatrice Cummo [00:01:59]: And I'm Salvatrice Cummo. And this is the Future of Work. I am your host, Dr. Salvatrice Cumo. Today's guest is Tara Chklovski, founder and CEO of Technovation. Tara is an engineer turned educator who launched Technovation, a global nonprofit that has empowered over 130,000 girls and families in a hundred plus countries to solve real-world problems through technology and innovation. She is a fierce advocate for closing the global digital divide and has been recognized by Forbes, the UN, and the White House for her work in AI, education, equity, and youth empowerment. We are diving into how AI is transforming the workforce faster than education systems can respond, why emotional resilience and cognitive ability are becoming core competencies, and what will it take to build a truly inclusive future of work. Tara, welcome to the show. Tara Chklovski [00:02:56]: Thank You, Satrice. And yeah, it's an honor to get to hear what your thoughts are and see how we can have a fun discussion. Salvatrice Cummo [00:03:04]: Love it. So let's just dive right in. Your background is absolutely fascinating to me, and you've had an incredible journey from physics to aerospace engineering, to really launching this beautiful global nonprofit. I want to start with what inspired you to make that shift, what inspired you to do this work, and what was the early vision for Technovision? Tara Chklovski [00:03:28]: I think it was really coming from a sense of what can you do, what are the bigger problems in the world, and what is my purpose on this planet Earth? And I think not limiting oneself to sort of a standard path of you get a corporate job and you have a certain paycheck. I think that's why I kind of left my aerospace engineering track. I didn't complete my PhD because I really wanted to work in one company. And that company kind of became a defense contractor, and I did not want to do that. They were the first makers of drones. And it kind of gave me a push into or a jolt really into maybe rethinking what as a kid I had hoped I would do. And it was a chance to kind of use my training as an engineer to kind of step back and say, well, what is my purpose as an individual? You have, each of us has a unique perspective and strengths and skills. And what are some of the big problems in the world that I could dedicate my energies to? And I think one problem was that not everybody has sort of the mindset that they can solve their own problems themselves. Tara Chklovski [00:04:42]: Because in this age where you have access to Internet, almost like most people on this earth have access to Internet, it just completely like only your mind and your sense of confidence are limiting you. And so that was sort of an education, is the answer. Because you can teach yourself anything, you can, and you can learn anything, and you can be anything. And so I think that was sort of the core of it. And I started this organization almost 20 years ago, and the goal was to bring the most cutting-edge technologies to the most underrepresented groups who are not part of the innovation conversation. And to help them build not just the competencies, but also the confidence to become the innovators, so they don't need to wait for any savior. And yeah, over the years, we were running different experiments, and Technovation really was the model of an accelerator where it was having the biggest, deepest, most durable impact on the girls going through the program. Tara Chklovski [00:05:41]: Because it's rare that even adults don't get this Experience of being a participant in an accelerator and launching a real business, that actually helps a lot of people. When you do that, it completely changes your whole identity. And that's what we offer. Salvatrice Cummo [00:05:56]: Excellent. Excellent as well. First, I want to congratulate you on leaning into your purpose. A lot of us feel, sometimes, that that's unattainable for whatever reason, because. And actually, you just nailed it earlier. It's just our own limiting beliefs. And you said, let's go against that, let me go against our own limiting beliefs and lean into something that feels good to me, feels passionate to me, leveraging my skill sets, but also solving a global issue. And so thank you. Salvatrice Cummo [00:06:28]: Thank you for doing that. And from a practitioner's perspective, through our lens, we see technology sometimes as a threat, sometimes as a leveraging point. We are in this arena of AI. We have been forever. We're just talking about it a little bit more these days than we have in the last decade. And sometimes, and not sometimes, majority of the time, our educational systems are not quite as agile and as quick to respond to new technologies and innovation. And so kind of in the space of AI here, where are you seeing how we as practitioners can prepare students or what you think needs to happen? What needs to shift for us to prepare our students for the workforce? Tara Chklovski [00:07:15]: Yeah, this is the question that's occupying almost all of my time right now. And because I see a huge gap, right? My kids are in the public school system here, and their schools are banning Google because Google's Gemini response is the first response. And so children can use that to write answers to their assignments. Right. And so schools are just shutting down on the use of Google on their Chromebooks, which is very interesting. And then on the other side, the workforce is rapidly trying to upskill their employees to say, you've got to use AI to increase productivity, so that we are innovating and our revenues are growing. And so there's just already a massive gap. And colleges are exactly doing the same. Tara Chklovski [00:07:59]: There are only a few professors who are brave enough to update their curriculum and start to prepare students for this world of AI. Right. I think the scary part is we don't really know what are the durable human skills. So we are making a lot of assumptions. Right. We all thought that knowledge work was untouchable, but turns out that's the first to crumble. One of the economists that I've been looking at more closely is Daniel Susskind from Oxford University. He was saying that not all jobs, even though it may be more efficient and cost-efficient for A robot to do them. Tara Chklovski [00:08:37]: We may not prefer the robot to do it. We may prefer the human connection. I think there's something there, what are you going to do with the 8 billion people on this world, on this planet? I also don't buy this argument that AI is like previous technologies and that a lot more new jobs will be created. I think we are saying that to make ourselves not feel so scared. But you can see yourself in your teams and your organizations. You can do much more with fewer people because of these tools. I've been looking at this report called AI 2027, where it predicts. So one of the authors, he was a former researcher at OpenAI, his name is, I think, Daniel Cocotillo, and he predicted in 2021 what would happen over the next two years. Tara Chklovski [00:09:28]: And he predicted ChatGPT, and he predicted even this whole chips war with US and China to great accuracy. And so now he's predicting how will AI agents change over the next two years. And so it's very, very interesting. Obviously, they'll get better than what we have now and at a pretty fast pace. And I'm not hearing education organizations talk about what they need to do in the next two years. Right. So there's already a big mismatch. Nobody talks about, well, what are you going to do with all the humans? Right. Tara Chklovski [00:09:59]: So I think that the social problems will intensify because you'll have more inequality in the beginning. I think companies will make a lot more money because, of course, you're becoming super efficient. So I think there may be something where governments are giving out, like universal basic income and stuff like that. But then what happens to human sense of purpose? And so some of our biggest challenges will still remain where a lot of people in this world will be poor, a lot of people will be hungry, a lot of people won't have good quality health care or education. And climate change is real. And so some of these very hard social global problems will remain. And so I think we need to be teaching our young people how to solve some of these very, very hard problems, because in the short term, I think that a lot of the jobs as they exist now will go away, but the problems are not going away. So I think, and I've been studying a lot of, like, mental models and training systems that the military and the aviation industry use because they're so appropriate for our current situation, where it's rapidly changing. Tara Chklovski [00:11:10]: There's a lot of uncertainty. You have very little information, and you've got to make some very clear decisions. And they do that through simulations. And so I think teachers are already doing project-based learning. But instead of using toy problems, I think educators should be actually encouraging students to solve these real-world problems and take a shot at that, which teaches you complex systems thinking, using technology for high-impact things like that. Salvatrice Cummo [00:11:38]: I also want to maybe kind of dive in a little deeper where we were saying as humans, let's not forget that humans, we need to have a sense of purpose. We're naturally wired that way. And so teaching current generations to come about solving these massive global issues and social issues, them being social issues, I should say, what are you seeing as the essential human skill set that's going to be needed so that we can become more focused on solving these larger issues as educators? You know, where should we be kind of pulling our attention into these human skills to solve these big problems? Tara Chklovski [00:12:20]: Yeah, and I've been working on, and with some of our other partners, we have this alliance called the AI Forward alliance. And it's a bunch of industry partners and nonprofit partners. So we are coming together to try to understand exactly this question. And so we've built a progression of skills. And at the very fundamental layer is this question of like, what is your purpose, your identity, empathy. Because only with empathy do you feel the other person suffering, because the other person may not look like you, may not be from the same background as you. But that's the larger problem that we are looking to solve. So that's the foundation. Tara Chklovski [00:12:56]: I think the second layer is just problem solving, you know, complex problem solving. I would add the specific lens in there is that of using AI as a collaborator, where you have to process a huge amount of information, because with these tools, you do have access to a lot of information. So, processing synthesis and human AI solution generation. So I think that's sort of a core problem solving is a foundational skill. I think, on top of that, I would say computational action. So, instead of programming, I would say learning to use technology not just as a consumer, but as a builder. Because a lot of the technologies that don't exist, that you need them to exist to solve these harder problems. And so you need to have the confidence to say, I'm not just a consumer of this technology, but I'm a builder of this technology. Tara Chklovski [00:13:48]: And so that's where a core part of what Technovation is that you're learning to actually create AI-based solutions and to build better AI models. A big part of that would be debugging, because I think we can all teach ourselves how to code with these very powerful coding tools. But debugging is a real skill. And so there's still a lot of room for traditional CS education, but with this lens of action, you don't need to learn how to code Hello World anymore, but you can actually learn how to build a prototype that you can then execute in the real world. And I think that's the really exciting part where teachers don't have to just rely on capstone projects, but can actually tell students that in the same amount, in a semester, you could actually do three prototypes and test them with users and iterate three times earlier. You could probably just even create a paper prototype. The execution part is very exciting. Where I think one Oxford University professor was saying, the era of the solo entrepreneur is back because one person can do so much. Tara Chklovski [00:14:52]: And I think the most important thing I would say, which is the hardest, is like building that emotional resilience to navigate uncertainty and to build cognitive resilience. Because your days are so dense with work, because you are efficient, we're not working less. It's not that these AI agents are helping us work less. We are working way more than we ever were. And so this demands, like, more cognitive resilience and I think lifelong learning, cognitive resilience, and then emotional resilience to navigate the uncertainty that's coming with all of this. Right. I'm constantly asking myself, like, AI could replace my role, right? How do I provide value to the world? And so that's a layer of uncertainty that didn't exist before in my mind, that you have to deal with. Salvatrice Cummo [00:15:36]: Thank you for saying that. Because we automatically assume that technologies like AI and others decrease the workload, when point in fact, we're just trying to pack more in. Right. And so that cognitive resilience and emotional resilience, it resonated with me when you said those words, I thought, oh, my goodness, is she talking about me? And the majority of us, the majority of us, let's just be honest. You mentioned something about the uncertainty, right? Like that's really where our headspace is. It's the uncertainty of what could become with all of the technology that's around us. You know, you're much closer to it than I am. So I'm curious about. Salvatrice Cummo [00:16:19]: Are there global models of innovation and education that higher education in the US should be paying attention to and studying, because they are closer to understanding the uncertainty? Have you come across any models that you think we should be paying attention to? Tara Chklovski [00:16:36]: As I was saying, I think the world's largest employers are the military, the healthcare industry, and the aviation industry, and I think there's a lot to learn from them because they excel at training millions of people to deal with uncertainty. Their lives are at stake. And they do that through simulations and repeated tests and constant sort of updates in their learning. And I think the aviation industry was probably one of the first to have autopilots work alongside pilots. And at that time, people would say the pilots are redundant. Pilots are not redundant, but their job has changed quite a lot. So I think there's a lot to learn from these sectors. Tara Chklovski [00:17:18]: I think that I haven't seen any university as a whole do this really well. I've seen professors, individual professors, do this really well. And I think the education sector as a whole is not geared for agility. And so that's why it's important to look outside of the education sector. Salvatrice Cummo [00:17:37]: Kind of shifting gears a little bit about imagining future of work, people in their space, in their respective environments. If we were kind of looking forward and imagining a future where people are side by side with AI, what does that actually look like, you think, day to day for us? You've already mentioned some of the skill sets that we need as humans, but I'm kind of curious about what do you think that might look like for us on a day-to-day basis, working alongside AI as we get closer and closer to understanding, specifically working in the space of uncertainty? Tara Chklovski [00:18:12]: I mean, I'll just say this is what I do today. I think the AI assistant or whatever, I have a few different subscriptions, I have them always open and I use it as a subject matter expert, I use it as a project manager, I use it as an HR expert, I use it as an MBA expert because I never went to MBA school. But then it also helps me synthesize the research in a particular space and become a better communicator. I think the project AI 2027 talks about right now the human and the AI. The human is giving the prompts to the AI, and so it's a collaborator. You could think of it as a team of research assistants, honestly, plus a team of advisory experts who, I mean, you basically have two or three teams. Like, I would say my productivity has gone up by maybe 40% easily. I do things that would have taken me, sometimes, maybe six to 12 months to do within three days. Tara Chklovski [00:19:13]: I think going forward, and I think that's what the AI 2027 was talking about, is you won't have to prompt it, it will run on its own, knowing what you are doing, and add value to it. Right. So at a very, very simple level, calendar scheduling is still not a very. You sometimes have assistance. So that's one of the top jobs that's going to go away because of this kind of multifaceted scheduling. Not a very difficult job, but it'll start to be able to do that, I think. I don't know. I was just watching a video yesterday of the Tesla robot Optimus. Tara Chklovski [00:19:47]: The video is mind-blowing because it's in a home environment and doing all the things typically I would do. Clean the table, unload the dishwasher. And there's a whole bunch of these robots, and they're doing it right now, so maybe in like two years. They are a big part of your home, helping take off quite a bit of the household...
/episode/index/show/thefutureofwork/id/40416600
info_outline
How To Develop Soft Skills for Future Tech-Driven Jobs with Tara Chklovski, founder/CEO of Technovation Episode 166
04/28/2026
How To Develop Soft Skills for Future Tech-Driven Jobs with Tara Chklovski, founder/CEO of Technovation Episode 166
What if the biggest barrier to success in tech isn’t access, but mindset? In this episode of Future of Work, Dr. Salvatrice Cummo talks with Tara Chklovski, founder and CEO of Technovation, about what it truly takes to thrive in an AI-driven world. Tara unpacks why resilience and adaptability are just as vital as technical skills, how simulation-based learning can reshape education, and why women are most at risk of being left behind. Together, they explore how community colleges, mentorship, and real-world problem-solving can unlock opportunity for all. The future of work isn’t just about tech, it’s about who’s empowered to shape it. You’ll learn: Why AI literacy starts with confidence, not code, and how to build both. How educators can move beyond “toy problems” and toward real-world innovation. What emotional and cognitive resilience look like in a rapidly evolving workforce. How women are being left behind in fast-growing tech sectors, and how to fix it. Why simulation learning may be the most powerful classroom tool we’re not using. About the Guest: Tara Chklovski is the founder and CEO of Technovation, a global nonprofit dedicated to empowering girls and underserved communities through technology education. With a background in physics and aerospace engineering, she transitioned from academia to social entrepreneurship to address the gender and racial disparities in STEM fields. Tara has helped over 130,000 students across 100+ countries build confidence, tech skills, and purpose. Her work has been recognized by Forbes, the UN, and the White House, and she continues to lead global conversations on how education and innovation intersect to shape a more inclusive future of work. Engage with us: , & : @PasadenaCityCollegeEWD Join our newsletter for more on this topic: Visit: More from Tara Chklovski & Technovation Websites: LinkedIn: Partner with us! Contact our host, Salvatrice Cummo, directly: scummo@pasadena.edu Want to be a guest on the show? Click to inquire about booking Find the transcript of this episode here Please rate us and leave us your thoughts and comments on Apple Podcasts; we’d love to hear from you!
/episode/index/show/thefutureofwork/id/40416510
info_outline
TRANSCRIPT -How Women-Owned Businesses Lead Pasadena’s Post-Fire Economic Rebuild with Lizzy Okoro Davidson, Director at Pasadena Women's Business Center Episode 165
04/14/2026
TRANSCRIPT -How Women-Owned Businesses Lead Pasadena’s Post-Fire Economic Rebuild with Lizzy Okoro Davidson, Director at Pasadena Women's Business Center Episode 165
Lizzy Okoro Davidson [00:00:00]: There's a higher success rate with women owned small businesses. There's a greater economic output in terms of, you know, having a woman lead the household and having her be economically sound means that it's a greater impact on the overall family and overall communities. And so I'm really passionate about it because it's not just a fun, warm, fuzzy feeling that you get talking about women owned small businesses. There's true economic impact. Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:00:29]: Hi, I'm Salvatrice Cummo, Vice President of Economic and Workforce Development at Pasadena City College and host of this podcast. And we are starting the conversation about the future of work. We'll explore topics like how education can partner with industry, how to be more equitable, and how to attain one of our highest goals, more internships and PCC students in the workforce. We at Pasadena City College want to lead the charge in closing the gap by between what our students are learning and what the demands of the workforce will be once they enter. This is a conversation that impacts all of us, you, the employers, the policymakers, the educational institutions, and the community as a whole. This is the future of work. Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:01:16]: Hi, welcome back to the Future of Work podcast. I am your host, Dr. Salvatrice Cummo. As you know, it has been just over a year since the Los Angeles fires and we are still very focused on recovery and and rebuild that comes after such a natural disaster. Today we have Lizzy Okoro Davidson, director at PCC's Women's Business center, back on the show to discuss how the Women's Business center has been a key leader and supporter in recovery efforts that are rooted in equity and economic opportunity. As we move forward into the next phase of rebuilding, I am thrilled to have Lizzy join us back on the podcast once again. So let's get into it. Welcome back, Lizzy. Lizzy Okoro Davidson [00:01:57]: Thank you so much for having me. It's good to be back. It's like I never left. Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:02:00]: No, you haven't. You haven't. Speaking of which, in our last conversation, the last time you were on the show was right before the annual Future of Work conference last October. And then LA fires really hugely impacted the Pasadena region, specifically in Altadena and, and the Women's Business center played and has played a huge role and a collaborator for Pasadena City College in supporting the community through that time. What do efforts look like now as we continue to rebuild? Lizzy Okoro Davidson [00:02:38]: Thank you for so much, like I said, for having me, it's really great. I'm glad to continue the conversation because I think in the spirit of that question, and I said this before I said it, even a Few months after the fires, a lot of people feel like the new cycle has just moved on, that everybody has moved on. And for many of the people who lived here in this community, people who patronized local businesses, people who own small businesses feel like they're still very much in the throes of what it looks like to rebuild and recover. And so I appreciate the question so much because I think it acknowledges that this work is. It's a. It's going to be, you know, it's going to be a long process. It's not something that is completely fixed by any means. Even though there's a lot of hopeful and optimistic and wonderful stories that have come out about people being back in business and, you know, really being back out there and rebuilding their homes, it's still a very long journey. Lizzy Okoro Davidson [00:03:36]: So with that being said, I think our center, we've really tried to be, you know, boots on the ground, ears to the ground, to understand what are the needs that people have, where are they at? Sometimes that looks like hope, honestly, like just coming together and being able to be in community with people who are like them and who are still pursuing this dream of building a business or launching a business. And sometimes it looks like things that are a little bit more tactical and hands on. So really making sure that they understand what it takes to build a successful business. And I think before that might've looked like, depending on one, maybe two streams of income. And now people realize especially, especially if they've been in business for, you know, over five years, that that looks like having multiple streams of income. So that when one faucet dries up or one tap is not working, you can pull on these other, you know, lovers, so to speak, in order to, to make sure that you keep the lights on. So we really do try to make sure that we are understanding what that looks like in real time so that we can deploy some of those strategies and programs in order to meet people where they're at. Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:04:50]: Thank you. Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:04:51]: And so let's lean in a little bit more. You said the word strategy, so I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I'm gonna leverage that word. What does that look like? What are specific strategies? What does that look like for the needs of women owned businesses after a disaster like this? Lizzy Okoro Davidson [00:05:07]: Absolutely. So I think that regardless, as a women's business center, my goal, my mission and vision has always been for the center to really look at what are the opportunities and challenges that women owned businesses face. Right. So when we're looking at those challenges, we're Thinking about lack of access to a network and lack of access to money, to capital. Women owned businesses tend to do a lot with a little. So how can we make sure that they're not just barely surviving but really thriving? So that's always been the goal. But for me, what that has looked like in practice has really been creating some accelerators and boot camps and some programming that goes beyond just our normal one to one advising, which is wonderful. It's a. Lizzy Okoro Davidson [00:05:51]: The one to one advising that we do is very much rooted in this idea of having a partner, having an accountability partner, I should say more specifically having a mentor, having someone to just bounce ideas off of. But then it became, well, how can we go even deeper to have trainings that are not just high level and really generic in general, but really teaching people the strategies behind how to launch a successful business or how to grow a successful business. And I think that within that there's also the idea that you should again have more multiple streams of income and also be tapping into every resource possible. So for example, with our newsletter and our social media channels, we try to scour the Internet for grant opportunities because one of the biggest things that we hear from small business owners coming to us is I know there's something about grants. I don't know where to find them, I don't know how to apply for them. But tell me everything you know about grants and it's like we will. And a really, really easy way to find some of those opportunities is go and you know, go onto our social media, go onto our Instagram and we do a roundup every month of the top grants that you need to apply for. We put those also in our weekly newsletter as well. Lizzy Okoro Davidson [00:07:08]: So again, you're not just relying on loans or credit cards or your personal savings. You now have grant opportunities that, you know, helps to address the issue of lack of access to capital. And then also when we're thinking about lack of access to a network, we also have, you know, in person events that we've deployed this year which have been very successful in addition to our private Slack community. So our private Slack channel, as soon as someone signs up for the center, they're able to tap into this and ask questions in real time, have conversations, etc. So we're just really thinking about like the soup to nuts experience of a small business owner and how we can really help facilitate growth at every step of the way. Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:07:54]: Hmm, I like that. I think I heard you mention the Slack private community at one point, but it didn't register till Right now when you said it, I need to join the community like I did. Lizzy Okoro Davidson [00:08:07]: Yeah, you did. Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:08:08]: I would love to hear what is happening with our business community, the questions that they're asking because it does help inform our programming. Right, it's helped inform your programming. That said, you know, thinking about what you just mentioned, what are some specific programs that you've developed and why that area of focus. And then the second part of that would be, what can we expect next? Yeah. Lizzy Okoro Davidson [00:08:31]: So the one thing that I'm really excited about and even before I had this role, I was hearing a lot of people who are in the small business community, some friends talk about their experience working within the government. So really, really utilizing all of the resources that our wonderful locals, states, federal government have to offer them, which I thought was super unique. Right. When people start businesses, they don't actually typically think, well let me, let me look at the public servants, the, the public, the public officials that are here. Like, I don't think of them when I think of starting a business. They might think of, you know, going on to YouTube University, like I say, or going on to social or asking friends or joining all of these other networks. But they don't think about the government as a lover to pool to pull. Whether that's, you know, inviting a council member to come to the opening of your, your ice cream shop or it's actually discovering these government contracts. Lizzy Okoro Davidson [00:09:31]: And so when I was coming into this role, I had a couple of friends, I'll think of one in particular. They were making great money just hand over fist doing local government contracts, so contracting with the Unified school Districts. And I was like, well, how are you getting these opportunities? Because I feel like I call LAUSD or I've called them or I know people who call them in the past and you can't get anybody on the phone. You're calling schools, like public schools, trying to get your programs in and you know, how did you do this? And they told me I became certified as a woman owned small business, minority owned small business. I registered, I got the certification, and from there you're able to then bid on contracts. And it just, I still didn't quite understand what that meant. But just to even make it clear, you know, a lot of people think, oh, I'm a woman, I own a business, therefore I'm a woman owned small business. Not realizing that it's an actual process and certification that people get in order to be able to become competitive and bid on contracts with the government and with private sectors. Lizzy Okoro Davidson [00:10:36]: And so that was really Mind blowing to me. And I continued to meet other people, small business owners in that position where they had the certification and learned how to bid. I learned that it was incredibly difficult, a difficult thing to navigate. Complicated. Just a lot. It was really a lot of mystery around it as well. And I said, I want to figure this out because this is a huge unlock for small businesses. Huge. Lizzy Okoro Davidson [00:11:02]: Especially the ones that I know for a fact, because I was an advisor for PCC's SBDC. So I was seeing tons of people really confused as to why they couldn't penetrate certain industries and learning that this was a way. So that's my very long winded and very passionate way of saying that. One of the programs that we have is this procurement accelerator where it's between six to nine weeks. We have ones that are now industry focused, focused on construction. But we did one previously that was just general. We took small businesses, we trained them on, you know, what this process is, how do you get your certification, how do you bid? We introduce them to procurement leads, the people in charge who make those decisions. And we've had amazing outcomes so far. Lizzy Okoro Davidson [00:11:46]: So, you know, creating that accelerator, I've created other accelerators. We did a beauty one that addressed really the needs of the Pasadena and Altadena areas that were impacted by the fires and they basically lost so much foot traffic. And so we really wanted to tap into how do we help them market better. And so things like that, just again, keeping our ears to the ground, understanding the industries, understanding who our clients are and what they really need, and then going out there and finding the answers to the questions that they have and creating really in depth programming around it. That's really been my strategy so that no one has to, you know, overnight, your whole entire business or funding stream should not be taken away because hopefully you have two or three other streams of revenue that you can tap into. So that's been my strategy. Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:12:38]: That's excellent. Very similar to the beyond the Chair accelerator, right? Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:12:43]: Do you want to share a little bit more about that program and how you came about developing that program based on the need of our community? Lizzy Okoro Davidson [00:12:50]: Yeah. So that, that is the beauty accelerator. But it was really one of our advisors, Deandra, she had been talking about it even before the fires. She's a beauty expert. She is a former salon owner and a professor at Pasadena City College. So we feel really lucky to have her. And she been talking about wanting to do some sort of seminar or workshop around, you know, what it means to be a beauty professional or beauty entrepreneur. And when the fires hit again. Lizzy Okoro Davidson [00:13:19]: It became this talk, especially in being in close communication with the city of Pasadena and understanding that that community got hit really, really hard. Foot traffic was completely down. You know, people storied history. Businesses that had been around for 10 plus years were suddenly struggling because their clientele had left ET and the question then came, you know, I've been in business, I've had a book of business, I haven't really had to do any sort of marketing before. I'm really intimidated by it. What do I do? And it became a collaboration between myself and DeAndre to say, why don't we go deep, you know, how do we go deep with these beauty professionals? And what was born was a four week accelerator where we took them through social media marketing off, you know, other types of sales strategies, etc. Where do you find clients? Graduated about 15 beauty professionals. They were so amazing, so grateful. Lizzy Okoro Davidson [00:14:16]: The feedback we got was like 5 stars, 10, 10 out of 10 experience. And we are definitely, we're bringing it back. So good. It's great. Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:14:28]: I love that. Well, gain is kind of back on track. So I, I went off tangent a little bit because I'm aware of the stellar programming that's happening at the Women's Business Center. And while yes, we're focusing on rebuild, but that's part of rebuild too, and these accelerators. I'm glad you're bringing it back. I'm glad you're bringing it back. Lizzy Okoro Davidson [00:14:48]: Yes. Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:14:49]: Because as we know, some of these businesses, some of these beauty professional businesses were also operating out of the homes in which are no longer there. Right. And so there's so many levels of complexity in who was impacted and how they were impacted. That said, like, what do you think businesses might not be considering that they should be after a natural disaster? What are some lessons learned? Lizzy Okoro Davidson [00:15:15]: I think the thing, the big thing that came out of it, and thank you for speaking too because it is, it is so important and really paints the picture for people, the emotional picture, the mental picture for people. Like when we say or remind them that people didn't just lose their homes, people didn't just lose their businesses, a significant number of people lost both. And I think in particular when we're thinking about women owned small businesses, I don't have stats on this exactly, but it did feel like, at least empirically, that a lot of women owned small businesses were operating out of their homes, you know, because of what I've shared before, lack of access to capital, lack of access to a network. And so they're building multimillion dollar Businesses from their homes, they're doing it also, and a lot of times because of child care, et cetera. So to really thread the needle with this, what I also saw was when you are operating out of your home, sometimes, not all the time, and this is not a. I don't mean to make such a blanket statement, but a lot of those businesses just didn't have their paperwork in order. Right. It's, you know, it feels like you probably did something that was a natural extension of what you do, what you do in your personal life and your passion. Lizzy Okoro Davidson [00:16:25]: And so it's really easy to get like loosey goosey with a lot of these things and not file the proper paperwork or not, you know, get the proper business licenses and permits or just not knowing. Sometimes it's just not knowing what you need either. Getting really bogged down between, like, what's the difference between an LLC and an S corp and a sole proprietorship. Do I actually need insurance? I don't think I do. I think I'm okay. So things like that we really saw come back to hurt a lot of businesses because all of a sudden, in order to qualify for some of the grant programs for loans, et cetera, you needed to produce these documents that proved that you were in business. And especially if you were working out of your home, you might not have had those things. So I think one of the. Lizzy Okoro Davidson [00:17:13]: I get it, it's not sexy, it's not fun to think about, but just, you know, to cover, cover your bases and cover your buns, like, it's really important to have those, those really unfun, unsexy things in place. So that should. A natural disaster. We know, unfortunately a natural disaster is going to come again. We. We just do. Right. Like as we sit here today, the Hawaii is being hit again. Lizzy Okoro Davidson [00:17:41]: Cuba is being hit again. Right. Places that have already experienced devastation. It's happening again and again and again. And so we know, we just know. And so I would recommend that anybody who's in business just get the paperwork done. It's, it's, I don't know, a day's worth of work for 10 years plus worth of coverage. So. Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:18:03]: Right. Lizzy Okoro Davidson [00:18:03]: That's what I would say to think about. Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:18:05]: Yeah, I love that. Thank you for sharing that, Lizzy. And I wonder if you can share with the listener. How can those businesses, if there's a business that's listening, how can they work with the Women's Business center to ensure that they stay vigilant and maximize successful? Lizzy Okoro Davidson [00:18:21]: That's literally our favorite thing to do, is to make sure. That business owners don't have to feel as though they're going at this alone, that they have a partner in it and someone, an expert who has gone through the process and knows the process. We can help you. So signing up to become a client is the first way to do that. And from there telling us what you need in particular, just saying, hey, I need help with business permits, licenses, I don't know what I don't know....
/episode/index/show/thefutureofwork/id/40767035
info_outline
How Women-Owned Businesses Lead Pasadena’s Post-Fire Economic Rebuild with Lizzy Okoro Davidson, Director at Pasadena Women's Business Center Episode 165
04/14/2026
How Women-Owned Businesses Lead Pasadena’s Post-Fire Economic Rebuild with Lizzy Okoro Davidson, Director at Pasadena Women's Business Center Episode 165
A year after the devastating Los Angeles fires in January 2025, Lizzy Okoro Davidson returns to the podcast to share how the Pasadena Women’s Business Center has become a key leader in rebuilding efforts—championing strategies rooted in equity, tactical support, and economic opportunity for women entrepreneurs. Together, our host, Dr. Salvatrice Cummo, Vice President of the Economic and Workforce Development Department at Pasadena City College explores how we continue to rebuild a year later and the realities of what those efforts require ongoingly. Lizzy shares how programs at the WBC created innovative accelerators that were responsive and specific to different women-owned sectors, like beauty professionals and how the formula to relief and support-success is to listen with intent and build the solutions needed in real time. They also discuss the importance of community, challenges unique to women-owned businesses, and the broader economic impact when women are given resources to thrive. You’ll Learn: How recovery from natural disasters is a long-term process, and why continued support for affected small businesses remains crucial Why women-owned businesses are uniquely resilient and have a higher success rate, making their recovery critical to community health How the Women’s Business Center (WBC) is tackling these challenges through targeted accelerators, one-on-one advising, and specialized bootcamps How diversifying income streams can be a disaster-prone strategy and how government contracts and certifications can unlock new revenue opportunities for women-owned businesses About the guest: Lizzy Okoro Davidson is an LA-based entrepreneur, consultant, and public speaker who serves as the Director of the Women’s Business Center at Pasadena City College. With over a decade of experience in media, consulting, and public speaking, Lizzy has worked with leading brands such as Nike and Adidas. Before working with the Women’s Business Center, she founded Bunch Magazine in 2011. She has experience managing a team of 100+ creatives including writers, photographers, stylists and art directors in a dozen countries over the course of six years. Throughout her career, Lizzy has been dedicated to empowering women entrepreneurs and fostering inclusive economic growth by providing the tools, resources, and support they need to thrive. Engage with us: , & : @PasadenaCityCollegeEWD Join our newsletter for more on this topic: Visit: More from Lizzy Okoro Davidson & Pasadena Women’s Business Center: Visit: LinkedIn: The Grant Program mentioned in this episode was funded by and , in partnership with the Pasadena Women’s Business Center with support from the Pasadena City College Foundation. Want to partner with us or be a guest on the podcast? Contact our host, Dr. Salvatrice Cummo directly: scummo@pasadena.edu Find the transcript of this episode Please rate and review the show by leaving us your thoughts and comments on Apple Podcasts - we love hearing from you!
/episode/index/show/thefutureofwork/id/40766990
info_outline
TRANSCRIPT - Sustaining the Rebuild: PCC’s Continuing Commitment to Community Recovery Episode 164
03/31/2026
TRANSCRIPT - Sustaining the Rebuild: PCC’s Continuing Commitment to Community Recovery Episode 164
Leslie Thompson [00:00:00]: PCC is committed to maintaining its role as a resource hub. Having people having gone through these pathways that are going to be ready to get in there and do the actual work that needs to be done. And it's not just swinging hammers. There's a lot of work to be done in different capacities. Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:00:17]: Hi, I'm Salvatrice Cummo, Vice President of Economic and Workforce Development at Pasadena City College and host of this podcast. And we are starting the conversation about the future of work. We'll explore topics like how education can partner with industry, how to be more equitable, and how to attain one of our highest goals, more internships and PCC students in the workforce. We at Pasadena City College want to lead the charge in closing the gap between what our students are learning and what the demands of the workforce will be once they enter. This is a conversation that impacts all of us. You, the employers, the policymakers, the educational institutions, and the community as a whole. This is The Future of Work. Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:01:06]: Hi, and welcome back to The Future of Work podcast. I am your host, Dr. Salvatrice Cummo, and today I'm joined by our colleague at Pasadena City College, Director Leslie Thompson, who is our Director of Operations at Economic and Workforce Development. Oftentimes, Leslie and I have an opportunity to come together and just chit-chat about where we are here at PCC. What are we seeing? What are some and challenges moving forward and opportunities moving forward. And I'm very grateful that I get to have a partner in crime to do this work. So Leslie, welcome, welcome to the show. Leslie Thompson [00:01:40]: Thank you. Good to be back. Here we are again. Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:01:43]: Here we are again. The last time we did this conversation, the last time we had a conversation was immediately after the fires here in Altadena. And it's been a year already. Leslie Thompson [00:01:57]: Can you believe that? It's gone by so quickly. Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:02:00]: So, so fast. And so much has been worked on. So much has been accomplished. And I thought it might be a good idea for us to just talk about where we were and where we are now and kind of where we want to go and what are we seeing? What do you think about that? Leslie Thompson [00:02:19]: I think it's a great idea. I think that there's been a lot of activity from the college as an anchor institution in the community. There's been a lot of programmatic work done. There's been a lot a lot of immediate response work done, and I feel like we're geared up to be part of this slow and steady rebuild over the next few years. And so a number of kind of initiatives in the works for that. And also, there's just so much stuff that we've already done. And, and if you recall from our last conversation, we talked a little bit about the immediate impact and PCC's immediate response for the community, opening the campus to be a place for distribution and connection and But so much has happened since then. Things kind of settled back down on campus, but then the campus got to work in programming that is going to sustain the community as it builds, rebuilds itself. Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:03:11]: Yeah, I love how you said that the campus got to work. We did. We, we immediately pulled together instructional programming, small business support, student aid. The Foundation played a really big role in that as well. But I think for me, what was pretty amazing and spectacular is that every area of our division, Division of Economic and Workforce Development, each area was able to respond and has been able to respond and continues to respond to the needs of our community. And it really underscores the need for, for me at least, I'm now, now this is my own bias, but it really underscores the need for a division like Economic economic and workforce development to live in a community college because we're both inward-facing, right? We have internal stakeholders and external stakeholders. Our students are residents, our residents are students, our business owners are our students, their employees are our students. So it's all one, but it— what has been beautiful to watch is how every department has been able to build something, respond to the needs of our community in a very rapid way. Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:04:29]: I mean, I think about the Women's Business Center and the Small Business Development Center. Those two areas have been instrumental in assisting the business community. Leslie Thompson [00:04:38]: Yeah, I like what you said about economic and workforce development because I know we've had this conversation where there's, there's all sorts of initiatives and activities happening. It is what economic and workforce development is. And I'm not talking about the division specifically. I'm talking about the work Yes. This is how a community rebuilds itself, through economic development efforts, through workforce development efforts. This is the worst reason to have to kind of bring that expertise up and be like, this is why it's so important. But it's very timely that the need is so great for the Division of Economic and Workforce Development here at PCC and also for the economic and workforce development ecosystem as a whole to respond in full force. I think it's timely and it's necessary. Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:05:21]: Yeah, I, I couldn't agree with you more. And I would also say another learning moment for me, or something that was underscored, are the existing assets that community colleges have that can easily be deployed. And the first thing I think about was when we came together with our colleagues to pull together the PCC for Dena Page, we said we want to build inventory of what we have for displaced workers, for our employers, for our residents, et cetera. And it was evident to me that we had these things already and it was a matter of repackaging is the only word that comes to mind right now. But it was a way to kind of frame that the need is there and the solutions are here. And it was a matter of us communicating clearly to our community what solutions we had to offer. And so, the other learning moment, so I had 3, the other learning moment, the 3rd learning moment for me was the value that business technical assistance has in a time like this. You know, our Small Business Development Center and our Women's Business Center do this all day, every day. Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:06:41]: I mean, the SBDC has been here for a little over 10 years. Our Women's Business Center just celebrated their 1-year anniversary. And they have been able to quickly activate in a way because they already had the infrastructure in place, much like our extension courses already had the infrastructure in place to respond rapidly. So when I say rapidly, while yes, you know, it's not always as rapid as we want it to be, but it is rapid in our environment. Quickly, those areas pulled together programming and resources. And as of today, as of today, as it relates to business technical assistance, they have been able to support— they being the SBDC and the WBC— have been able to serve over 400 fire-impacted businesses, of which 86% are women-owned small businesses. 86%. Mm-hmm. Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:07:43]: And I'm gonna drill it down even further. Of that 86%, 36% are Hispanic, Latino-owned. 52% of them have 1 to 4 employees. 50, that's over half. Leslie Thompson [00:07:58]: Mm-hmm. Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:07:59]: And 58 are full-time operators. I mean, I mean, it's like, it's, it's incredible. Leslie Thompson [00:08:04]: Impact. Impact. Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:08:05]: Yeah, for sure. If you recall when we had our conversation with Lizzie, who was our director of the Women's Business Center and Don, our Director of the Small Business Center, they said, Salvatrice, Leslie, of these businesses, there's a large percentage, I don't have that number, but there's a large percentage of them that they were operating in their homes. Leslie Thompson [00:08:28]: At the time of the fires. Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:08:29]: Right. Leslie Thompson [00:08:29]: Yeah. Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:08:30]: So not only did they lose their home, but they also lost their business. So that said, now we're responding to our clients that we have and our students. Again, there are business owners and there are residents and there are students. It's all one. Leslie Thompson [00:08:49]: It's all one, yeah. I think that the idea of responding quickly and having this inventory that we were taking initially, and while yes, PCC had a number of applicable response routes, one of the standouts for me, the surprise for me was PCC Extension really had a lot of relevant courses, right? And that's not for credit, right? Fee-based. And we ended up putting that on the website. And I think that a lot of people that are around that table were surprised. PCC Extension's been doing this for years and years under Elaine Chapman's direction. And it's just there. And so we were able to pull that out. I wasn't surprised because I'm familiar with the catalog, but I know a lot of people around that table, if you recall, were, they were surprised. Leslie Thompson [00:09:37]: And we were very intentional about including PCC Extension in that inventory of resources for the immediate response. So while yes, we had some stuff to put up immediately, the other thing that was cool was the stuff that started to cook from that moment on. We were like, you know what, wait a minute. Okay, we have these things, but we're going to need some other stuff. We're going to need some, you know, some big picture planning, right? Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:09:59]: Right. Leslie Thompson [00:10:00]: And you might want to share a little bit about that. The Construction Trade Lab, the courses through noncredit to get folks ready for construction jobs. Like a lot of stuff that, that just started this semester. So a lot of stuff is still coming. So yeah, we had a lot of stuff to put up initially, but I think for me what was more exciting than that was the things that started lining up immediately after all the things we started doing, like where we are right now and where we're going. Maybe you can share a little bit about those initiatives? Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:10:30]: That initial engagement with our colleagues and that brainstorming session that we had did share quite a bit for us. You're right. I mean, it shared what we have and what we don't and where we need to go, which led to our Skills to Rebuild initiative for the college, which we're working on now. It's going to be a continuous process, evolving process. It's never, ever going to go away. Because the world is evolving, the economy evolves around us, and unfortunately, this is not going to be the first and the last time that we experience these kinds of disasters. Therefore, having the infrastructure and the programming and the talent in place to respond is going to be even more so critical in the future. The Skills to Rebuild initiative is, again, a work in progress. Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:11:20]: Our colleagues, right, at noncredit immediately pulled together a construction readiness program, rough carpentry Also in instruction, we have architecture, environmental studies, building inspection. And all of these programs, these Skills to Rebuild programs, all of these programs are going to continue to evolve. We have the Wildland Fire Academy. That's huge. The programming continues to evolve. We're going to see it evolve. And we know that a community college's programming curriculum takes some time. But that's when areas like the noncredit division that is led by Dr. Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:11:59]: Francisco Suarez and our not-for-credit area led by Elaine Chapman, that's when those two entities kind of come in and help support in a very flexible, rapid way that, because they can, while additional programming is being done on the other side of the house in instruction. So all that to say, is that this work is being done. It'll continue to evolve. But what I really, really love and appreciate is the focus and attention on career technical education programs, also known to some of our listeners as vocational programming. All of that never goes away. It's not going to. We're humans. We live, we work, we play, we drive, you know, so, so all of these things that we need all of the professionals that we need, PCC is here to train and develop them, not only for the rebuild efforts, but in general. Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:12:59]: The other area that I think that belongs in the rebuild initiative is, of course, as I mentioned earlier, like our response to the business community. We tend to think of that as two very separate, but they're really not. I mean, these businesses are going to be able to support the talent that we're producing. To hire the talent that we are producing. If you don't mind, I'm just going to share real quick kind of what both centers have been able to do. The WBC partnered with 11:11 Media and GoFundMe to support grants to these businesses. We helped in partnership, the Small Business Development Center in partnership with Wells Fargo, did a grand opening of the Mariposa Junction. It was beautiful. Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:13:46]: It was outstanding. In fact, we'll put links into our show notes about that too. We've been able to do a couple of accelerators. Lizzy pulled together Beyond the Chair Accelerator, which is a 4-week accelerator for beauty professionals focused on marketing, customer service, operational efficiencies, revenue-generating brand strategies, all of these things that are necessary for our business owners who are impacted to rebuild. That culminated in a celebratory mixer with celebrity artists, and it was absolutely beautiful. She also pulled together the Ready LA Procurement Accelerator, and that was an 8-week accelerator in partnership with our SBA partners and others. But the purpose of that accelerator was to support small businesses in navigating federal, state, and local procurement pathways, which are all going to be necessary. During this rebuild process, which you and I both know is going to take— Leslie Thompson [00:14:46]: it's going to take a while. Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:14:47]: It's going to take a while. Leslie Thompson [00:14:48]: She also has a construction accelerator coming up. Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:14:51]: She does. She does. She has a construction accelerator coming up. In fact, as we speak, she is securing applications. So applications are coming in for that. Leslie Thompson [00:15:00]: I believe the application opened Monday on the WBC website, and I think the event is going to be in April, right? Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:15:07]: Yes, the event is going to be in April, or it concludes in April with a bid day where participants pitch their construction capabilities to prime public agencies and procurement partners. So how amazing is that? So that's a good example of how one area has dual focuses and dual outreach and solutions for our community, building the talent, supporting the entity to support and sustain the talent. Those two things go hand in hand. They're not mutually exclusive. And again, why economic Development divisions are really critical in community colleges to make that connectivity, to make that connection. That was my own selfish plug for EWD because, you know, I'm always going to do it. I love what we do, and I enjoy our team where we have stellar leaders that are doing this work. And one more area, again, connecting student to community to business is PCC we developed our first College Corps program led by Jacqueline Sakoto, right, our director of the Freeman Center. Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:16:15]: And this program supports— it empowers students to be good civic leaders. It's helping them embed them in the community to be great leaders, specifically working with organizations that are tied to rebuild efforts. And so supporting 20 students, They get $10,000 stipend apiece. So again, just another example of where we are right now in connecting student to community, community to business, and vice versa. It's all one. It's, it's for me, we're all one. We just tweak different programming and I'm going to call them products, right? We tweak different products to be able to support the existing needs of those areas. Leslie Thompson [00:16:57]: I'd like to switch gears a little bit. When I think about the existing needs of those areas, there are a number of things that we can do and a number of things that we are doing to support development in the region, in our backyard, as it were, where the fires were. But there are a number of challenges that happen out there that we don't directly involve. The reason this is going to take so long is because there are a number of barriers that exist to prevent people from getting their insurances paid out, getting their permits in a timely manner, all the environmental things that have to happen before you can even start building. Like, there's a process. And the cleanup was one thing. That was, you know, cleaning stuff up and then figuring out where you take that stuff or where you stage it until you can dispose of it. Like, there was a lot of— a lot of things that were happening in the area that have nothing to do with what we can support necessarily, right? Before people are even ready to start rebuilding before people were even ready to get back to work. Leslie Thompson [00:17:59]: I mean, that immediate impact and those days and weeks immediately following the fire, there was a lot of activity going on. But just because the air is cleared and debris is cleared doesn't mean that the roadblocks are cleared, doesn't mean that the barriers are removed or that there's not new barriers or that there's not greater impacts. We lost more than structures. We lost more than businesses and homes. We lost, you know, chunks of a very unique community. That's impactful. And rebuilding has to be done in such a way that it's mindful of preserving what made it unique. But I wanted to talk a little bit about kind of the challenges going forward, not just challenges that the institution may face in terms of delivering, because I feel like we, you alluded to it earlier when you talked about the timeline for bringing courses to market, if we can use that term, there is a process for that. Leslie Thompson [00:18:53]: So new programming does take time. It can take a while for credit courses, especially. But that's not the worst barrier. We work around that stuff all the time, and then that happens and people work through it. But we can have everything ready to go if there's no worksite to start building on, if they're not at that point. You want to talk about some of those challenges? I think we could probably think of 3 big ones right off the top of our heads. Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:19:17]: Yeah, I mean, it's complex. It's complex because— so let's look at rebuild, like actual structural rebuild. Okay. There are variables to that. You mentioned environmental. Yes. There's soil remediations that have still not been completed or started. Right? There are insurance issues. Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:19:45]: We still have our community members who have not received funds to do it. So we're very, very early, early stages of any kind of rebuild. But these are things that— these challenges, for example, if we just took structural rebuild, while we are preparing the talent and the programming, these are variables that we do not have control over. And so we have to be very mindful of that. And to gauge the velocity of those two things and know how quickly they're gonna happen, we don't know. I mean, it's...
/episode/index/show/thefutureofwork/id/40634345
info_outline
Sustaining the Rebuild: PCC’s Continuing Commitment to Community Recovery Episode 164
03/31/2026
Sustaining the Rebuild: PCC’s Continuing Commitment to Community Recovery Episode 164
What does it actually take to create a sustainable and equitable recovery plan after a disaster? In this episode, host Dr. Salvatrice Cummo, Vice President of Economic and Workforce Development at Pasadena City College and co-host, Leslie Thompson, Director of Operations at Economic and Workforce Development at PCC, dive into the real, hands-on ways Pasadena City College is leading the region’s recovery and preparing the workforce for what’s next. In their conversation, they pull back the curtain on how PCC rapidly launched solutions after the Altadena fires—organizing immediate support, connecting resources, and building innovative new pathways for rebuilding. You’ll hear how economic and workforce development isn’t just a division—it’s the engine driving PCC’s response. From the launch of the Skills to Rebuild initiative and rapid business accelerators to flexible, career-focused programs, Dr. Salvatrice Cummo and Leslie Thompson share exactly how PCC is equipping students, supporting local businesses, and creating new opportunities for workers hit hardest by disaster and how we continue to build forward and stay vigilant in the approach to disaster recovery. You’ll learn: How Pasadena City College’s Division of Economic and Workforce Development plays a crucial role in rebuilding and supporting communities in crisis How existing assets from the college, such as PCC Extension and noncredit courses, can be rapidly deployed to aid displaced workers and business owners The importance of business technical assistance in times of disaster, including how the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) and Women’s Business Center (WBC) served over 400 fire-impacted businesses, most of them women-owned How career technical education (vocational programming) and initiatives like Skills to Rebuild and the College Corps empower students and create pipelines for workforce development Engage with us: , & : @PasadenaCityCollegeEWD Join our newsletter for more on this topic: Visit: Partner with us! Contact our host, Dr. Salvatrice Cummo directly: scummo@pasadena.edu Want to be a guest on the show? Click to inquire about booking Find the transcript of this episode Please rate us and leave us your thoughts and comments on Apple Podcasts - we’d love to hear from you!
/episode/index/show/thefutureofwork/id/40634305
info_outline
TRANSCRIPT - The Nation’s First Goods Movement Training Campus at Port of Los Angeles with Gene Seroka, Executive Director of Port of L.A Episode 163
03/17/2026
TRANSCRIPT - The Nation’s First Goods Movement Training Campus at Port of Los Angeles with Gene Seroka, Executive Director of Port of L.A Episode 163
Gene Seroka [00:00:00]: We also have an MOU, a Memorandum of Understanding, which is an agreement to work together between the California Community Colleges and the Port of Los Angeles to help build curriculum, to help guide education for certification and training. Those who can build syllabus and classwork as a profession can bring that here to the port so we can work on these various training modules and career progressions for our workforce. Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:00:31]: Hi, I'm Salvatrice Cummo, Vice President of Economic and Workforce Development at Pasadena City College and host of this podcast. And we are starting the conversation about the future of work. We'll explore topics like how education can partner with industry, how to be more equitable, and how to attain one of our highest goals: more internships and PCC students in the workforce. We at Pasadena City College want to lead the charge in closing the gap between what our students are learning and what the demands of the workforce will be once they they enter. This is a conversation that impacts all of us— you, the employers, the policymakers, the educational institutions, and the community as a whole. This is The Future of Work. Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:01:17]: Hi, welcome back to The Future of Work podcast. I am your host, Dr. Salvatrice Cummo. Today I am joined by Gene Seroka, Executive Director of the Port of Los Angeles. As chief of America's top port, Gene is responsible for managing a $2.6 billion budget, advancing major capital projects, growing trade volume, and promoting innovative sustainable practices that strengthen the region's economy. Under his direction, the Port has taken a leadership role in adopting cutting-edge technologies to improve cargo flow at the San Pedro Bay Port Complex and throughout the supply chain. Gene has been named one of the most influential people in Los Angeles by the Los Angeles Business Journal and featured on the LA 500 list each year since it was created in 2016. In our conversation today, we'll talk about the rapid changes occurring in trade policy, tariffs, and technology, and how developing communication across the industry is key, along with developing new workforce training programs to ensure the industry can stay competitive, innovative, and navigate important initiatives like zero emissions. Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:02:30]: Gene, it's a pleasure to have you here today. Gene Seroka [00:02:33]: Thank you, Dr. Cummo. Great to see you. Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:02:35]: Great to see you too. One of my favorite questions to ask in the upfront of these conversations is what led you here. And what I've learned earlier in your career is that it's taken you all over the globe. You've had a huge mark on goods movement sector and in the industry, but you started off in marketing and sales. Tell us a little bit more about that and kind of what led you to lean into this industry and the leader that makes you today? Gene Seroka [00:03:00]: It was kind of a winding road. I received my MBA from the University of New Orleans just after a stock market crash when oil was at $9 a barrel. And the economy in New Orleans was built around the energy sector, tourism, and banking to support those first two. Yet no one was hiring. I wound up getting with a boutique personnel firm who had a relationship with American President Lines. I then further interviewed with the company because my dad worked for American Airlines and I could fly for free to get to these interviews. While in the air, I thought to myself, what kind of company is going to ask me to, you know, fly for free just so I can get an interview? But it turned out to be a 26-year career, including 11 years in Asia and the Middle East, and prepared me to earn the job here at the Port of Los Angeles 12 years ago. So it was through a lot of, a lot of phone calls phone calls, letter writing, and just meeting some people with decent connections that I was able to enter into this shipping and supply chain industry. Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:04:05]: Thank you. Was there anything that stood out early on in your career that you felt was a key element to, to securing your, your role in leadership now? Gene Seroka [00:04:15]: Hard work and trying to find mentors who shared the same beliefs and values I had. When I started, even with an advanced degree, at a good company, I was picking up dry cleaning, getting sales reps' cars washed, running errands, doing rate requests, a lot of clerical work. And I worked hard, but I also paid attention. What made the company tick? What made people pursue careers like they did? And I spent a lot of time trying to think of next level. What do you do and how do you prepare yourself for that? And it was just through that continued ability to make sure that you paired yourself with folks who had been down a path before, and those that were willing to help folks a little bit less tenured like me. Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:05:02]: Excellent, excellent. You know, I've heard you, um, in other interviews, and as I prepare myself to this next question, I wanted to set the stage of 2025. 2025 was incredibly turbulent for many different reasons across the globe. One of the things in, in your interview is about trade policy changes and tariffs and other announcements like this. How does this influence strategy and planning within supply chain management when it comes to navigating that level of ongoing change? We've certainly have experienced change in higher education, and we will continue to experience change as we should. 2025 was, was a tough one for us as well, and it's going to continue to be, I think, for the next couple of years. But I'm really curious about, for supply chain, everything that you've experienced in 2025, how that's influencing strategy now. Gene Seroka [00:05:57]: You can't get too high or too low. You have to keep a steady hand on the tiller. And although people say expect the unexpected, I think that was an understatement if we look at year 2025. More than 110 announcements emanating from Washington on trade policy and tariffs alone. Making it difficult for the most seasoned person in our industry even to keep pace with all these announcements, some that were walked back in 2 hours, 2 days, or 2 months. So that was a real tough part. And I think the industry and its people leaned on each other just to try to make sense out of it, try to compare notes, make sure that we weren't the only ones feeling like we were feeling. And that was part of how we continue to advance. Gene Seroka [00:06:45]: The other thing I took away from last year is that as a port, and a major infrastructure agency, we have to play the long game and we have to be able to invest in our people, our facilities, and this port through budget cycles, through economic cycles. And now I think it's very clear we have to have a mindset of investing beyond election cycles. Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:07:12]: And tell me a little bit more about that. Is How does that process work when we say we need to keep a steady pace and invest in those areas that you mentioned now? What does that look like? Those who are not familiar with operations within supply chain management? Gene Seroka [00:07:31]: Sure. Well, I'll give you one example. In the month of April, the administration in Washington announced sweeping tariffs across 110 different countries. That to the casual observer would be really impactful— tariffs of 100% or more. And at that time, we started to see many U.S. importers cancel their shipments because, again, they weren't going to pay those kind of taxes and at the same time didn't know when the next announcement was going to come out to have a changing policy. So at that moment in time, even though it was dire, The stock market dropped almost 1,000 points. People in our industry got really nervous. Gene Seroka [00:08:14]: I couldn't make a decision on how many people we were going to hire, not hire, or even look towards for future employment at that snapshot in time. And that's why keeping a steady hand and playing a little bit longer game, knowing that the U.S. economy at $30 trillion is going to move in a good direction over a longer period of time, I didn't need to make any snap reactions. But that took quite a bit of patience from myself and others around me. And I think we were super proud that we demonstrated that level of patience because it was such an unusual time. But realistically speaking, there were going to be ups and downs, and you have to be able to weather the storm. These were more stormy days than probably we had seen in some time. Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:09:04]: Now talk a little bit about the Port Optimizer. You oversaw the launch of this digital information portal. And from what I understand, it's so that the ports around the world can share critical supply chain, you know, data and analytics. How has that played a role in planning strategies, etc., for 2026? And what you just shared now in the decision-making processes and, and playing the long game. Gene Seroka [00:09:32]: No, there's a few things here, Dr. Cummo. I think number one, on the investment side, you got to keep investing. Two, as you just mentioned, play the long game. And thirdly, for most of your listeners out there, they've used a ride-sharing service, they've taken a train or a bus, they've gone to the airport— one of the three, or maybe all the three. And from those different transportation methods, you could kind of see when you have to leave, when you're going to get there, how quick it's going to be, or if there's traffic or something that slows it down. The port business never had that before. This year we're, we're commemorating the 10th year of the Port Optimizer, which was an effort to just get all this disparate data together under one pane of glass and show importers, exporters, transportation companies alike what was coming our way. Gene Seroka [00:10:24]: How to get ready and what to do if something was a little off schedule. And to me, that's been the most important thing. It was meant to be a conversation starter around developing efficiencies, being able to handle more business with confidence, and most importantly, create more jobs. For every 4 containers we bring through this port, it creates 1 job. The more containers mean more employment opportunities for people who want to work here in and around the port complex. It really is very powerful when we boil it down to that one important fact. Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:10:56]: To me, when I hear that, I hear more containers, more employment. And also, how does technology play a role in that? I mean, we've— you've just mentioned that the, the industry has never really kind of felt this rapid change before until maybe about— would you say a decade, about a decade? It's kind of the last decade has felt a little bit stronger than usual. And so I'm kind of curious. Yes, the Port Optimizer technology tool, but technology is emerging at a rate that we cannot keep up with. So I'd like to kind of spend some time, if you can share a little bit about the work you're doing in partnership with the Port of Long Beach and the California State Workforce Board to build the nation's first goods movement training campus. What is that? Tell us more. Gene Seroka [00:11:44]: Right. So there's probably 3 pieces of technology and I'll loop back around on this. One is information technology. The second is cleaner energy technology. And then thirdly, robotics or automation. And in part, all 3 played a role in us coming up with this idea of building a goods movement training campus. There is not a training facility in the United States today that's geared specifically to ports or supply chain.. And while we've seen really great examples of this in Antwerp, Belgium, Vancouver, British Columbia to our north, nothing been done here in the United States. Gene Seroka [00:12:22]: So we work very closely with California Governor Gavin Newsom, his administration, the legislation here in California to see what we could put together that would get us started. So we've donated 20 acres of land. We received from the California legislature $110 million of a $150 million project to get it off the ground. We've partnered with private sector interests who do business around the ports, including the Pacific Maritime Association, the employers group that works directly with our dockworkers union, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, across 29 ports on the West Coast and here in Southern California's twin ports. And the idea then was really twofold. And I keep talking in numbers because that's kind of how people remember things. Three big technology areas. One training campus and two focal points, or two customers, as we would like to say. Gene Seroka [00:13:19]: One is the ILW dock worker that needs to be upskilled or reskilled to work in those three new areas of technology. And they may be somebody a little bit younger that's got some runway, and maybe because of gaming or education or pure tech savvy growing up in the 2000s and 2010s, These folks have a little bit more perceptivity around how to work computer systems and coding, etc. But let's get them into a port environment. The second is maybe that somebody my vintage that for the balance of their career need to be competitive and go up against others for good jobs. That training and reskilling, upskilling as we call it, can help that segment of our workforce as well.. And quite honestly, there are folks my age that are plain scared of this new technology because they don't know how to go out and harness it. This training campus can be a part of that. There'll also be a career center or a storefront where folks that don't really know how to get into the port business can go and talk with a counselor and get advice on what's possible. Gene Seroka [00:14:29]: If you're just coming out of high school, if you're in community college, going for a 4-year degree, or you want to change what you're doing as a profession, you could talk to experts and see how maybe you could enter this workforce. We also have an MOU, a Memorandum of Understanding, kind of government speak, which is an agreement to work together between the California Community Colleges and the Port of Los Angeles to help build curriculum to help guide education for certification and training. Those who can build syllabus and classwork as a profession can bring that here to the port so we can work on these various training modules and career progressions for our workforce. So it's an exciting objective with a lot of work ahead of us. And as I usually say, I don't know what I don't know. We've got a premise and a North Star out there and some really bright minds coming around. But when I look across this Harbor community, our existing workforce and the people that might be interested in joining us tomorrow, that keeps me motivated to the highest level. Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:15:37]: What I really appreciate about what you just said is— there's a lot, but one of the two key things that I really appreciate what you said was the partnership with the community college system, California community college system, as the number one training accelerator— I'm going to call it accelerator— training facilities across California. And the second part that I really appreciated or appreciate about the training campus is the involvement of the existing workforce. We as an industry forget sometimes that it's not just about developing the new talent, but it's also about infusing the existing talent. And infusing the existing workforce so that they can upskill, so that they can move and have a trajectory within their careers and be aware of what is possible in their existing occupation. And, and, and if with a little bit of training, I can go in this direction, not even knowing that that direction even existed. Right. So I, I generally appreciate the training campus objective. I love all of the components to it. Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:16:47]: PCC is here for you. Anything you need, you let us know. But let's lean in a little bit about the community colleges as like the number one training provider for California. My opinion, it's not stated anywhere, but that's my opinion. What skills and training should we as a community college, Pasadena City College, and the rest of us, the rest of LA 19 here in the LA region, should be focusing on in order to partner more effectively and support the education needed in the maritime industry? And/or with the training campus? What specific skills and training should we be focusing on? Gene Seroka [00:17:23]: Yeah, two different layers. One, I mentioned when it comes to this training campus, it's about help bridging the gap on technology with our workforce, current and future. On the technology side, information technology and how it's shared, what it's used for. Again, some young people today that I interact with are super interested in coding. Others are trying to take an institutional knowledge approach and saying, look, there's a lot of data points out there for the supply chain, just like there are on other transportation networks. But I've been around this business for a while and I know how to read that data. So there's a couple areas there that I think are super intriguing. Then when it comes to the green technology, I need to look at a landscape of mechanics who currently work with a wrench on a fossil fuel or a diesel piece of equipment and how they may work on a computer for an electrical vehicle or a hydrogen fuel cell power locomotive, etc. Gene Seroka [00:18:27]: So there's going to be a transition in skill sets. It's still the person that knows how to take apart a machine and put it back together better than anyone, but with different methodology. And then thirdly, on the automation side, And robotics, this is probably the most polarizing conversation in our industry. And the City of Los Angeles, Port of Los Angeles has one statement: technology is moving faster than ever before, but we cannot leave the workforce behind. And in the 12 years that I've been here at the Port of Los Angeles, longshore jobs are up 21% in the face of this technological renaissance. So with all of that, How do we use information better and get people trained up, use that great knowledge that we already have? How do we work with newer equipment and those manufacturers to train the trainer, to bring a new level of knowledge to the people who are going to be managing, operating, and repairing that equipment? And then when it comes to the robotics side, how do we keep pulling everybody together to make sure that more cargo still means more jobs? But maybe the multiplier is a greater effect using robotics, but not at the— to the disadvantage of a declining workforce. Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:19:44]: Absolutely. Well said. Well said. And I'm going to point something out here and take a moment and pause and point out that I can tell immediately that you have a very thoughtful and empathetic approach to your leadership. Just the way you explained the existing workforce and the new talent. I'm going to ask if you can share why this approach is important to you. I can tell because of the way you're responding to my questions, but also I've done some research on you, Gene. Oh, I'm sure of that. Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:20:15]: Help myself and the audience really understand your approach to this empathetic and thoughtful leadership. Gene Seroka [00:20:20]: Well, I think number one, it's the way you were raised. Two parents, close family, making sure that you were brought up and you shared kindness. Yes. Number 2, it's a long game. Life, business, family, whatever the case may be. And while you can go into a job as a big boss with a fancy name title and tell people what to do, that'll only last so long. I wanted to be...
/episode/index/show/thefutureofwork/id/40287010
info_outline
The Nation’s First Goods Movement Training Campus at Port of Los Angeles with Gene Seroka, Executive Director of Port of L.A Episode 163
03/17/2026
The Nation’s First Goods Movement Training Campus at Port of Los Angeles with Gene Seroka, Executive Director of Port of L.A Episode 163
We are diving into the evolving landscape of the Goods Movement with Gene Seroka, Director of the Port of Los Angeles. Our host, Dr. Salvatrice Cummo and Gene Seroka have a candid conversation about the challenges and innovations shaping the goods movement sector and how turbulent changes in trade policy, tariffs, and technology are impacting supply chain management. They also discuss the importance of steady leadership and long-term investment in careers and future-forward problem solving. Gene Seroka shares insights on launching the Port Optimizer—a groundbreaking digital platform that’s transforming cargo operations—and shares the vision to build the nation’s first goods movement training campus. You'll hear about the critical role California Community Colleges play in partnering with the Port of Los Angeles to collaborate on workforce training and the need to upskill both new and existing talent. Gene shares practical advice for staying visible, mobile, and resilient as we navigate the future of work. You'll learn: How partnerships between industry leaders and community colleges are shaping workforce training and curriculum development Why steady, long-term investment is essential for supply chain resilience in the face of unpredictable trade policies and economic cycles Why the creation of the nation’s first goods movement training campus matters for the future of port and supply chain careers About the guest: Gene Seroka is the Executive Director of the Port of Los Angeles, the busiest container port in the Western Hemisphere. The Port has experienced historic, record-breaking performances since his appointment in 2014. As chief of America’s top port, he is responsible for managing a $2.6 billion budget, advancing major capital projects, growing trade volume and promoting innovative, sustainable practices that strengthen the region’s economy. Under his direction, the Port has taken a leadership role in adopting cutting-edge technologies to improve cargo flow at the San Pedro Bay port complex and throughout the supply chain, including the launch of the digital Port OptimizerTM cargo-tracking system. Seroka continues to advocate for a national export policy and data-sharing among ports globally. Seroka has distinguished himself as a leader throughout his illustrious career in shipping, global logistics and executive management. He received the esteemed Stanley T. Olafson Award from the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce in 2023, recognizing his work in the world trade industry and leadership of the nation’s busiest container port. The Containerization & Intermodal Institute named Seroka the 2021 recipient of the Connie Award, one the most coveted honors in the maritime industry. Seroka has been named one of the most influential people in Los Angeles by the Los Angeles Business Journal and featured on the LA500 list each year since it was created in 2016. Engage with us: , & : @PasadenaCityCollegeEWD Join our newsletter for more on this topic: Visit: More from the Port of L.A: Visit: LinkedIn: Instagram: Youtube: Partner with us! Contact our host, Salvatrice Cummo, directly: scummo@pasadena.edu Want to be a guest on the show? Click to inquire about booking Find the transcript of this episode Please rate us and leave us your thoughts and comments on Apple Podcasts; we’d love to hear from you!
/episode/index/show/thefutureofwork/id/40286905
info_outline
Transcript -Breaking Barriers: Reimagining Career Pathways for the Next Generation with Jesse Diaz Director of Market Development Los Angeles at Propel America Episode 162
03/03/2026
Transcript -Breaking Barriers: Reimagining Career Pathways for the Next Generation with Jesse Diaz Director of Market Development Los Angeles at Propel America Episode 162
Jesse Diaz [00:00:00]: I believe these pathways are vital because they can collapse right the distance between learning and earning, allowing people to start working toward a career and income at the same time, which is crucial in this current economic climate. Salvatrice Cummo [00:00:14]: Hi, I'm Salvatrice Cummo, Vice President of Economic and Workforce Development at Pasadena City College and host of this podcast. And we are starting the conversation about the Future of Work. We'll explore topics like how education can partner with industry, how to be more equitable, and how to attain one of our highest goals, more internships and PCC. Students in the workforce. We at Pasadena City College want to lead the charge in closing the gap between what our students are learning and what the demands of the workforce will be once they enter. This is a conversation that impacts all of us, you, the employers, the policymakers, the educational institutions, and the community as a whole. This is the Future of Work. Hi, welcome back to the Future of Work podcast. Salvatrice Cummo [00:01:03]: I am your host, Dr. Salvatrice Cummo. Today we're joined by Jesse Diaz, Director of Market Development in Los Angeles at Propel America. A first generation Latino college graduate and lifelong educator, Jesse brings lived experience from his upbringing in Boyle Heights and a career dedicated to expanding access for marginalized communities. His path took him from community colleges to athletics and eventually into nonprofit leadership. In our conversation today, Jesse will share why alternative career pathways are so critical right now. Not only for creating upward mobility for students who want to avoid debt, but also for meeting urgent workforce needs across Los Angeles. Jesse, welcome. Jesse Diaz [00:01:50]: Thank you for having me. Savagery. Happy to be here. Salvatrice Cummo [00:01:53]: Excellent. Excellent. You know, I always like to ask a journey question in the upfront because it's fascinating to me how we get into these roles of leadership and the impact that we create in this ecosystem of workforce development. So help the listener understand a little bit more about the path that hasn't always been a traditional straight line from school to career for you. And if you can share a bit about your journey and what led you to focus your work on expanding opportunities for young adults. Jesse Diaz [00:02:22]: Yeah, absolutely. First off, I'm a proud Los Angeles native, born and raised in Boyle Heights. And growing up here exposed me both to the energy and inequities that defined our communities. I saw brilliant young people, classmates, teammates, who had all the drive in the world, but lacked access to real opportunity, resources, or even the right people. Those networks that could have opened doors. And for me, athletics was that door. Football gave me structure, discipline, purpose, and eventually college access. But even that wasn't enough. Jesse Diaz [00:02:56]: I actually struggled after high school and became sort of an institutional nomad when things didn't go how I originally planned, right, gonna get that coveted scholarship and all was gonna go well. That said, even though I didn't have that definite sense of direction, I always knew where the finish line was. Like I knew I had to go to college, I had to go get a degree, no excuses. So I bounced around schools for a couple of years from Cal State to community college to university. And I was fortunate enough, after numerous attempts of reigniting my football career, to earn a spot at Down College, a small liberal arts school in Nebraska where I pursued a degree in kinesiology. But that wasn't easy. There were many moments I thought about giving up. I thought myself as a failure, that I had let down my community. Jesse Diaz [00:03:45]: And that was my self-perception, you know, kind of just an unfortunate circumstance that I found myself in. And no matter how hard that I worked and doing everything right, success just wasn't in my cards. And I carried that mindset with me, unfortunately for some time after high school. But eventually that all changed when I kind of started looking at, you know, opportunity differently and relied on my coaches, my peers as more as mentors and, you know, have more heavily believed in me and when I didn't really believe in myself. And so after graduation, moved to San Antonio, Texas in 2015, where I lived with an older brother and his now wife. Both are incredible educators in San Antonio. And my older brother is a phenomenal football coach and one of my role models. And so Gina and his wife connected me to City Year San Antonio and AmeriCorps program that works with students in underserved schools. Jesse Diaz [00:04:37]: And that experience completely reframed my view on education and sparked my passion for serving leadership. And I saw firsthand how systems could be redesigned to meet students where they are in communities similar to mine back home. And so I decided to move back to Boyle Heights after completing my year of service. And the goal was to become a teacher and coach football. That was kind of the path I wanted to travel and becoming credentialed and I was doing so. But in 2019 I was offered a unique opportunity to pursue my master's degree as a graduate assistant at Eastern New Mexico University through an unlikely connection who has since become one of my closest friends and peers. It was an incredible experience that unfortunately was short-lived, but it opened my eyes to how I viewed post-secondary pathways and the various mechanisms available to students to utilize and their viability. So I returned to Los Angeles and eventually COVID hit the pandemic. Jesse Diaz [00:05:34]: Really gave me time to reflect on my own path and realizing that without football I might have not completed college, let alone had the chance to venture outside of Boyle Heights and started thinking that it shouldn't require athletic ability or luck to earn a degree or even find a stable career. And that realization is what drives my work, especially with Propel America today. I think of those friends of mine back in school, even the students I had the privilege of working with during my time in the classroom. And I've always tried to lead with a sense of impact at the top of my mind and ensuring that young people have clear, supported and affordable pathways into good jobs that lead to long-term careers. Salvatrice Cummo [00:06:14]: I love that journey. Thank you so much for sharing that. You mentioned something that triggered a thought for me. You said reimagining our systems. Our systems need to be reimagined so that they are more accessible and serving our, our marginalized communities. And with your experiences and that vision of systems need to be redesigned or reimagined, you know, so that they can serve more and better. What do you think from your perspective, what are the biggest challenges that young adults are facing right now in the market when they're looking at their career pathways or any kind of stable opportun? Jesse Diaz [00:06:58]: Absolutely. Today I feel young adults face a complex set of barriers as they try to build their stable careers. The cost of College continues to rise and traditional four year degrees. They often leave students in significant debt without guaranteeing stable employment. And at the same time, many of our young people, particularly those from low income and historically marginalized communities, they're balancing work, caregiving and school, among other things. And on top of that, we have to consider the financial barriers and other real life challenges like childcare, which is becoming incredibly costly. Transportation, which we know right here in Los Angeles. Having a car is vital merely to be able to move around Los Angeles. Jesse Diaz [00:07:43]: And that's when you're not stuck in traffic and commuting on public transit that could easily eat up hours each day. And then not to mention housing, right. Rent in Los Angeles is among the highest in the country. And I think as of late of this year, the average rent is around 2,200 per month for a one bedroom apartment. And so these factors, I feel lead to high dropout rates and interrupted education. And many young people have to juggle multiple responsibilities. And it's not uncommon for students to have to work either part time, full time while in school to help support their family, or even young parents trying to finish a certificate when they're raising kids. So time becomes a huge constraint. Jesse Diaz [00:08:27]: And I think 17% of student parents manage to actually attend college full time. And while 40% of those actually have to work full time, that's a recipe for burnout. And so on top of work, potential family responsibilities, lack of guidance and mentorship is another issue we have to consider as well. Especially first generation college students or those from under resourced schools that may not have those networks or connections to adequately help them navigate career paths. And so without consistent support, it's easy for a young person to lose direction when challenges arise. And so this is why coaching and mentorship can be pivotal. Having someone to check in and encourage you when things are tough and help you problem solve challenges when they arise, it can make all the difference in the world, especially when it comes to persisting through a program. And so for many of these young adults, it's mostly not even a lack of ambition or drive or even ability that's holding them back. Jesse Diaz [00:09:26]: It's a lack of access, lack of access to consistent support systems and a clear pathway, which feels like an all too common narrative for our young folks here within our communities. An accessible education or training program, clear direction, financial support and caring mentorship, our students can truly thrive. And ultimately it's really about creating a world where a young person's success isn't determined by their zip code, but by their potential and effort that can be unlocked with the right support. And we don't need to continue finding ways, we need to continue finding ways, excuse me, to bridge that gap so they could focus on building skills, completing these education and training programs and stepping into a meaningful family sustaining career. Salvatrice Cummo [00:10:08]: Yeah, I love that you said that. You know, I was a first generation college student as well, first gen college student and I remember feeling completely lost, just absolutely lost. I didn't know, I didn't know anything. And it was at the time, knowing what I know now, I think that this, the system could have done better. Right? Jesse Diaz [00:10:29]: Yeah. Salvatrice Cummo [00:10:29]: And why organizations like Propel America are critical to the student pathway because you know, this organization focuses on tuition free and debt free options. Very know it's nontraditional. Right. Would you agree? It's nontraditional. Right. And there's you know, these alternative pathways like and I, if, correct me if I'm wrong, train to earn in a first and then you have apprenticeship. Those are kind of like your two biggest alternative pathways in the organization. Yes, yes. Salvatrice Cummo [00:11:04]: And, and you know all that to say I think that we have a lot to learn. We as a system of community colleges have a lot to learn about how organizations like Propel America can be great partners to, to the work of foreseeing, like just seeing the student through their process, through their academic journey, through their career journey. And I'm wondering, you know, if, if you can give me like, your perspective on why it's so important that these alternative pathways exist. Like, you know, we've had our own relative, you know, we've had our own experiences about college and, and how that kind of played out for us. And you know, it was, it was rocky for me too, you know, and we, we don't have time to go into that. But, I mean, but I, but I sympathize and I emp. I get it, I feel it. I like all the things that you said about your journey. Salvatrice Cummo [00:11:51]: I'm there right with you. So maybe just share a little bit about how Propel America with their alternative pathways is something that, why it differs so much like traditional college route. Jesse Diaz [00:12:04]: Absolutely. And that student. Right. I think of that student myself and thinking about how I felt like I was in the middle of the ocean, just floating and kind of siloed. Right. And it amazes me to think about the evolution of post secondary education and training and how much things have changed. And so traditional college routes, they often ask students to spend two, four or more years in school and usually accumulating steep debt in the process before they can even start earning an income. And that's not completely feasible or realistic for many of the young adults that we serve today. Jesse Diaz [00:12:38]: And so this may be slightly dated, but I think in California alone, about 3.8 million people collectively owe over 140 billion in student loans and college tuition and living expenses, especially in high cost areas like Los Angeles. They can force students to take significant debt, which the average borrower, I think in California owes nearly $40,000. And so despite the investment, a four year degree is no guarantee to employment. And I think as of mid-2025, 41% of recent college graduates are underemployed, meaning they band up in jobs that don't even require a degree. So the conventional college model, pay tuition now and maybe get a job later. It isn't working for everyone, especially in places in California where the cost of living is high and economic mobility can't wait. Go back into the question. I believe these pathways are vital because they can collapse the distance between learning and earning, allowing people to start working toward a career and income at the same time, which is crucial in this current economic climate. Jesse Diaz [00:13:45]: Our state recognizes this urgency. Right. California has set an ambitious goal of enrolling 500,000 apprentices by 2029 because they see apprenticeships and similar programs as a way to remove barriers to good jobs. Expanding tuition free, debt free training pathways is a direct response to that problem and creating access to jobs and high growth industries without the traditional college toll. So, and this is where an organization like Propel America is stepping in to help change that narrative and complement the great work already happening across the region. Our model focuses on, you know, both access and wraparound support designed to address these barriers. We work with young adults, we like to call them fellows, who are typically 18 to 26 years old, the vast majority of whom are youth of color and come from low income backgrounds. And our approach is to meet them where they are and help them remove these obstacles that historically held back our underserved communities. Jesse Diaz [00:14:40]: So career pathways like apprenticeships and train to earn programs, they're crucial right now because they open doors for those who can afford that traditional college route. And these models cut years off that journey to a good paying job and remove financial roadblocks. So instead of accumulating debt and hoping for a job down the road, students and programs like Propels are engaged in career connected learning or gaining practical skills, skills and experience. And at the same time, it serves the immediate needs of our workforce. So helping fill critical roles across growing industries without making employers wait for the next graduating class. Ultimately, I think it comes down to time, money and certainty. Young adults who decide to pursue alternative pathways don't necessarily have to put their lives on hold or go into debt to build a career. They can get into the workforce quickly, equipped with skills, supported by mentors, and at no cost. Jesse Diaz [00:15:39]: And they can achieve stability and upward mobility faster. Which isn't just a win for the participant, but also the communities across Los Angeles that benefit from a homegrown workforce that is ready to meet demand. And so this kind of proves right, there is more than one way to a successful career. And right now it's more important than ever that we have these types of avenues to upskill. Salvatrice Cummo [00:15:59]: I love it. I read somewhere your organization calls it a jobs first higher education model. Jesse Diaz [00:16:06]: Yes. Salvatrice Cummo [00:16:07]: Yeah, I love that. I love that. You explained it beautifully. And speaking of workforce demands, you know, workforce demand, specifically in the health care sector. We all know, we all know there's an incredible amount of demand there. There's massive gaps. I wanted to, you know, hear a little bit about how Propel America is helping those young adults connect to those opportunities in the healthcare sector. Jesse Diaz [00:16:30]: Yeah, I agree. Healthcare is facing one of the most urgent workforce gaps, especially in California and In frontline roles like medical assistants, Allied health professionals like MAS, they comprise nearly 60% of the healthcare workforce. And yet there's a massive shortfall. In fact, annual demand for allied health workers in California is estimated up to 65,000 opening statewide. So medical assisting jobs in California as well are projected to grow about 20% this decade and adding roughly 19,000 new positions by 2028. At the same time, more than 4 in 10 Californians are saying that, you know, in their communities they don't have sufficient nurses, primary care providers or behavioral health professionals to meet local needs. And so employers urgently need trained staff now, not years down the road. And the pandemic has only exacerbated shortages through burnout, early retirements and reduced training capacity. Jesse Diaz [00:17:30]: So Propel America's approach is to bridge this gap by connecting young people to fast growing healthcare careers through tuition free train to earn programs and apprenticeships in Los Angeles. Our medical assistant pathways, they provide comprehensive supports so that within months, not years, a young person can go from potentially high school to the hiring opportunity. And the key components integrated to support each participant, they include a few things, career navigation and coaching, right? One on one guidance that includes either resume writing, interview practice, just consistent mentorship to keep fellows on track with coursework, help tackle any life challenges that might derail their progress as well as employability skills training, you know, emphasizing professional higher ready skills from workplace etiquette to communication, time management so that participants understand workplace expectations. Finally, hands on clinical training, right? Our fellows, our participants are engaged in in person skills labs and just giving them the opportunity to gain those real world experiences with patients and clinical procedures. Jesse Diaz [00:19:08]: So and finally credentialing and directly direct hiring connections as well is important. So participants, they complete their online coursework and upon finishing the program they transition into job interviews. And many of them are hired immediately after their externship. And so we have the privilege of working with an incredible employer partner here in Los Angeles, the Community Clinic Association of Los Angeles County, CC LAC for short, who has supported us in building and expanding these programs and career pathways....
/episode/index/show/thefutureofwork/id/39413935
info_outline
Breaking Barriers: Reimagining Career Pathways for the Next Generation with Jesse Diaz Director of Market Development Los Angeles at Propel America Episode 162
03/03/2026
Breaking Barriers: Reimagining Career Pathways for the Next Generation with Jesse Diaz Director of Market Development Los Angeles at Propel America Episode 162
For many students, alternative career pathways are the key to unlocking systemic barriers and breaking through rigid environments that keep economic mobility out of reach. Salvatrice Cummo sits down with Jesse Diaz, the Director of Market Development Los Angeles at Propel America to unpack how to build more equitable career opportunities. As a first-generation Latino college graduate and lifelong educator, Jesse brings a powerful personal journey—growing up in Boyle Heights and navigating nontraditional pathways from athletics to nonprofit leadership. Together, they dive into the challenges young adults face in building stable careers, the impact of rising college costs, and the barriers that marginalized communities often encounter. Join us to discover how reimagining career pathways can create more equitable opportunities and build a stronger, more inclusive workforce for the future. You’ll learn: Why alternative career pathways—like tuition-free, debt-free training and apprenticeships—are critical for both economic mobility and meeting urgent workforce needs. How mentorship, wraparound support, and innovative community partnerships transform the lives of students grappling with systemic barriers. How educational institutions and community organizations work together to address obstacles keeping marginalized communities out of the workforce. Why it is imperative to challenge conventional views about the connection between education and employment. About the Guest: Jesse Diaz is Propel’s Director of Market Development, Los Angeles. He is a proud Los Angeles native from the working-class neighborhood of Boyle Heights. He graduated from Roosevelt High School as a scholar-athlete and went on to pursue his passion for football, earning his Bachelor’s at Doane College. Although an injury ended his playing career, it led him to discover his passion for education and supporting our youth facing systemic barriers. Jesse went on to serve as AmeriCorps member with City Year San Antonio igniting his desire to become an educator. He returned to Los Angeles and later earned a Master of Science degree in Sport Administration as a graduate assistant coaching Division 2 football at Eastern New Mexico University. Most recently, he served as a Student Support Specialist with SIATech Academy South, an Independent Studies High School. Engage with us: , & : @PasadenaCityCollegeEWD Join our newsletter for more on this topic: Visit: More from Jesse Diaz & Propel America LinkedIn: & Instagram: Facebook: Website: Partner with us! Contact our host, Salvatrice Cummo, directly: scummo@pasadena.edu Want to be a guest on the show? Click to inquire about booking Find the transcript of this episode Please rate us and leave us your thoughts and comments on Apple Podcasts; we’d love to hear from you!
/episode/index/show/thefutureofwork/id/39413880
info_outline
Transcript - Breaking New Ground in Kern County: Shaping Careers and Community with Chris Kelley President of Hard Rock Casino Tejon Episode 161
02/17/2026
Transcript - Breaking New Ground in Kern County: Shaping Careers and Community with Chris Kelley President of Hard Rock Casino Tejon Episode 161
Chris Kelley [00:00:00]: The tribe has been a very critical part of the design of Hard Rock Tejon from the earliest of days. And so what it looks like and what it feels like, they have been directly involved in. And so from the moment that you walk through the doors, you really see and feel that. But they're also team members. You know, Hard Rock Tejon tribal members are a part of that workforce today and will be every day going forward. Salvatrice Cummo [00:00:27]: Hi, I'm Salvatrice Cummo, vice president of Economic and Workforce Development at Pasadena City College and host of this podcast. And we are starting the conversation about the Future of Work. We'll explore topics like how education can partner with industry, how to be more equitable, and how to attain one of our highest goals, more internships and PCC students in the workforce. We at Pasadena City College want to lead the charge in closing the gap between what our students are learning and what the demands of the workforce will be once they enter. This is a conversation that impacts all of us, you, the employers, the policymakers, the educational institutions, and the community as a whole. This is the Future of Work. Salvatrice Cummo [00:01:13]: Hi. Welcome back to the Future of Work podcast. I am your host, Dr. Salvatrice Cummo. Today I am joined by Chris Kelley, president of Hard Rock Casino Tejon. Chris brings over 20 years experience in gaming and hospitality industry, having led leadership roles at major resorts and casinos across the country. Now he's leading the charge on what will be the largest private hospitality project in Kern County's history. This development isn't just about building a casino. Salvatrice Cummo [00:01:45]: It's about creating thousands of jobs, introducing a whole new industry to the region, and deepening community partnerships with the Tejon tribe. Chris, thank you so much for being here with us today. Chris Kelley [00:01:56]: Thank you so much for having me. Salvatrice Cummo [00:01:58]: Excellent. We're just going to jump right in, if you don't mind. Chris Kelley [00:02:02]: Absolutely. Salvatrice Cummo [00:02:03]: This is one of my favorite questions always that I ask every guest. And your career journey has started with finance operations, and then it's led to executive leadership. What is it about Hard Rock Casino that drew you in? And how does this project feel different from the others that you've led? Chris Kelley [00:02:23]: Well, it's really a very unique project, and it's a great question, because when you think about Hard Rock, you think about the power of this global brand, and it's one that's very well known around the world. But what I love about this particular project here is it's now married with this inspiring story about the Tejon tribe that has been here since the first time that the sun came up. And it's really part of the origin story of the Central Valley itself. And so now bringing these two entities together is something that is really very, very unique, and it's a very inspiring story of resilience and persistence now combined with this global superpower. And that is something that will have generational impacts, not just for the Tejon tribe, but for Kern County itself. Salvatrice Cummo [00:03:13]: Thank you. And along the same line, I mean, you've led projects both on the east coast and the West Coast. And how has that mix of experience shaping you and how you lead this particular project? Chris Kelley [00:03:28]: Yeah, you know, I'm. I'm from the Northeast originally. I grew up in. In New England. And then, you know, as you. As you go out into the world and you. You work in these different markets, and now I've worked at properties on the east coast and the west coast in the middle, and I've had the privilege of. Of these different experiences. Chris Kelley [00:03:45]: And you find that, you know, in different areas, people like some different foods, maybe, or they support some different teams, maybe there's some different music that. That they like in different areas. But there are so many more things that we share than are those differences that we have. And when you work in hospitality, the thing that really crystallizes that, for me is so important about this project is really the importance of how you make people feel and the value of guest experience as a differentiator for the workforce that they do and the work that we do in this market. People remember feeling valued, they remember feeling heard. And so those ingredients are really critical when you think about a project like this. And those are really difference makers for Hard Rock and what we call amplified guest service. And so those are things we think we do very, very well. Chris Kelley [00:04:43]: And so certainly things that we'll be bringing to this market and to this project. Salvatrice Cummo [00:04:48]: Speaking of amplification, when I think of your project, I think of the amplification of job creation and the scale by which a project like this creates jobs, both not only in the local community, but across the region. And so what I'm curious about is if you can kind of give us a sense of that scale and also what are the particular career paths or opportunities that the region can look forward to in a project like this in the county? Chris Kelley [00:05:20]: Yeah, one of. One of my favorite statistics about this project, and really just speaking to the phase one of this project, but this is the largest private hospitality investment in Kern County history, and Kern County is about the size, just slightly smaller than New Hampshire. So Kern County is a. Is a huge amount of land. It's a huge area. And so this is really a very, very big deal for this part of the world. And when you think about the number of jobs, you know, we're talking about, you know, 5,000 jobs or so that are attached to this. At the macro level, that's construction, that's trade, suppliers, vendors, and attached industries. Chris Kelley [00:06:01]: But when we turn our lens now to the. To the building itself, you know what, we're opening on November 13, just a matter of weeks from now. That's over 1,000 permanent jobs in an area that really hasn't had a hospitality economy, certainly not to this degree in this part of Kern County. It's extremely exciting. To your point, these are jobs that exist at all different levels. Hospitality has really evolved as an industry where we have very mature roles in finance, in marketing, at the highest level, in legal, and across professional spectrums at the same time that we have frontline level roles where folks can break in that have never worked in a hospitality role before. And so it's unique as an industry where you can come in at almost any level and then build a career path from there. So many of our leaders today started in frontline roles many yesterdays ago and then were able to grow their careers from there, myself included. Chris Kelley [00:07:04]: And so it really does stand alone, I think, as an industry that allows for that growth, really fosters that growth, and looks for individuals when they're out there in the community. We look for individuals that have the ability, the desire to grow in that capacity. Salvatrice Cummo [00:07:19]: Thank you. You mentioned something really important. You mentioned that hospitality is relatively new. It's a relatively new industry to the area, to that region, and it's mostly spearheaded by agriculture and energy. So as a leader coming into that space, introducing a new industry in the area, how has that influenced or how has your approach been as. Again, like, as a leader in this space, how are you approaching that newness for the county? Chris Kelley [00:07:53]: Well, one of the great things about the industry, and we often talk about this, is it's a business built on relationship building. And so when you come into a market that hasn't perhaps had as robust a hospitality economy as some others that we might have been to in the past, that you really start with, well, how can we build relationships? How can we build bridges to places that we haven't been before? One of the really remarkable things about coming into Kern County, and a lot of the credit goes to the Tejon tribe that it built just extraordinarily positive relationships before we ever came here, but just how business friendly Kern County really is. And so it was extremely welcoming and the ability to go out and build partnerships and relationships very, very quickly was really fostered and amplified, to use that word again, very rapidly, through the community college network, through the different chambers and those conduits that were in place to do exactly that, to allow businesses to come in and, and to grow quickly in an environment, whether that existing platform was there or it wasn't. But I think you also recognize the responsibility as a new leader coming in to really make sure that the foundation is built and built in a way that not just Hard Rock Casino to home can grow, but hopefully future hospitality businesses can grow around it as well. Because ultimately that's in the best interest of this business to see not just this business grow, but, but all of those support businesses around it at the same time. That's the goal here. Salvatrice Cummo [00:09:31]: I can only imagine just the level of detail that it takes to put on this project, to see this project come to fruition. And you're right. In a leadership role, especially with this project, it has shaped you in so many different ways. It's just different. Right? I mean, you come from, you have an amazing experience across the country, the west coast, the east coast. And I, and I have to believe that this particular project has really shaped you in a, in a different capacity, just given the local community. That said, I've always loved and appreciated how Hard Rock has valued culture, music, heritage. What I'm curious about is how that speaks spirit has kind of reflected into this particular project. Salvatrice Cummo [00:10:23]: And the partnerships that you mentioned earlier with the community and the Tejon tribe, how is that resonating within the project? Chris Kelley [00:10:33]: Yeah, I think that “partner” word that you hit on is a really important one, when you think about how Hard Rock operates, and in particular, you know, when you think about the relationship with the tribe, because the tribe is then, you know, a very critical part of the design of Hard Rock Tejon from the earliest of days. And so what it looks like and what it feels like - they have been directly involved in, and so from the moment you walk through the doors, you really see and feel that, but they’re also team members. You know, of those team members I was talking about. Hard Rock Tejon tribal members are a part of that workforce today and will be every day going forward... Chris Kelley [00:11:39]: But those design elements, there are so many that our community will see when they walk through the doors, one of my favorites, there is a six-story guitar that will be one of the focal points of the property that you will not miss, obviously, when you drive by it. There’s another monument guitar, that is closer to the front entrance, the primary entrance of the property, and it has this basket weave design element that. That is very emblematic of the rich history of the Tejon tribe itself that is absolutely extraordinary to see. And so you cannot, literally cannot come through the front entrance of the property without immediately understanding just the depth of that relationship and how that translates into the property itself. And so I think it was done really beautifully, and it does set this property apart from every other Hard Rock. At the same time, you can't mistake that. You know, that Hard Rock quintessence when you come through the doors here and. And the ability to marry those things together is very challenging, but was done just beautifully, and I can't wait to introduce it to our guests. Salvatrice Cummo [00:12:26]: Yeah, likewise. I can't wait to see it. I can't wait to see it. And, you know, this is unique project, and it's uniqueness, along with kind of keeping with the Hard Rock essence. And Hard Rock is a global brand, and some may argue that it's nearly a universal recogn. Universally recognized. Chris Kelley [00:12:47]: Yeah, right. Salvatrice Cummo [00:12:49]: How do you balance the strength of that international brand while making sure that the project feels authentically rooted in Kern County, I mean, you mentioned it a little bit, but is there anything more that. That you can dive deep on? Chris Kelley [00:13:04]: Yeah, you know, one of the really…you know, it’s such a cool brand and the story of the brand and its origins, you know dating back to that first cafe in London, over fifty years ago, but the memorabilia side of the brand is one of the interesting ways that you see it manifest in these different places that it goes, and you know, it’s one of the ways I think you see unique locations express themselves in a way that’s very authentic, so you know, our location, when you think about the rich musical history, Bakersfield Sound and you know some of the extraordinary talent that we’ve had around this area and our ability to express that through the memorabilia that we show here at the property at Hard Rock Casino, Tejon. Chris Kelley [00:13:55]: I think that's one of those ways that whether you want, you know, there's over 300, you know, hard Rock locations and cafes and hotels and different casino resort properties, but each one ties in those elements that are very special and unique to that particular place in that particular time, those artists that. That have roots in those locations. And I think that's. That's one of those ways that, you know, that this is something that's special to Kern County. You could only find it here. And I think that that really does drive that sense of genuineness and authenticity that you really feel when you're in one of those locations. And we'll certainly feel it here. Salvatrice Cummo [00:14:35]: Excellent, thank you, I’m going to just shift gears a little and get into workforce development and regional growth. This project serves as a model for it, for taking something, taking a large brand and making it feel local and authentically local and what I’m curious about are what are the lessons that you’ve learned in this process and how might other industries take this approach? Like if there are other industries that are currently not represented in a specific region and they’re looking to make a large foot print, based on your experience with this one, what lessons might you want to share? Chris Kelley [00:14:54]: Well, you know, I think we tend to go in with the most grassroots of approaches and other industries, and there are many ways to drive success, certainly, but many industries will go into an area looking for, perhaps they want a certain percentage of degrees in a certain area or whatever it might be. But we tend to be much more grassroots in our nature. And so we look for, again, those. Those relationships that allow us to really amplify our message and relationships that we can build, to partner, to. To tell the story of the opportunities that we have, and I'll use the example of dealers. Chris Kelley [00:15:59]: You know, we. A dealer is. Is someone that we will offer an opportunity to, that has literally never dealt a game in their lives, maybe have never shuffled a deck of cards ever, maybe doesn't know how the games are played. And you can literally go through an interview process. And with the right attitude, there's a math test that's attached to it. But the math is not terribly difficult. You could go through it with a high school level of math training behind you, and you could come out of that with an opportunity to enroll in what we call dealer school. We will train you and we will pay you while you're going through that training. Chris Kelley [00:16:39]: And then you will have an opportunity to begin a career that actually has a fairly robust income attached to it in a matter of weeks. And there are very few career path opportunities that will take you from literally never having done it at all, from interview to training, paid training, and in a matter of 4 weeks, 8 weeks, 12 weeks, you can learn nearly all the games offered on the floor to a level of income that is significant, that I think is very unique in any industry. And so the ability to offer paths like that, to be able to tell that story through the most grassroots of levels where we don't expect you to come to us, we will come to you with that story and really meet you in your neighborhoods, in your community centers. I think that is something that is very powerful. And when folks hear that message and understand that message, the response to that, I think, can be really transformative, not just for the individual, but for the communities themselves. You know, when we think about the town of Mettler, which is where this project is, the poverty rate is in excess of 20%. Our admin offices are in the town of Arvin. The poverty rate is in excess of 30%. Chris Kelley [00:17:59]: And so we're talking about twice and three times the national averages. Now, these are great towns. These are on the comeback towns. But think about what a thousand jobs with income levels like that, with training programs like that, think about what that means. And so these are really significant impacts in a very positive direction. And that's the type of opportunity that we can create. Salvatrice Cummo [00:18:22]: And so we're talking about twice and three times the national averages. Now, these are great towns. These are on the comeback towns. But think about what a thousand jobs with income levels like that, with training programs like that, think about what that means. And so these are really significant impacts in a very positive direction. And that's the type of opportunity that we can create. Chris Kelley [00:18:57]: Yeah, it's a great question. And I would say it's been one of the most important relationships we've had attached to this project. First, extraordinary community college network here in Kern County. Very, very strong. We worked with the community college right out of the gate and Bakersfield College, and Kern County Community College was very helpful to us as a platform first for just holding meetings, telling our story, bringing people together. So just as a platform for meeting and channels for organizing people, which is actually a very big part of how that messaging process occurs. But secondarily, when you think about programs themselves, the culinary programs are extremely important in hospitality and I would say speed to market programs. Often there are programs that might take perhaps it's a semester or longer. Chris Kelley [00:19:53]: When we're thinking about longer certifications, I think programs that allowed for skills that could be developed rapidly. When we were talking about dealers a little while ago, if I can learn a game in four weeks, that gives me access to the floor and earning potential to learn blackjack as an example, if I can learn my required knife skills as a cook and things like that in a matter of weeks, that gives me access to earning potential while I'm learning additional skills beyond that, that gives me the ability to perhaps take care of my family, while I'm continuing to kind of move up the income potential ladder. You know, things like that. I think we have found to be very helpful. Helpful to the families, helpful to the individuals,...
/episode/index/show/thefutureofwork/id/39387550
info_outline
Breaking New Ground in Kern County: Shaping Careers and Community with Chris Kelley President of Hard Rock Casino Tejon Episode 161
02/17/2026
Breaking New Ground in Kern County: Shaping Careers and Community with Chris Kelley President of Hard Rock Casino Tejon Episode 161
What does it take to introduce a brand new industry to a community? That is the challenge Chris Kelley, President of Hard Rock Casino Tejon, is tackling in opening the Hard Rock Casino Tejon in Kern County. With more than 20 years of experience in gaming and hospitality, Chris shares inspiring insights on Hard Rock’s partnership with the Tejon tribe, the creation of thousands of jobs, and the impact of introducing an entirely new industry to a region traditionally dominated by agriculture and energy. From discussing amplified guest service and meaningful community relationships, to revealing the grassroots approach to workforce development, Chris unpacks how Hard Rock balances its global brand identity while authentically rooting itself in Kern County’s culture and history. Tune in to discover the impact of breaking new ground and building an industry from the ground up. You’ll learn: The impact of introducing thousands of jobs to a region previously dominated by agriculture and energy, helping to diversify and strengthen the local economy. How the hospitality sector is a powerful career engine, allowing workers to start at any level and progress in their careers, fostering growth and upward mobility for long-term success. How building strong relationships—with the Tejon Tribe, local businesses, and especially the community college network—has been critical to the Hard Rock Casino project’s progress. The ways in which rapid technological changes—especially in AI—are reshaping hospitality to augment jobs and create efficiencies rather than replacing roles outright. About the Guest: Chris Kelley, President of Hard Rock Casino Tejon, is a strategic leader with extensive experience in the hospitality and entertainment industry with a career spanning more than two decades. Prior to joining Hard Rock, Chris served as President & COO of MGM Resorts International Northeast Group, where he oversaw operations at MGM Springfield in Springfield, MA and Empire City in Yonkers, NY. Prior to this role, Chris served as President & COO of MGM Northfield Park, where he opened the property with the highest gross gaming revenues in the state. Additionally, as CFO of MGM Detroit, Chris led all finance operations for one of the largest regional properties in the country. He holds Bachelor’s Degrees in Economics and Political Science from Connecticut College and a Master’s Degree in Economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Engage with us: , & : @PasadenaCityCollegeEWD Join our newsletter for more on this topic: Visit: More from Chris Kelley & Hard Rock Casino Tejon LinkedIn: Instagram: Facebook: Website: Partner with us! Contact our host, Salvatrice Cummo, directly: scummo@pasadena.edu Want to be a guest on the show? Click to inquire about booking Find the transcript of this episode Please rate us and leave us your thoughts and comments on Apple Podcasts; we’d love to hear from you!
/episode/index/show/thefutureofwork/id/39387530
info_outline
Transcript - Building the Future of LA Transit with Ali Mir, West Regional Planning Lead, Senior Vice President Episode 160
02/03/2026
Transcript - Building the Future of LA Transit with Ali Mir, West Regional Planning Lead, Senior Vice President Episode 160
Ali Mir [00:00:00]: Our communities are well versed in what they need. So how do we allow our communities and how do we empower our communities to be front and center in developing the solutions to the problems that they know that they have. And a huge part of that is workforce development and a pipeline of talent from the very communities that are in need of planning solutions, design solutions, engineering solutions. Salvatrice Cummo [00:00:27]: Hi, I'm Salvatrice Cummo, Vice President of Economic and Workforce Development at Pasadena City College and host of this podcast. And we are starting the conversation about the Future of work. We'll explore topics like how education can partner with industry, how to be more equitable, and how to attain one of our highest goals, more internships and PCC students in the workforce. We at Pasadena City College want to lead the charge in closing the gap between what our students are learning and what the demands of the workforce will be once they enter. This is a conversation that impacts all of us, you, the employees, employers, the policymakers, the educational institutions, and the community as a whole. This is the Future of work. Salvatrice Cummo [00:01:13]: Hi. Welcome back to the Future of Work podcast. I am your host, Dr. Salvatrice Cummo. Today's guest is Ali Mir, Senior Vice President and West Regional planning lead at WSP and a board member of Mobility 21 and the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce. Ali has spent his career shaping some of the region's most impactful infrastructure and mobility projects, from expanding LA's public transit network to advancing sustainability and equity in transportation. He brings depth expertise in policy, planning and workforce development, connecting communities to opportunities. Today we're discussing how public transit is rebounding post pandemic, the significance of cultural attitudes towards transit and the importance of community driven planning and the connection between goods, movement and workforce development in Southern California's Future. Salvatrice Cummo [00:02:11]: Ali, welcome to the show. Ali Mir [00:02:13]: Thank you very much for having me. Salvatrice Cummo [00:02:15]: You bet, you bet. I would like to. You know, I always like to start our conversations with a little bit of background and kind of what, what brought you to this career in transit? And, and so if we could spend just a little bit of time on your story, how you as a student at USC fight on. By the way. Salvatrice Cummo [00:02:37]: I had to plug that in. Ali Mir [00:02:38]: Fair enough. Salvatrice Cummo [00:02:41]: The real drive into this career of transit, where it all started, how it's shaped you and how you see LA today because of that experience. Ali Mir [00:02:50]: Sure. I mean, I grew up in Southern California, in Riverside, and so to transition from a suburban context to an urban context at USC, I was really excited. So I came to USC to study architecture and then eventually transitioned into urban and regional planning. One of the courses that I took early after that transition was a public transit class. And a part of the course required a field, an individual field visit to ride every mode that LA Metro at the time had to offer. So bus and rail, and to ride as many east, west and north south lines as possible. And we had to create a log of wait times, you know, number of riders getting on and off the vehicle, and just our experience with it. And as someone that didn't really use transit growing up, you know, it seemed daunting at first and inaccessible. Ali Mir [00:03:48]: But once I was actually on the system and utilizing it and any preconceived notions that I had about what a typical transit rider looked like or was using the system for evaporated. And so I think that it allowed me to gain a deep appreciation for the cross section of what Los Angeles looks like from a demographic perspective. And then also how transit really serves as a backbone for moving people in the City. And it is people from all walks of life, um, it is people from all different communities. And there's a heavy reliance on transit in a way that I don't know that all Angelenos understand. To me it was mind boggling that there's over a million daily boardings on LA Metro system. And you know, people from other cities that I'm friends with are like, oh, nobody uses transit in Los Angeles. And that couldn't be further from the truth. Ali Mir [00:04:44]: And so I think that was the first exposure that I had to how transformative public transit can be in general, but in Los Angeles in particular. And that just sort of planted this seed that I was able to nurture and grow into a career in this space. Salvatrice Cummo [00:05:01]: Thank you. Let's talk a little bit about. You mentioned you gave a really strong number a million daily rides. And that's, from what I understand, that's an 80% comeback before the pandemic. Ali Mir [00:05:13]: Right. Salvatrice Cummo [00:05:13]: So what do you think? What does that tell us about that comeback and the role of transit in la? That's a lot. I mean, I didn't know when I read that number, I was like, I was shocked because to your point, it's like you ask our friends and our neighbors and it's not really within our culture just yet, but to read that there's a million rides daily, it's impressive. Ali Mir [00:05:35]: Yeah. And I mean, I think that we focus on what we call transit dependent riders. So people that come from zero car households that rely on public transit for their day to day mobility needs. But I think that there's also a growing trend in choice ridership which is people that have the opportunity to either use their own private vehicle or to use Uber or another TNC and they decide and they make the choice to use transit. I think that there's a generational shift, I think, where there's a greater openness to relying on public transit. My children are in LAUSD and every LAUSD student gets a Metro TAP card intrinsically. So K through 12 public school students get access to a TAP card and that gives them at a very young age an opportunity to understand the importance of transit, the benefits of transit and making it accessible to them. Right. Ali Mir [00:06:32]: So eliminating as many barriers as possible to encourage transit ridership, I think has seen a seismic shift. Traffic continues to get worse, and I haven't met a single person that enjoys sitting in traffic. And so I think finding alternatives to traffic is driving ridership as well. And you know, TNCs are subject to that same traffic. So even if someone else is driving or if an autonomous vehicle is driving, you're still subjected to transit traffic conditions that are beyond your control, whereas using light rail or using a Metro rapid bus allows you to bypass that. And so I think as more, as the system matures and as more bus and rail lines open and connect to more parts of the City, it's inducing a ridership trend that allows people to find transit much more accessible than they might have in the past. Salvatrice Cummo [00:07:26]: And we think about like, who is riding? When I hear a million rides daily, I'm assuming that it's all workers. Blue collar, white collar, it doesn't matter. Right, all workers. But it seems as though there might be a significant difference. Maybe. I don't know. When I think about New York or dc, it's really normal for all workers, specifically white collar workers, to take transit every day. It's not as common in la. Salvatrice Cummo [00:08:00]: What do you think needs to change for public transit to become the go to choice for everyone? Ali Mir [00:08:06]: I think that's a fair assessment. I do think that there's cultural differences in who finds it normative to use public transit in other metropolitan areas throughout the United States and throughout the world. But as an advocate for transit in Los Angeles, I would say that our transit system in its current manifestation is relatively young. So we're talking about 1990s to present with the Blue Line originally opening with a connection to Long Beach. And I think it's an unfair comparison to New York or Boston or Chicago, who have had the legacy of multiple generations of transit ridership and development trends in those cities built around the existing backbone of public transit. Whether it's rail or bus. And so I think it's remarkable the growth that we've seen in transit ridership for a relatively young system in a traditionally car centric geography and culture. And I think that there is only the opportunity for increased growth and transit ridership. Ali Mir [00:09:11]: And so I think that we need the system to mature, and I think that we need choice riders to really understand what opportunities are available to them as transit riders in a way that is much more obvious in some of those other metropolitan areas because the systems have been functional for multiple generations. We're one generation in here. In the current iteration, I understand that the streetcar system that was dismantled in the past, you know, there was a transit culture in Los Angeles that was deep and historic. And we're trying to build on that legacy now with this latest iteration of the system. And we just need to build more momentum around it. I think that there are legitimate concerns around safety and security, but I think that the best way to enhance and to induce safety and security is to increase ridership and to increase ridership across all socioeconomic strata so that it's not concentrated on one type of person or on one type of, whether it's white collar or blue collar, but a diverse cross section that truly is representative of the city itself and how deeply diverse the city is from an ethnic or socioeconomic perspective. And so I think that the obligation is not exclusively on the agencies themselves. It's also on the people that live in the city really trying to understand how to enhance the fabric of the city through mobility and the choices that we make as individuals to allow for the city to curb congestion, you know, curb emissions associated with private vehicles by opting into using transit. Ali Mir [00:10:50]: And I think that that is as much as an individual choice as it is then ultimately becoming a collective choice. Salvatrice Cummo [00:10:57]: And speaking of like collective choice and a project that is getting us closer to that or continues to underscore the need for greater ridership. And to your using your words, like the fabric of mobility. Right. In transit. One of the projects that I've learned a little bit about and I would love to hear more of is the airport Metro connector to LAX. Right. And is that a project? Is that a good example of what it can look like at scale if we continue to do more of. And what does that mean really for LA's future with a project like this that is a beautiful model for mobility? Ali Mir [00:11:39]: Absolutely. I mean, I had the honor and privilege to serve as the planning Lee on that project as a consultant. And so I was able to see it sort of evolve over time. And it is, I take immense pleasure in seeing it operational and up and running because some of these large megaprojects, they take a lot of time to get built. There's a lot of processes that need to be followed and construction takes time in the city. And so to see it actually come to fruition and be operational has been really inspiring for me. I think that it is an example of what's possible when multiple jurisdictions get together to look for a shared solution. So LAX is a global airport and we are a global city that is going to be hosting many global events. Ali Mir [00:12:26]: So whether it's the World cup or the Olympics or Super bowl or the NBA All Star Game, you know, we are a global hub. And the Airport Metro Connector is an opportunity to be at a global stature in terms of what LAX is and what the city is. And it allows for a multimodal connection to the airport. So whether it's pickup and drop off of private vehicles, TNCs, multiple bus lines from multiple operators, not just LA Metro, but big Blue bus in Santa Monica or the Culver City Green bus, as well as rail connections to Metro system. And then eventually the automated people mover that will connect from the Airport Metro Connector station to LAX would allow a easy transfer for people that are trying to get to the airport or to get out of the airport. The other thing that is directly across the street is a consolidated, it will be a consolidated rental car facility. So instead of having diverse dispersed rental car facilities in and around the LAX area, a person can get on the automated people mover, go straight to the airport Metro Connector, walk across the street and rent a car. So it's not just one solution that it is providing. Ali Mir [00:13:40]: It is a multi pronged solution for mobility of all kinds. And it's also intended to reduce congestion off campus from LAX and then also on campus at LAX so that people aren't circling until the end of time in that famous horseshoe. So I think that this was a collaborative effort across multiple jurisdictions, across multiple agencies to really envision a solution that a multi pronged solution for more than one problem. And I think that that is, it is fantastic that it is up and running at least a year before we host FIFA World cup games. And I think it'll be transformative for visitors to our city to understand how to access our city through a new form of mobility that hadn't existed previously. Salvatrice Cummo [00:14:23]: Thank you. Design obviously plays a critical role right in all of this. And just by you sharing that there's a multi pronged solution to it's solving multi issues like one project is solving multiple issues. Wondering about communities and how future transit projects. You emphasize a lot about design being intentional based on the communities that they serve and those that rely on them. And so when we as practitioners are trying to spark interest, have our students spark interest in careers like planning and engineering early, how do we do that? How do we ensure that our students see themselves in this work? Is it solely about design? What is it about these careers or a career in transit that allows our students to see themselves in it? Ali Mir [00:15:15]: I think this is probably. I'm most passionate about this than any other aspect of the work that I do. I don't think that equity should be a consideration. I think equity is the lens through which we approach our work. It is the way that we deploy solutions, and it is also the output of our work. So it is not a consideration or a variable. It's a through line in everything that we do. And the way that I approach that or I look at that is that our communities are well versed in what they need. Ali Mir [00:15:49]: So how do we allow our communities and how do we empower our communities to. To be front and center in developing the solutions to the problems that they know that they have. And a huge part of that is workforce development and pipeline of talent from the very communities that are in need of planning solutions, design solutions, engineering solutions. And so I think community engagement and outreach are critical, and I don't think that they should be diminished in any way, shape or form. But I think that the planning leadership, the architectural leadership, and the engineering leadership needs to reflect the lived experience of the communities that we're serving. That experience cannot be understood in a book. It cannot be understood exclusively at one or two public meetings. It has to be based on a multi generational understanding of the communities that we're in and that we're serving. Ali Mir [00:16:46]: And so I think explaining planning as an abstract concept or a career path to a high school student is sometimes difficult. But I think that if you even start younger than that, you know, starting at junior high or I was able to do a module at my children's elementary school on planning concepts. And, you know, where should a park go? How can you get there? Should there be a parking lot or should you take a train or a bus? These are all tactile ways of understanding the lived experience in our communities that then sparks a curiosity and an interest in not just focusing on the problems, but coming up with a menu of solutions. And so I would strongly encourage anyone that is passionate about their community, is passionate about the block that they live on or their neighbors, and how things could be improved. To consider a career in planning in particular, because you're leading not just for changes now, but for generations to come. And that is a transformative position to be in that allows you to see the fruits of your labor in the short, medium and long term. Salvatrice Cummo [00:17:56]: Thank you for that. Shifting gears just a little bit on your advocacy work. You've spent some time in Washington advocating for transportation infrastructure. From your perspective, how is the future of goods movement in Southern California going to shape the jobs here in LA? Ali Mir [00:18:16]: So I think, you know, attending congressional briefings in D.C. on behalf of Southern California and specifically on behalf of transportation infrastructure, some of the things that we highlight are based on our economic output for the rest of the country. So, for example, 2/3 of all consumer goods purchased in the United States come through the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach combined. So ensuring enhanced port infrastructure and goods movement is not an exclusively Southern California issue to address, it is a national issue to address. So meeting with members of the House and Senate outside of California, sometimes that is new information that they weren't privy to previously. So I think providing that additional context helps them to understand that it's not just about throughput or vehicle miles traveled or congestion or emissions or greenhouse gases. It's also about how our entire economic structure is functioning nationally based on critical infrastructure that exists in Southern California. And I think framing it in that lens allows for a broader perspective that is bipartisan, it's not political at all, it's just a fact that's quantitative. Ali Mir [00:19:42]: So I think that has helped quite a bit. I also think that the global events like the World Cup and the Olympics, those are not Los Angeles's Games or California's Games, they're global games. And the United States is the host nation. It is not Los Angeles exclusively hosting this event. And so this is about presenting the best of what the country has to offer. Not just a singular city or a mega region in Southern California. And those two ports are at the center of where these Games are going to be held. And so balancing mobility solutions for spectators with the day-to-day users of the transit system and goods movement is going to be of critical importance. Ali Mir [00:20:29]: Not one of those three things can or should be sacrificed. And so it's about how to develop an approach that is taking all of those factors into consideration and is providing solutions for all three. And that's going to require support from above and beyond just the local agencies and I. So I think that there's a greater understanding around the importance of Southern California as a region to sort of the national tenor of trends in the United States. Salvatrice Cummo [00:21:00]: Now, thank you for that. As you said, 2/3 of goods movement falls through their two ports here. Ali Mir [00:21:07]: So consumer goods. Salvatrice Cummo...
/episode/index/show/thefutureofwork/id/39386955
info_outline
Building the Future of LA Transit with Ali Mir, West Regional Planning Lead, Senior Vice President Episode 160
02/03/2026
Building the Future of LA Transit with Ali Mir, West Regional Planning Lead, Senior Vice President Episode 160
What does it really take to transform the way Los Angeles moves—and who gets to design the future of our city’s transit? In this episode of The Future Of Work podcast, host Salvatrice Cummo sits down with Ali Mir, Senior Vice President and West Regional Planning Lead (WSP) and a leader in regional planning, to uncover the stories and strategies behind LA’s public transit evolution. From his own transformative experience as a student riding every mode on the LA Metro—and realizing just how diverse and essential ridership is—to incorporating solution-based innovation related to equity, accessibility, and community-driven design, Ali Mir brings a personal and expert perspective to the future of mobility. Together, they explore how major projects like the LAX Airport Metro Connector are redefining connectivity for a global city, why goods movement through Southern California’s ports is a national concern, and what it will take for students and emerging talent to see themselves in careers shaping our infrastructure. Whether you’re a student, policymaker, or transit enthusiast, this episode invites you to imagine—and help build—a more inclusive, resilient future of work and mobility. You’ll learn: Why LA’s transit system is more vibrant and essential than many realize, serving a diverse cross-section of Angelenos How community insight and engagement are central to designing effective and equitable transportation solutions What the Airport Metro Connector means for LA’s role as a global city and the future of “multi-pronged” mobility projects How workforce development and talent pipelines from local communities drive transit and infrastructure sustainability Why strategic partnerships between community colleges, private employers, and public agencies are vital to bridging the gap between education and careers in infrastructure How one-to-one mentorship and industry outreach can transform student confidence and build the next generation of transportation leaders About the Guest: Ali Mir is a Senior Vice President with WSP in the U.S. WSP is one of the world’s leading professional services firms, uniting its engineering, advisory and science-based expertise to help shape communities. WSP operates in more than 50 countries and employs approximately 73,000 professionals. WSP in the U.S.’s team of 19,000 professionals pioneer solutions and deliver innovative projects across the transportation, infrastructure, environment, building, energy, water, mining and metals sectors. Ali leads the West Regional Planning Practice for WSP, which includes over 120 land use, transit/transportation and environmental planners across eight states and the Pacific Territories. He has more than 20 years of professional experience managing and directing transit, transportation, land use and real estate development projects from feasibility to final design. He has overseen projects for a variety of transit and transportation clients throughout California and the Pacific Northwest. Ali serves as a Board Member for Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, an Advisory Board Member for Mobility 21, a Southern California Transportation Advocacy organization, and as an Advisory Board Member of the METRANS Transportation Consortium. Engage with us: , & : @PasadenaCityCollegeEWD Join our newsletter for more on this topic: Visit: More from Ali Mir & WSP USA: Visit: LinkedIn: & Facebook: Instagram: X: Partner with us! Contact our host, Salvatrice Cummo, directly: scummo@pasadena.edu Want to be a guest on the show? Click to inquire about booking Find the transcript of this episode Please rate us and leave us your thoughts and comments on Apple Podcasts; we’d love to hear from you!
/episode/index/show/thefutureofwork/id/39386930
info_outline
Transcript - Revolutionizing Higher Education for Working Learners in a Rapidly Evolving World with Eloy Ortiz Oakley, President and CEO of the College Futures Foundation Episode 159
01/20/2026
Transcript - Revolutionizing Higher Education for Working Learners in a Rapidly Evolving World with Eloy Ortiz Oakley, President and CEO of the College Futures Foundation Episode 159
Eloy Ortiz Oakley [00:00:00]: Far too often, we assume as educators what they need instead of actually asking them, the employers and folks in the community, what they need. So we need to do all of those things, and we need to do it in a way that is as intentional as the way that we have been designing our curriculum for the last five decades. We have to have the same intentionality around designing curriculum in the multiple other ways that we now know work and work well for working learners. Christina Barsi [00:00:34]: The workforce landscape is rapidly changing, and educators and their institutions need to keep up. Preparing students before they enter the workforce to make our communities and businesses stronger is at the core of getting an education. But we need to understand how to change and adjust so that we can begin to project where things are headed before we even get there. So how do we begin to predict the future? Salvatrice Cummo [00:00:59]: Hi, I'm Salvatrice Cummo, Vice President of Economic and Workforce Development at Pasadena City College and host of this podcast. Christina Barsi [00:01:08]: And I'm Christina Barsi, producer and co host of this podcast. Salvatrice Cummo [00:01:11]: And we are starting the conversation about the Future of work. We'll explore topics like how education can partner with industry, how to be more equitable, and how to attain one of our highest goals, more internships and PCC students in the workforce. We at Pasadena City College want to lead the charge in closing the gap between what our students are learning and what the demands of the workforce will be once they enter. This is a conversation that impacts all of us. You, the employers, the policymakers, the educational institutions, and the community as a whole. Christina Barsi [00:01:45]: We believe change happens when we work together, and it all starts with having a conversation. I'm Christina Barsi. Salvatrice Cummo [00:01:53]: And I'm Salvatrice Cummo. And this is the Future of work. Salvatrice Cummo [00:01:59]: Hi. Welcome back to the Future of Work podcast. I am your host, Dr. Salvatrice Cummo. Today we're speaking with Eloy Ortiz Oakley. Eloy serves as the President and CEO of the College Futures foundation and is the former Chancellor of the California Community Colleges. And previous to that, he was the President of Long Beach City College. His work has focused on equitable access to education and economic mobility, aiming to reshape higher education to serve better today's diverse student population. Salvatrice Cummo [00:02:32]: Today, we'll explore innovative approaches to education that meet the needs of working learners and how educational institutions can better prepare students for the evolving workforce. Eloy, welcome to the podcast. How are you? Eloy Ortiz Oakley [00:02:46]: It's great to be with you. I'm doing well. How are you? Salvatrice Cummo [00:02:49]: Excellent, Excellent, excellent. Thank you so much again for taking the time to chat with us here at Pasadena City College. And The Future of Work podcast. And, you know, one of my favorite first questions is always how we got here. So my question to you is your path to higher education. What sparked your interest in advancing these equitable opportunities and serving the working learner? Eloy Ortiz Oakley [00:03:11]: Well, I came into higher ed as a working learner after serving four years in the Army. You know, I didn't go to college right out of high school. I went into the military and, you know, I served for four years. I became a father along the way. When I got out of the military, I was working odd jobs for several years, and then I came across a community college. I decided that it was time to get my higher education because it was clear to me that the only thing separating me and the work I had to do from those who were making money off the work I had to do was a college education. So fortunately for me, I found Golden West College. I just happened to stumble onto the campus, pick up a class schedule, and I enrolled in courses at Golden West College. Eloy Ortiz Oakley [00:03:56]: So ever since then, I've been part of the California community colleges. All my kids have gone through the California community colleges, especially from the neighborhood I grew up in, Southeast Los Angeles. College education wasn't a priority. It was not then. It still isn't today. And for learners like me or for learners that I grew up with, that's what drove me, and that's what continues to drive me, is, you know, higher education shouldn't be about luck. I got lucky. Eloy Ortiz Oakley [00:04:27]: There's a lot of people in my community who are a lot smarter than I was or I am, but they didn't come across community college. They didn't come across a counselor that helped them. They didn't come across a boss that encouraged them to go to college. And I did. So that's what's kept me going ever since. Salvatrice Cummo [00:04:44]: Excellent. Excellent. I love the fact that you are really open about. You were a working learner. You stumbled across community colleges and the value of community college did. For your own personal endeavors and professional endeavors. And that speaks true to a lot of our adult learners now and our working learners now. I think that you would agree that our working learners now are facing different challenges. Salvatrice Cummo [00:05:10]: Challenges like a traditional educational model. Right, right. And challenges like AI and the implications on curriculum with AI and the speed at which occupations are being produced and the speed at which industries are changing because of advanced technologies, yet we still have very traditional educational models. And so my question to you is, we know this, right? We're in it, we live it, we breathe it, we read it. We study it. Why is this group unique, working learners? And what challenges or obstacles are they encountering that we're not talking about, that we should be talking about? Eloy Ortiz Oakley [00:05:49]: Well, there's a lot to unpack in that question and I'll first start with the fact that this demographic of learner has never been more important to the state or to this country. And the reason I say that is one. Working learners, adult learners, they are the traditional student today. More than 60% of people enrolled in post secondary education today, whether in California or across this country, are learners 25 years or older. People working with families. More and more 18, 19 year olds are in the same situation. We live in a state that's a high cost state. People have to work, they have to figure out how to raise their family, how to pay rent, how to, how to feed themselves and their family. Eloy Ortiz Oakley [00:06:36]: Many working learners are not only supporting their young family, but they're supporting their extended family. So for many reasons, this demographic has become critically important. They're critically important as well because they are in the workforce now. Many of them in California alone, more than 6 million of them have had some college, no degree or no college at all. And they're working. And the skills that you need to continue to be competitive in the workforce, the skills that you need to be able to stay employed today, continue to change rapidly. And working learners need access to some sort of postsecondary education, an opportunity to upskill and to reskill continuously. And if we don't get it right now for these learners, then our economies are going to suffer because every learner will have the same challenges. Eloy Ortiz Oakley [00:07:27]: Every learner is going to have to upskill and reskill multiple times, regardless of whether they got their bachelor's degree or associate's degree, they're going to have to continuously upskill and reskill. So it's, it's incumbent upon a state like California to figure this out and figure this out fast because this is going to make or break the California economy. It's already breaking the California economy because you see the challenges that working learners face every single day, the disparity in wealth, the challenges that they're having holding down jobs, holding down opportunity to pay rent. So for all of those reasons and many others, not to even mention the ethnic and racial backgrounds of most of our working learners, the income disparities that they already face, for all those reasons, we need to get this right and we need to do it with urgency. Salvatrice Cummo [00:08:21]: And I think not. I think, I believe when I hear you say access to postsecondary education and our working learners do need access to that. It's not enough, Right, that they're in the workplace for any of us, really, to be quite honest with you. I believe that there's also equitable access to employers and employer partnerships. And I believe strongly that it's incumbent upon the community colleges to create that access for our students. We've seen it. It's built into our narrative as a community college. I believe that we could do better, could certainly do better at it. Salvatrice Cummo [00:08:55]: You know, I can only speak for PCC and our efforts, but I'd love to hear through your lens how you envision these partnerships really helping our working learner align their new skills. And if you've seen any specific partnerships that you'd like to talk about, you know, let's share those as examples. And I'm talking to obviously someone who lives and breathes this work. Right. But I think for our listeners, sometimes our listeners may not really understand the value and the impact an employer, partner and private public partnerships can have, not just to the institution, but most importantly, the access to the student. So talk a little bit about your perspective on that. Eloy Ortiz Oakley [00:09:36]: We live in an environment today, and we have for several decades. We just haven't really embraced it. Where first of all, learners, by and large, the majority of learners, survey after survey, whether it's Gallup, whether it's New America, any national or state survey, you see where learners are asked about their higher education experience. The number one reason that they say they want to go and get their education is to improve their economic mobility, to improve their economic outcome, to improve the lives of their family. That doesn't mean that there aren't secondary and tertiary benefits to higher education. That just means that learners today see higher education as a means to greater economic stability and resiliency. And so employers, when they're surveyed, they want skilled workers, they want individuals who can come to them and exhibit a number of soft and hard skills that they can really help support an employer in a community in the state. So the two have to work together, the post secondary provider. Eloy Ortiz Oakley [00:10:42]: And this is true not just of community colleges. This is true of regional four-year colleges, of the University of California, of any R1 institution in the state. The two have to work together because as a state, first of all, we're a very big state. We really operate in economic regions, whether that's the Inland Empire, the Los Angeles county area, the San Joaquin Valley. And employers need a pool of talent. And so the education providers need to ensure that they are partnering closely. And partnership isn't even A good word anymore. Partnership is an overused term in higher education. Eloy Ortiz Oakley [00:11:21]: Partnership can be anything from just we agree to meet every now and then and see what we can do to work together. Rather, we need a very close relationship and understanding that this relationship is necessary for both employers to receive the talent that they need and the information that they need about the talent coming as well as for the post-secondary providers to understand the changes that are happening in the workforce. And so where it works, you see huge benefits, particularly institutions that are designed around this model. And there are certain, certainly examples, certainly, you know, community colleges are a great example, but no longer the best example. Community colleges, many of which have arms, such as PCC or my old institution like Long Beach City College, arms of which are squarely focused on the employer. But the institution as a whole does not see that as an important relationship. And so to my community college colleagues, I'd say that design principle has to quickly change. The entire enterprise needs to be focused on the economic conditions of their learners in the communities that they serve. Eloy Ortiz Oakley [00:12:39]: And so when it works well, it works well, just as it works at Pasadena City College or Long Beach City College. When there's that alignment, you see employment happening in the community. Learners from the community are connected to employers in the community and have that opportunity for economic mobility. But some of the best examples I see are in places like the University of Maryland Global Campus or Western Governor's University to a certain extent. Asu, they are designing with the working learner in mind. They are designing around those needs, they're giving them information, they're giving them information in real-time about the skills they're obtaining and the skills that they're going to need to articulate in the workforce. And those are examples that we in the community college space need to look towards so that we can continue to improve that real-time information and that opportunity to truly embrace the needs of working learners. Because the reality is whether you're 17 or whether you're 37, 57, you're coming to community college for that specific reason. Eloy Ortiz Oakley [00:13:49]: And we need to do a better job of ensuring that we have the relationships with employers and that we're giving the learners the information that they need to have the economic future that they're looking for. Salvatrice Cummo [00:14:00]: Yes, and I really appreciate you saying that. Workforce efforts, relationships is not solely reliant on one area of the college, but rather it's embedded in the fabric of the college and workforce is fluid. Pathways to workforce can be seen and demonstrated across all pillars of the college. And it truly is everyone's responsibility. That's why our students come to us. So I really, really appreciate you saying that. And the other golden nugget that I got from that response was you said that these other institutions or these other enterprises are designing with the working learner in mind, which you and I both know requires a certain level of flexibility. Right? It requires a certain level of flexibility into these pathways. Salvatrice Cummo [00:14:48]: And so I pose this question to you is like, how do you envision creating more on ramps for those students to gain these working credentials? Eloy Ortiz Oakley [00:14:57]: Well, certainly in my day job at College Futures, we are laser focused on creating more on ramps. And what I mean by that is there should be multiple paths to skill acquisition in the employer setting. If you're working with an employer, creating opportunities in that setting, translating the skills that you've learned on the job into other marketable skills. Employers working with post secondary institutions to offer upskilling opportunities on site. There are many employers in the state, whether Disney through Disney, Aspire, Walmart, Chipotle, Verizon, who have invested heavily in upskilling and reskilling the employees. We need to see more of that. The other thing we need to see is multiple pathways from the current post secondary providers. And since we're talking about community colleges, community colleges need to find more and better ways to personalize the learning to the needs of the learners in their communities. Eloy Ortiz Oakley [00:16:02]: The beauty of community colleges is that they are part of communities. We need to do a better job of understanding the needs of the various learners and not just building a one size fits all opportunity for learners who decide to come onto our campuses, sit in our brick and mortar classrooms, and then, you know, be given the knowledge that they're looking for on the schedules of the administrators and the faculty, that is no longer going to work. Fortunately, in my view, we live in a place and time where learners now have agency. They are voting with their feet. We see that time and time again where regional colleges or regional universities exist and they're not offering the learners what they're looking for. Those learners are walking with their feet, they're voting with their feet. And so multiple pathways could mean a number of different ways of delivering teaching, learning comp C based models, short upskilling models, seat time, credit models, Yes, I think we're going to live with that for quite some time to come. But experiential learning models, there has to be multiple ways as well as multiple ways to access that learning. Eloy Ortiz Oakley [00:17:17]: For example, having opportunities to enroll every month, not just at the beginning of the semester, having asynchronous and synchronous learning opportunities. So all these have to be part and parcel of the normal way that colleges organize and design for their learners. And understanding what their learners need is another piece. You know, far too often we assume as educators what they need instead of actually asking them, the employers and folks in the community, what they need. So we need to do all those things, and we need to do it in a way that is as intentional as the way that we have been designing our curriculum for the last five decades. We have to have the same intentionality around designing curriculum in the multiple other ways that we now know work and work well for working learners. Salvatrice Cummo [00:18:13]: What do you think is going to get us there? All those things are important. We know this. We inherently know that this is what it's going to take. But. Or that's the direction we need to lean in towards. But what is it truly going to take for us to. I don't want to use the word disrupt, but in essence that's what we're kind of doing just to almost reimagine and reorganize and reignite this very traditional system in which we work in. Eloy Ortiz Oakley [00:18:37]: Well, I think we are at a point, and I know my colleagues in the faculty, my colleagues in the administrations and colleges and universities throughout California don't like it when I say this, but they no longer have a choice. We no longer have a choice. The disruption is here, and there's a reason why. There is billions and billions of dollars being poured into education technology companies that are providing numerous ways of helping learners access skills. There's a reason why a really quality university like Western Governor's University is growing by 6, 7, 8% every month. They're just shy of 200,000 learners right now. So the institutions that finally decide to disrupt themselves to make this happen are the ones that are going to thrive in the future. We see a lot of this happening in the California State University system here in California. Eloy Ortiz Oakley [00:19:38]: California State University system is reckoning with some decades long challenges that they've never decided to address. The same thing is going to happen to community colleges. It's already happening in the far north, it's happening in other parts of the state. And so, you know, to my colleagues, I say, we've talked about this ad nauseam for the last 10, 15 years. Going forward, unless you take this seriously, then I'm...
/episode/index/show/thefutureofwork/id/39386800
info_outline
Revolutionizing Higher Education for Working Learners in a Rapidly Evolving World with Eloy Ortiz Oakley, President and CEO of the College Futures Foundation Episode 159
01/20/2026
Revolutionizing Higher Education for Working Learners in a Rapidly Evolving World with Eloy Ortiz Oakley, President and CEO of the College Futures Foundation Episode 159
The demographic of students in California is changing and education must change with it. Dr. Salvatrice Cummo is joined by Eloy Ortiz Oakley, President and CEO of the College Futures Foundation, to unpack the challenges facing a massive and underrepresented sector of today’s learners—students primarily over the age of 25 who are working at the same time as attending school. They cover the impact of outdated educational models, the rapid pace of technological change, and the urgent need for flexibility and employer partnerships. Tune in for a forward-thinking discussion on disrupting tradition and embracing true urgency in reimagining the future of work and learning. You’ll learn: How institutions can remain relevant as learners seek education that directly fuels economic mobility. What the demographics of higher education students look like today and why constant re-skilling and up-leveling is a requirement for the current workforce. How community colleges can better personalize learning experiences to fit the needs of diverse students, rather than relying on “one size fits all” approaches. How to address the unique challenges facing working learners who juggle multiple responsibilities along with their education. About the Guest: Eloy Ortiz Oakley is an American educator, leader, and advisor. He is the President and CEO of the College Futures Foundation, where he leads California’s premiere philanthropic and post-secondary success organization focused on improving economic mobility for underserved learners through the lever post-secondary credential attainment. Previously, he served as Chancellor of the California Community Colleges for six years, leading the nation’s largest and most diverse system of higher education. He is considered a leading voice on improving equity in higher education and positioning institutions for the global shifts in the workforce and the future of learning. Engage with us: , & : @PasadenaCityCollegeEWD Join our newsletter for more on this topic: Visit: More from Eloy Ortiz Oakley & College Futures Foundation: LinkedIn: & & : @collegefutures Website: Partner with us! Contact our host, Salvatrice Cummo directly: scummo@pasadena.edu Want to be a guest on the show? Click to inquire about booking Find the transcript of this episode Please rate us and leave us your thoughts and comments on Apple Podcasts; we’d love to hear from you!
/episode/index/show/thefutureofwork/id/39386665
info_outline
Transcript -Community Colleges Leading Economic Resilience - Future of Work Conference Panel Discussion Episode 158
11/18/2025
Transcript -Community Colleges Leading Economic Resilience - Future of Work Conference Panel Discussion Episode 158
Tony Cordova [00:00:00]: All roads lead to workforce. Everything that we do really is intended to be able to provide an opportunity for our students, our community members, our adult learners, whatever that is, they're learners, to be able to provide them an opportunity to get into these careers. And I say careers because it's more than just a job. I mean, we can get a job anywhere. We could go to McDonald's and have a job, but it's not that sustainable career that's going to be able to provide benefits, security, food on the table for our family and put us into that. So that's one of the core missions of what our community colleges focus on. Christina Barsi [00:00:40]: The workforce landscape is rapidly changing, and educators and their institutions need to keep up. Preparing students before they enter the workforce to make our communities and businesses stronger is at the core of getting an education. But we need to understand how to change and adjust so that we can begin to project where. Where things are headed before we even get there. So how do we begin to predict the future? Elaine [00:01:04]: Hi, I'm Salvatrice Cummo, Vice President of Economic and Workforce Development at Pasadena City College and host of this podcast. Christina Barsi [00:01:13]: And I'm Christina Barsi, producer and co host of this podcast. Salvatrice Cummo [00:01:17]: And we are starting the conversation about the future of work. We'll explore topics like how education can partner with industry, how to be more equitable, and how to attain one of our highest goals, more internships and PCC students in the workforce. We at Pasadena City College want to lead the charge in closing the gap between what our students are learning and what the demands of the workforce will be once they enter. This is a conversation that impacts all of us, you, the employers, the policymakers, the educational institutions, and the community as a whole. Christina Barsi [00:01:51]: We believe change happens when we work together. And it all starts with having a conversation. Hi, I'm Christina Barsi. Salvatrice Cummo [00:01:58]: And I'm Salvatrice Cummo. And this is the future of work. It is my pleasure now to introduce and bring to the stage our Director of Operations for Economic and Workforce Development here at pasadena City College, Ms. Leslie Thompson. Leslie Thompson [00:02:15]: Welcome back. As Sabatry shared, my name is Leslie Thompson. I'm the Director of Operations for Economic and Workforce Development here at Pasadena City College. And I'm thrilled to moderate what promises to be an engaging and insightful panel discussion. Our panel today brings together exceptional leaders from education, industry, workforce development and community organizations, each bringing unique perspectives on mobilizing for recovery and regional renewal. In our discussion today, we'll explore innovative strategies for workforce development, the evolving partnership between education and industry, and practical approaches to Building economic resilience in our communities. So we're going to go down the panel here and have the panelists introduce themselves. And panelists, as you introduce yourself, can you share one lesson or moment from your experience that shaped how you think about resilience, whether in your organization, your community, or personal? Let's orient this in the human experience. Leslie Thompson [00:03:09]: Right. And we'll start with Monica. Monica Banken [00:03:11]: Hi, everyone. Monica Banken with the office of Supervisor Barger. I serve as her workforce and Economic Development deputy along with a few other titles as well, and sit on a number of different boards also focusing on workforce development across the county of Los Angeles and for various sectors for resilience. When I was young, I worked in the state legislature and I had this great bill. It was so fantastic. I wrote it. It was my baby, worked and nurtured it for a whole year. Got it all the way to the governor's desk and it got vetoed. Monica Banken [00:03:49]: Never had a no vote on it. I was so unhappy and so upset. Like, I cried. I really was upset. Also, I was 21 or 22, so that's part of it. Then a few days later, the governor introduced it as an executive order with his name on it. And then I was even more annoyed at that point because I'm like, it was good. Why didn't we you sign it? It taught me a lot of resilience and what goes around comes around because the people behind that ended up being investigated by the feds for taking illegal campaign bribes. Monica Banken [00:04:24]: So ended up working out in my favor. Leslie Thompson [00:04:26]: Dodged it. Very good. Very good. Tony Cordova [00:04:29]: That's a good one. That's a good one, right? Leslie Thompson [00:04:30]: That's a really good one. Tony Cordova [00:04:31]: Resilience and full circle. Thank you guys for allowing me to come up here today and have the conversation with you. My name is Tony Cordova. I'm the Vice Chancellor for Workforce and Economic Development for your California Community College Chancellor's office. That's a long title, right? I think that's why we use so many abbreviations and what we do. So in my role, I also get the honor to be able to serve the 116 community colleges, advocate for our eight regional consortias, really do the implementation of our Vision 2030 document, it's really the roadmap of how we're leading the state of California in the implementation. And there's a strong emphasis on workforce. So there's a lot of weight on the work that we're doing. Tony Cordova [00:05:16]: But there's a lot of visibility and a lot of greatness that's happening with that. When you asked a question about the resilience. It really, it made me start to think, right. It was one of those thought provoking opportunities for me to go back and reflect. And I always try to make something that's personable. So I went back in my history. I won't tell the number of years, but I'm also a Navy veteran, so I served in the US Navy and it was during the Persian Gulf War. So a lot of that really set that resilience up. Tony Cordova [00:05:48]: When you're having to be deployed for six months on times you're being displaced, you're being relocated from your family, you're being out in the middle of nowhere. And this was before cell phones, this was before the technology that we have today. You're just out there and you're doing what you need to do. That built up a little bit of that resilience. And then I came across a video. It was the speaker, Jocko, if you haven't heard it, he has a YouTube video and the subject aspect of it is, so you didn't get that job. Good. What are you going to do about it? What are you going to learn from it? Right. Tony Cordova [00:06:21]: And that's where I've always lived. My model is there's never a failure, there's always an opportunity. There's always something for us to take away from and look at how we're going to overcome and knock down those barriers. Don't let the governor knock you down. Right. I also have one of those bills. I won't go there. But that's a little bit about the resilience component of it is just look at everything as an opportunity. Leslie Thompson [00:06:46]: Wonderful, wonderful. Very good. No pressure down at the other end there. Go ahead, Lizzy. Lizzy Okoro Davidson [00:06:51]: My name is Lizzie Okoro Davidson. I am the director of the Women's Business Center. We are hosted right here at Pasadena City College. We are a state and federal funded resource for small businesses. So we just like to to say that we help small businesses launch and grow. And of course the title, it's in the name. We're a women's business center, so we do hyper focus on women entrepreneurs though it's open to everyone in Los Angeles and we just help really identify what are some of the challenges that women entrepreneurs face and how can we help them get over those hurdles, but also what are the opportunities? Where are women entrepreneurs really kicking butt and how can we continue to help them continue to kick butt? So yeah, and then in terms of resilience, I guess what comes to mind is I was a child actor from the ages. I know. Lizzy Okoro Davidson [00:07:46]: It's my fun fact. It's my, like, two truths and a lie. Leslie Thompson [00:07:49]: How do we not know that? Lizzy Okoro Davidson [00:07:51]: I was a child actor from the ages of like, four or five until I was a senior in high school. It explains everything, right, Leslie? Leslie Thompson [00:07:58]: It's all lining up now. Lizzy Okoro Davidson [00:07:59]: It's not about me. And so, I mean, to me, you can't tell me anything. Like, I literally had to go into rooms from the time I was a little tiny child through my very awkward, you know, prepubescent adolescence and going to rooms where there were, like, superstars in there, you know, and you still had to walk in and give it your all and know that you were not going to give it the job because they've already given it to Raven, Simone or someone else. And so I just had to go through that, the constant rejection, because clearly I was not successful, because you would have. You would know me if I was. So go in there, still give it my all, give it my best, try my best, and be told no. And often with acting, it isn't about talent. It is like we're telling you no because we don't like the way you look. Lizzy Okoro Davidson [00:08:43]: We don't think you have what it takes. And it is personal. And I still had to say, you know, I'm still going to try. So for me, most people, it's not that you can't tell me anything, but I've really had to flex that muscle and build that over the years, and it served me well. So I would say that that's my personal example of resilience. Leslie Thompson [00:09:04]: That's another great answer. Thank you. And I don't know how we didn't know that about her, but I can't wait to lear more Fun fact. Fun fact after this, Kelly? Kelly LoBianco [00:09:12]: Thanks so much. I feel like I've already learned so much about my fellow panelists who I already knew, and it's so great. I'm Kelly LoBianco. I'm the director of the LA County Department of Economic Opportunities. So happy to be here. We're the county's economic development agency. So folks that don't know us, we oversee the LA County Workforce Board, our Office of Small Business, our community development activities and programs. So ultimately, if you're a worker, a small business, a major industry or community, or we're here to support your growth and opportunity and mobility. Kelly LoBianco [00:09:40]: When I think about resilience. So we were created three years ago thanks to the Board of Supervisors, Supervisor Barger, and the rest of the Board of Supervisors coming out of the pandemic and so between the pandemic and the fires, immigration enforcement actions, and everything in between, over the last three years, my team and I have talked a lot about, like, what resiliency means and that economic disruption is a norm. And so resiliency is something that we need to practice every day, from prevention to being able to respond to economic disruption. And so when I think about resiliency, it's really in the context of my team and what we've been through over the last three years and, like, shifting the paradigm. And I know people often say, like, hope is an action. We've been talking about how, like, resiliency is an action, and it has to be something we practice every single day. Leslie Thompson [00:10:29]: Excellent. Thank you. Thank you all for those responses. Going to start by setting the stage. We'll start with Monica. If you could take us back to those first few days when the wildfires began. What stands out in your memory, the moment you realize how serious this was and B, what the community needed right away most. Monica Banken [00:10:48]: Yeah, it was a very traumatizing few weeks for all of us. I know a lot of tears shed. And we were working pretty much 247 in our office, taking calls from people asking about which roads I could take to get out. Or this sheriff said this and a different sheriff said this, and I'm not sure, or where could I go? I don't know. It's late and I don't have a place to stay because my house burned down. So all sorts of questions came into our office. And we were just trying our best to keep up and provide people with real truthful information. So I think that kind of stood out to me a lot. Monica Banken [00:11:25]: This size and the scope I was receiving. Probably all of us were so many texts and calls personally from people saying, do you remember so? And so their house burned down. Hey, do you know my aunt? Her house burned down. So just on top of all of that, we all had a very personal connection and relationship with the Palisades and the Altadena community. Those were some of my recollections and what was needed, I guess everything at that moment. And we were really lucky. I had a lot of upset people, but we also had some people that really wanted to help. And there's one gentleman that we knew. Monica Banken [00:12:07]: He works in a foster care program. That place was evacuated, and he lived down the street. His house burned down. And he calls me the next day and say, what can I do to help? I know there's other foster youth being displaced. And I just thought, you know, there's so many people with these beautiful hearts and that even though they're going through something, their first instinct is, how can I help others? So got to see some really scary and horrible and sad things, but also some really beautiful, selfless acts of caring for others. Leslie Thompson [00:12:37]: That reminds us that this is about human need and human participation. We heard earlier also talking about how people turned up, showed up despite having been impacted themselves. Right. So we're going to move on. We're going to do economic and workforce recovery. We're going to do a little bit small business. So I'm just going to go down the line because I'm not going to be that flexible. So for Kelly, the first question. Leslie Thompson [00:12:58]: Kelly, your department, the Department of Economic Opportunity, plays a pivotal role in connecting displaced workers and small businesses to recovery resources. What's one innovation or lesson that should be institutionalized for the next disaster. Kelly LoBianco [00:13:12]: To like, build on what Monica said, like, we had a completely different vision for the last nine months of what our department will be working on. You know, everyone recognized the severity of the moment, that this was not a neighborhood and neighborhood issue. This is a regional, if not state, an unprecedented tragedy and disaster and that we were going to be on a long journey together for our recovery. And so, you know, I've been very grateful for the leadership of our board and for those in our region who have set the vision that we want community return and we want a rebuild and we want to invest in our workers and our small businesses and our community members throughout that process. But you know, the interesting thing about what's innovative is it's not really like innovative in and of itself. I think it's like what we really know, but it's spending the time in doing it. So I think when we were in Covid, there was a group of city and county and CBOs, CDFIs and other community business organizations that came together under this umbrella of Together for la, sort of grassrooted a connective infrastructure to get information and resources out to the small business community, to our entrepreneurs, and to make sure that we were harnessing resources and making it as easy as possible for folks to access all of them. I think about that connective infrastructure because we tapped into Together for LA when we saw the tornado in Montebello, we tapped into that infrastructure. Kelly LoBianco [00:14:42]: And when we see massive road closures or a public works disruption on a corridor and also in the windstorms and wildfires. And so I think it's spending the off time investing in that connective infrastructure so that when it happens, we're Just turning the light on and not building it from scratch and asking everybody, what can I do? Because there's a lot of goodwill, and it's good if we can direct people to something that's useful and impactful. And so in addition to that sort of, like, communication connective infrastructure, I think we've thought a lot about, there's this moment of, like, relief. There's this crisis moment. The fires were burning. People are having disastrous impacts on their livelihoods, both their personal and professional, and then there will be a period of recovery and rebuild. But we built a lot of things from scratch in that moment, too. We know from our conversations, community people needed cash relief. Kelly LoBianco [00:15:36]: We needed to activate partnerships at the local, state, and federal level to bring that relief and through our philanthropic partners. And we managed to do it with, like, blood, sweat and tears. And again, like a board that really, like, encouraged us to do that. It was a lot of work to build to then support the community. And so what we can build as, like, a permanent infrastructure to activate in those moments, I think is the innovation that I saw and that I want to make permanent so that we are ready in the future. Leslie Thompson [00:16:04]: Making that connective infrastructure permanent is important. And when you think about community colleges as a hub for resources for retraining workers, supporting displaced students, and rebuilding the workforce pipeline, I wanted to ask Tony how our system can better mobilize quickly and equitably after a crisis so that we can leverage our existing connective infrastructures or shore those up or create those for the first time ever, as the case may be. Tony Cordova [00:16:31]: From a personal perspective. One of the things that I mentioned, I was a Navy veteran, right? And when you're in the military, your goal is to be able to react and respond, right? We don't stand by. We go out there and we hit the charts, right? And that's been my mindset from day one, right, when I was a youth. So it just really resonated with me. But in my journey through where I'm at today, I've seen a lot of crisis, right? I mean, We've lived through 9, 11. I've lived through wars. I've been in wars. We've seen. Tony Cordova [00:17:01]: Seen the fires. We've seen tragedy. But going back to the resilience, we've been able to persevere, right? We've still been able to come out of that. It still hits everybody different. So there's a little bit of that PTSD aspect of it, because I remember from a personal perspective, when the fires happened, I happened to be driving through Right. So I was leaving the LA area up on the 5 and I looked in the rearview mirror and I saw the chaos behind me, right? But in my life I've seen a lot of that throughout whatnot. So immediately one of the things I did is I picked up the phone and said, we got to do something, right? We as the community colleges to our chancellor, what are we going to do? We got to be able to do something. So I'll get a little bit more into that one. Tony Cordova [00:17:44]: But to answer your question, let's break that down a little bit, right? When you start thinking about the hubs, the crisis hubs, one of the things that we've been talking about is some climate infrastructure and, and really talking about how our community colleges, I mean, heck, we've got community in our title, right? So we are part of the community and we act as some of those crisis centers and we develop these...
/episode/index/show/thefutureofwork/id/39037200
info_outline
Community Colleges Leading Economic Resilience - Future of Work Conference Panel Discussion Episode 158
11/18/2025
Community Colleges Leading Economic Resilience - Future of Work Conference Panel Discussion Episode 158
We dive into a dynamic panel captured at the 7th annual Future of Work Conference 2025, presented by Pasadena City College. Leaders from education, workforce development, and local government shared invaluable insights on building resilience, navigating recovery, and creating pathways to sustainable careers. Moderated by Leslie Thompson, Director of Operations - the panel featured insights from Tony Cordova - Vice Chancellor of Workforce & Equity Development of California, Monica Banken - Policy Deputy at the office of Supervisor Kathryn Barger, Lizzy Okoro Davidson - Director of the Pasadena Women’s Business Center, and Kelly LoBianco - Director at Department of Economic Opportunity of Los Angeles County. From personal stories of overcoming setbacks to practical strategies for supporting displaced workers and small business owners after recent wildfires, our panelists discuss the critical role of community colleges, innovative funding partnerships, and the importance of equity in recovery efforts. Tune in as we unpack how local leaders are mobilizing for regional renewal, the challenges that persist—including barriers to sustainable funding—and what it means to build an equitable future of work, where lived experience and robust support systems truly matter. You’ll learn: How emergency response and recovery efforts have shifted towards investing in physical infrastructure to human capital. Why preparing an effective and resilient future workforce means valuing a diverse range of skills, from formal education to skilled trades. How effective teamwork between educational institutions and local government balances the disparate needs of the community’s current workforce, students, businesses, and residents simultaneously. About the interwoven nature of community recovery and workforce readiness. Watch the recording of the Future of Work Conference at PCC: Connect with us: Visit Email: Facebook: LinkedIn: & : @pccewd Find the transcript to this episode To connect with us about the podcast visit our Please be sure to subscribe, rate and review us on apple podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts!
/episode/index/show/thefutureofwork/id/39025300
info_outline
Transcript- Episode 157: From Crisis Response to Workforce Readiness: Lessons in Regional Renewal from the Future of Work Conference with Mayor Victor Gordo
11/11/2025
Transcript- Episode 157: From Crisis Response to Workforce Readiness: Lessons in Regional Renewal from the Future of Work Conference with Mayor Victor Gordo
Victor Gordo [00:00:00]: Our ultimate goal is to prepare people for the workforce of the future. And the workforce of the future is mixed. It's not just, you know, formal degrees in education. It's like I said, it's people who can work with their hands, who can be a part of the construction industry, the landscaping, you name it. Christina Barsi [00:00:24]: The workforce landscape is rapidly changing, and educators and their institutions need to keep up. Preparing students before they enter the workforce to make our communities and businesses stronger is at the core of getting an education. But we need to understand how to change and adjust so that we can begin to project where things are headed before we even get there. So how do we begin to predict the future? Hi, I'm Salvatrice Cummo, vice president of Economic and Workforce Development at Pasadena City College and host of this podcast. And I'm Christina Barci, producer and co host of this podcast. And we are starting the conversation about the future of work. We'll explore topics like how education can partner with industry, how to be more equitable, and how to attain one of our highest goals, more internships and pcc. Students in the workforce. Salvatrice Cummo [00:01:16]: We at Pasadena City College want to lead the charge in closing the gap between what our students are learning and what the demands of the workforce will be once they enter. This is a conversation that impacts all of us. You, the employers, the policymakers, the educational institutions, and the community as a whole. We believe change happens when we work together. And it all starts with having a conversation. I'm Christina Barci. And I'm Salvatrice Cummo. And this is the future of Work. Salvatrice Cummo [00:01:48]: Thank you for joining us this morning. Mayor Gordo, you have been absolute champion and leader and have been the most extraordinary partner to this institution. And we are incredibly grateful, not just for this particular subject matter, but in all capacities at Pasadena City College. And when we look back a little bit of where we were in the beginning of the year, I want to kind of explore a little bit of what you feel makes this partnership between PCC and the city so unique and why it's important. Victor Gordo [00:02:24]: You know, first, thank you for having me. It's amazing that on January 1st, we were celebrating and this was literally the theme for this year's new year celebration, the best day ever. Little did we know that six days later, on the 7th, we would be looking at the worst day ever. And for, frankly, I do hope it's the worst day ever. I hope we never have to see anything like that, and certainly not something worse. And the partnerships that were forged, including, and especially the partnership with PCC as A result of that disaster, I think, reminds us all that our futures are interwoven not just as institutions, but as people. In Pasadena and Altadena, the student population, teachers, professors, elected officials. You know, our future is interwoven together. Victor Gordo [00:03:23]: And what we saw was a response that reflects a community that recognizes that. Salvatrice Cummo [00:03:29]: Thank you. And when I think back, I think of the beautiful coordination that happens so quickly, effortlessly, with zero planning. It just all came together. Was there anything that struck out to you the most during that time? Victor Gordo [00:03:44]: Well, I. I do think, you know, what stood out to me the most is people's desire to be a part of one. The crisis as it was developing. People's willingness to not only support their neighbors and their family, but come out and support the broader community. When PCC moved immediately, the convention center in the city moved immediately to open up disaster centers. People showed up. People showed up with donations, people showed up. Some people didn't have donations to give, so they just gave their time. Victor Gordo [00:04:21]: And so that willingness to be a part of the solution is what stood out to me the most. And, you know, it wasn't. I mean, we say effortlessly, but it's really the result of good planning by all of our institutions. In Pasadena, we had the emergency operations center open within 40 minutes of the fire striking. Within 90 minutes, we had the evacuation center open and staffed. I know PCC moved swiftly to ensure that it was doing its part to help people, and within hours and had its efforts moving to contribute. So we're all grateful for that. And that's all the result of thinking ahead, planning, understanding that we do live in a disaster area and that we will be relying upon each other in an emergency. Salvatrice Cummo [00:05:12]: Thank you for sharing that, because I think from a community's perspective, it was just beautifully well coordinated and put together. As an outsider, we don't know that there's years of planning, there's committees that are put together, there are countless meetings, and planning when in the event of fill in the blank, this is how we operationalize. And so that's a testament not only to our planning as committees, but also for me, it felt that their community can trust us in doing inactivating. Victor Gordo [00:05:46]: I think it was Winston Churchill who once said, you know, no plan meets first contact with reality. And what I believe he meant by that was, we can plan for the inevitable, we can plan for crisis, but we have to understand that it's just a plan. And the minute we go to execute the plan, something is going to be wrong, and we have to be prepared to shift gears and adjust. I Would say to you that this plan was very well thought out, very well conceived, but we also had the nimbleness, in the spirit of Churchill's statement, to adjust. You know, we prepared for a windstorm, for example, and had to quickly shift and adjust to a fire and a windstorm. And then we had to shift and be nimble and provide temporary housing and help people with things like food, insecurity, rent, finding their loved ones, finding their pets. And so we not only had a plan in place, but we had the ability, because good planning leaves room for the ability to be nimble as conditions change. So I congratulate all of you for being a part of that. Salvatrice Cummo [00:06:58]: Yeah, thank you. I also wonder, too, in this process, and it's not the process, but in this experience, we know very well how local government and education work together. But wondering if you discovered or. Or have a better understanding now on how critical that partnership is and your view now, the partnership between local government and education, has that changed? Is it better? Did you learn new discoveries? Victor Gordo [00:07:27]: You know, I did. I learned quite a bit more than I ever wanted to. But now we know, we have this experience, shared experience. You often think of public safety and emergency response as the job of the city, the county, its police department, its fire department, maybe the state, the National Guard. You don't often think of the response in an emergency also coming from institutions like the Rose Bowl. You know, the Rose bowl suddenly was moved into action as a staging area for first responders. We had over 4,000 people there at the Rose bowl, shifting in and out, essentially living there, providing fire rescue services, all sorts of services. And then you think about institutions like Pasadena City College, again, don't often think about an educational institution. Victor Gordo [00:08:21]: Everybody thinks, well, fires happened. Kids, you know, students get the day off, and teachers and professors and administrators get to go home. I think we learned in this experience that that's not what happens. You know, PCC and other institutions, educational institutions, including our school district, quickly reached out and mobilized and became a part of the public safety network that was needed to have a response that helped people. Salvatrice Cummo [00:08:50]: There's no doubt about there's a level of trust in mobilizing and operationalizing these plans. And this is really our first time on this side of town, really on this side of the state, where we've had to do that very swiftly. And to your point, that level of trust that is between the institutions and local government is incredibly important, especially during times like this. Is there any advice that you would give to other cities that are in this planning process being proactive about emergency response. Any advice that you would give other cities on how they can be better partners to institutions? Victor Gordo [00:09:29]: I think the key word there is partners. It's really difficult to establish a partnership in the midst of a crisis because everyone is reacting and moving to execute. And so we have been very fortunate in Pasadena that through the leadership of Dr. Gomez, Dr. Cuomo and others, we've built a partnership over time. I wasn't calling the reception desk at PCC asking for the president. I was texting Dr. Gomez saying, Jose, you know, let's work together. Victor Gordo [00:10:02]: And he was texting me. And so we have that relationship established before the crisis, and we were able to respond, get our respective institutions to coordinate together, to work together. But that's because the work was done in advance to build that partnership, that trust and the shared commitment to this community. Salvatrice Cummo [00:10:24]: Is there a level of community investments that you're seeing kind of shift based on this experience that we've had here, or are you comfortable with the way things are now? Victor Gordo [00:10:33]: Well, one of the things that I'm buoyed by is, sure, there's a level of community investment that's needed for our built infrastructure, parks, streets, people's homes, business community. But I think we're also appropriately focused on the human infrastructure and human capital. Were focused on people. We went from plans and people to people and plans. And what I mean by that is now we're focused on, you know, how do we help people remain in this community, how do we help people prepare to be part of the workforce that rebuilds this community so that they can remain in this community. That's an important pivot point psychologically for us, individually and as a community. And I think it'll pay dividends for this community. You know, I think in the future, our success coming out of this crisis will be measured by our ability and success at helping people transition from a crisis, be a part of the solution, and maybe even attain new skills to help rebuild this community. Salvatrice Cummo [00:11:45]: Thank you. What do you think that's going to take from our local government side and from institutions for that shift? Victor Gordo [00:11:52]: It's going to take building on that partnership. You know, the city of Pasadena, you know, our primary mission is not education. Our primary mission is ensuring streets are safe, ensuring that our parks, our libraries are safe and clean. But we're also in the people business, and PCC's primary mission is to educate. And so I think we've got to marry those two goals. You know, our interest is in preparing the city and the community of the future, physically, emotionally, Your business is to prepare people to participate in that by providing the skills and the education needed to do that. And so I think we have a shared and common goal and improving this community. And we each have a separate, but again, interwoven mission. Salvatrice Cummo [00:12:43]: Yeah, I think I saw that beautifully represented pre and post. Unfortunately, this disaster is that we all have our respective talents and our domain expertise and our assets, and we can do greater together. We can expand services together better when we are collective, we can scale programming, we can provide resources. And I think that there's this spirit and this trust in this partnership that together we can do more. And there's no need to worry about duplication of efforts because we have our own respective domain talents and resources. Victor Gordo [00:13:21]: Absolutely. And that goes back to the partnership, understanding the city, understanding what PCC can bring to bear in terms of effort, resources, and PCC and other institutions, understanding not just what the cities can do, but where the city's limitations are in terms of. We were focused on the fire itself, public safety, as others backfilled some of the other needs, others, like Pasna, City College, understanding that our mission was first and foremost the physical safety of the community. And so, you know, goes back to partnership, having that understanding of one another's strengths and I won't say weaknesses, but limitations in terms of resources, in terms of what, you know, jurisdictions, and then having the trust that, you know, we're going to focus on our mission, use our resources as best we can, and then we have that reciprocal trust that Pasadena City College becomes because we've built that partnership will fulfill its mission within its jurisdiction and with the available resources. So that trust, that understanding and that partnership, again, is important in advance of the crisis. Salvatrice Cummo [00:14:35]: Sure. I think the one thing that keeps me up at night, when I think about our role as an institution in this recovery process and shifting gears just a little bit and leaning in towards recovery, what keeps me up at night is the balance. How do we balance all the needs all at the same time? How do we balance the needs of our workforce, our workforce here at pcc? How do we balance the needs of our students? How do we balance the needs of our business community? How do we balance the needs of our residents? And so for us, we think about, when we think about our programming, we take all of that into consideration and how we respond, both from an educational, programmatic perspective or also business technical assistance with some of our, you know, our SBDC and our WBC that responds to our business community. So I wonder through your lens, how are you seeing balancing that infrastructure when we're supporting all our constituents, our businesses, and in a way that, that is productive and not chaotic. Victor Gordo [00:15:35]: Yeah, hard to do. Salvatrice Cummo [00:15:36]: I know, I know. Victor Gordo [00:15:37]: Well, I, I think, you know, one of, one of the things that that's special about our institutions is a lot of our institutions are populated both on the staff side as well as on the people who are being educated here, or in the city's case, rely on services. They're populated by people who know this community well, people who have been a part of this community. So the first answer I would have is, you know, we focus on helping people, recognizing that many of the people overwhelmingly are also part of our institutions, including pcc. Now, having said that, you know, you still have the mission and goal of education in the midst of everything that's happening. And so that's, I think, where the balance has to be struck between your core primary mission of continuing education and to educate people as you also contribute to the community component. And I think PCC did that exceedingly well. I think all of our institutions did that exceedingly well. Now, could we do things better? Absolutely. Victor Gordo [00:16:46]: And those are conversations that, you know, are ongoing. You know, what would we do differently? What would we not repeat at all. Salvatrice Cummo [00:16:58]: Here to share any of those, what we did and more than welcome to. Victor Gordo [00:17:03]: Yeah, and what would we say, hey, let's do. We should have done this more. Those are all the questions that we should ask ourselves as a city, college, as a city, as a community, because there are going to be a lot of things in each of those categories that we need to recognize. Salvatrice Cummo [00:17:20]: You know, part of that formula of recovery is also paying hyper close attention to workforce development. Right. We, you mentioned it earlier. We have great partners like the Foothill Workforce Investment Board, our local agencies, county agencies, ourselves in this effort and equation of workforce development for the city of Pasadena. What does that look like for the city? What is your wish or what is your primary focus? I should say, when we think about recovery in the arena of workforce development. Victor Gordo [00:17:56]: You know, in the arena of workforce development, I mean, I go back to our interwoven future and again, our success as a community. To be able to respond post fire and post crisis to the needs of this community is interwoven with our ability to prepare the workforce that's needed for that, you know, and again, one of the measures of our success will be did we do the work to prepare people, not just young people, but people across the spectrum to be a part of the needed workforce. Without that workforce, it's going to be very difficult to rebuild Pasadena And Altadena, you know, as we think about that, preparing them with the skills and the education necessary. And I say both because, you know, some require an aa, a ba, an ma, a doctorate degree, even a law degree, but others require the skills that people like me don't have. You know, I'm a lawyer. You don't want to see me with a hammer in my hand because it's not going to look pretty or be pretty. But we need people with skill sets to work with their hands. As we prepare people to rebuild. Victor Gordo [00:19:11]: We should also keep in mind that in the past, when we've done that, we've not made these careers, you know, and we have to demand fair wages, benefits, all of the things that we know contribute to a healthy, successful family unit. If we don't do that, then we will have missed an opportunity to help people not just be a part of the recovery, but thrive in the recovery. Salvatrice Cummo [00:19:39]: Thank you for mentioning that. The skills trades. I personally know the support that the city of Pasadena, specifically you, have given PCC around building our career pathway programs in apprenticeships, in other skilled trade programs. What advice would you give other cities on how to lead these efforts with their respective institutions? Victor Gordo [00:20:04]: Back to the guess the word of the day, Partnership. You have to build partnerships and you have to understand who's best positioned to achieve a part of your goal that ultimately, you know, brings together multiple institutions to achieve the ultimate goal. In this case, our ultimate goal is to prepare people for the workforce of the future. And the workforce of the future is mixed. It's not just, you know, formal degrees in education. It's like I said, it's people who can work with their hands, who can be a part of the construction industry, the landscaping, you name it. So I say to communities, get together with those institutions that can certify programs like Pasadena City College. And that's what we've done here. Victor Gordo [00:20:56]: And those who can provide the training, and that's the trades. And the trades will also provide the pathway to decent working conditions. And so I think we have to be thoughtful and deliberative on how we do things. The city can provide jobs, as can other large institutions. We can provide training opportunities, but the trades and PCC are in a better position to teach and train that workforce. And so in Pasadena, with Pasadena City College, we're bringing those efforts together then together with large employers like Huntington Hospital, who has a tremendous need for bedside assistants, nurses. So it's not just trades, it's not just formal education. It's also lab technicians for some of the med Tech companies that are coming to town. Victor Gordo [00:21:53]: It's also nurses,...
/episode/index/show/thefutureofwork/id/38944715
info_outline
From Crisis Response to Workforce Readiness: Lessons in Regional Renewal from the Future of Work Conference with Mayor Victor Gordo Episode 157
11/11/2025
From Crisis Response to Workforce Readiness: Lessons in Regional Renewal from the Future of Work Conference with Mayor Victor Gordo Episode 157
After the LA fires, how do we move past emergency response and into building sustainable crisis prepared communities who know how to bounce back? At our 7th annual Future of Work Conference, PCC led the conversation with local community leaders and experts on rebuilding after an unprecedented disaster. In this special excerpt from the conference, Dr. Salavtrice Cummo, discusses firsthand insights about building resilience and fostering renewal with Victor Gordo, Mayor of Pasadena. Tune in for an honest look at how thoughtful collaboration, listening to community needs, and investing in people can make a city not just recover, but thrive. You’ll learn: How emergency response and recovery efforts have shifted towards investing in physical infrastructure to human capital. Why preparing an effective and resilient future workforce means valuing a diverse range of skills, from formal education to skilled trades. How effective teamwork between educational institutions and local government balances the disparate needs of the community’s current workforce, students, businesses, and residents simultaneously. About the interwoven nature of community recovery and workforce readiness. Watch the recording of the Future of Work Conference at PCC: Connect with us: Visit Email: Facebook: LinkedIn: & : @pccewd Find the transcript to this episode To connect with us about the podcast visit our Please be sure to subscribe, rate and review us on apple podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts!
/episode/index/show/thefutureofwork/id/38944685
info_outline
Transcript- Episode 156: Building Resilient Communities: Insights Into The Upcoming Future of Work Conference with Dr. Salvatrice Cummo and Leslie Thompson
10/21/2025
Transcript- Episode 156: Building Resilient Communities: Insights Into The Upcoming Future of Work Conference with Dr. Salvatrice Cummo and Leslie Thompson
Salvatrice Cummo [00:00:00]: When we remove these barriers and we have our systems start speaking to each other a little bit better, we naturally build our communities a little stronger. They become more adaptable and in the long run, more equitable access to the resources and the programming that we have across all agencies, across all systems. Christina Barsi [00:00:25]: The workforce landscape is rapidly changing, and educators and their institutions need to keep up. Preparing students before they enter the workforce to make our communities and businesses stronger is at the core of getting an education. But we need to understand how to change and adjust so that we can begin to project where things are headed before we even get there. So how do we begin to predict the future? Salvatrice Cummo [00:00:50]: Hi, I'm Salvatrice Cummo, Vice President of. Salvatrice Cummo [00:00:53]: Economic and Workforce Development at Pasadena City College and host of this podcast. Christina Barsi [00:00:59]: And I'm Christina Barsi, producer and co host of this podcast. Salvatrice Cummo [00:01:03]: And we are starting the conversation about the future of work. We'll explore topics like how education can partner with industry, how to be more equitable, and how to attain one of our highest goals, more internships and PCC Students in the workforce. We at Pasadena City College want to. Salvatrice Cummo [00:01:20]: Lead the charge in closing the gap. Salvatrice Cummo [00:01:22]: Between what our students are learning and what the demands of the workforce will be once they enter. This is a conversation that impacts all of us. You, the employers, the policymakers, the educational institutions, and the community as a whole. Christina Barsi [00:01:37]: We believe change happens when we work together. And it all starts with having a conversation. I'm Christina Barsi. Salvatrice Cummo [00:01:44]: And I'm Salvatrice Cummo. And this is the Future of Work. Salvatrice Cummo [00:01:50]: Hi. Welcome back to the Future of Work podcast. I am your host, Dr. Salvatrice Cummo. And today we're. We will actually be flipping the script here at the Future of Work podcast, where I will be interviewed by one of our colleagues here at Pasadena City College, Director of Operations for Economic and Workforce Development, Ms. Leslie Thompson. Leslie, how are you today? Leslie Thompson [00:02:12]: I'm doing well, thank you. How are you? Salvatrice Cummo [00:02:14]: Fantastic. It feels a little awkward that I'm not the one asking questions, but hopefully it won't be too hard on me. Leslie Thompson [00:02:21]: Thank you. It's good to be back on the podcast. And I will go easy on you. I think you know some of these answers. We're talking about the Future of Work conference that is happening at Pasadena City College on Tuesday, October 28th. It's our annual. It's our seventh annual, actually. And this year's topic will be focused on rebuilding and resiliency after the devastating Eaton and Palisades fire in the region. Leslie Thompson [00:02:45]: So, as you know, in the wake of Recent challenges, from natural disasters to economic disruptions, communities across our region have shown incredible strength. But as we move forward, it's not just about bouncing back. It's about building systems that can withstand future shocks. And it's in that systems building where we're going to focus for our Future of Work conference. Salvatrice Cummo [00:03:02]: That's right. Naturally, in the first stages of any disaster, post disaster, it's immediate response, it's what does the community need now, what do our residents needs and what are our business needs. And now we're in the phase of what do we need to do and how do we position resources, et cetera, to help rebuild and renew and build back resiliency. Not to say that there isn't resiliency, there certainly is. Our community responded beautifully in the wake of the fires. But now we need to discuss and find solutions around long term rebuilding. What is that going to take? Who needs to be at the table and how do we start braiding our resources, assets and talents to do so? Leslie Thompson [00:03:50]: I love that you said long term because resiliency is a, the resilience process is a long term game. Right. It's going to take minutes to rebuild. And that's exactly where community colleges like PCC play a vital role. We're not just education providers. PCC and other institutions like this are anchor institutions in our communities. You want to talk a little bit about how PCC has responded? Salvatrice Cummo [00:04:13]: Sure. You know pcc, we are a natural convener, natural hub for partnerships. I say that because our focuses and our strengths are in the workforce, new talent development, upskilling the existing talent business, advising rapid response partnerships. And PCC is well positioned, has been well positioned to respond. And it kind of begs the question of are we and how do we set the model for other community colleges to respond in natural disasters. I'm providing very light strokes here. Right. But there's so much depth into how our community college responded and there's much more depth into how we are going to position this college and this community for a rebuild. Salvatrice Cummo [00:05:05]: And I think what we need to focus on and continue to focus on as a community college, but then again also set the path for other community colleges, like a blueprint if you will, on what does it take for us to be great conveners, great talent developers and great at delivering wraparound services. Leslie Thompson [00:05:25]: When I hear those things, and I hear things like we're natural conveners and our goal is to partner with other institutions, the word that comes to mind is collaboration. That sense of collaboration really kind of shines through in what's coming up next and the Future of Work conference. Maybe you want to talk a little bit about collaboration as it relates to the conference. Salvatrice Cummo [00:05:44]: You're right, Leslie. You know, community colleges are natural conveners because of the infrastructure that we have. And we could not do the work without a collective group of thought leaders to support in this work. And one of our very important thought leader in building resiliency and rebuild within our community is the county of Los Angeles Department of Economic Opportunity. They have always been a stellar partner to us and I'm really looking forward to forming a regional table with them that allows for a coordinated space for recovery, small business support and workforce solutions. I feel strongly and I believe strongly that between us and the county there's amplified work that we can do. We can extend our bandwidth on the programming and the resources that are available to our community. Leslie Thompson [00:06:42]: I couldn't agree more. I think it's a huge step forward and truly a model for how education and government can partner to drive long term resilience. Salvatrice Cummo [00:06:50]: You know, the idea of really breaking down silos, one of the positive things that comes out of a response to a disaster like this is engagement where everyone comes out of their silos and we do this work together and aligning efforts regionally and that means very important things to our community. And our community should demand it as well. Right. We're sharing strategies, we're sharing data, we're sharing outcomes that not only benefit the community at large, but very specifically workers, employers and communities across Los Angeles county, not just in our backyard. When we do this kind of work, yes, it benefits local, but it also accelerates even further into the region. Leslie Thompson [00:07:37]: Right. Which is so important and why regional partnerships are so important to this work. But the conference will also feature a big announcement that will allow us to have a greater impact. Isn't that right? Salvatrice Cummo [00:07:46]: That's right. Speaking of regional reach and regional impact, Pasadena City College has been awarded 1.5 million in funds from the California Community College Chancellor's Office to support their initiative around LA Rebuild. And again, this speaks volumes to how community colleges respond to in the wake of such disasters. The Chancellor's office immediately went to work and tried to capture funding for the colleges that were impacted so that we can again accelerate and amplify and extend the programming and the support that our community needs. We will be targeting very specific workforce training, small business support, which is critical to the solution. Thinking back of my conversation with Lizzie Davidson, who is our director of the Women's Business center, and the work that her and dawn who is the director of the Small Business Development Center. The work that they've been doing in response, it's been overwhelmingly beautiful to watch, but also underscores the value in having these various departments that could focus on rebuild and resilience and recovery, not only with our student population, but our residents and our employers and our existing workforce. Going back to the purpose of these funds, it's really about that. Salvatrice Cummo [00:09:25]: It's really about extending the reach within our training efforts with workforce, our small business support and readiness initiatives that helps us respond faster and stronger when such disruptions occur. Leslie Thompson [00:09:40]: That's awesome news. We see time and time again how without the funding, without the financial support, it's hard to get initiatives off the ground. So the fact that the Chancellor's office stepped up in a big way and right away super timely and really great news for PCC and other awardees as well. So with this investment and continued regional partnerships, it really feels like LA county is like setting the stage for a more connected and future ready economy, wouldn't you say? Salvatrice Cummo [00:10:07]: Absolutely, absolutely. I mean, this is a good example or the ideal example of how systems, with our integrated relationships that we have within these systems, start working together. You know, systems are complex, they're not easy. From an outsider's perspective, looking in, one could really say, well, they could easily do xyz, yes, but we're all public serving agencies and with that comes different complexities and systems. And I strongly, really, really strongly believe that we, as body of systems, municipality, county, higher ed, we are working really, really well and removing those barriers within our systems so that we could have lasting impact and lasting solutions. I think the other value when we remove these barriers and we have our systems start speaking to each other a little bit better, is that we naturally build our communities a little stronger. Our communities become stronger, they become more adaptable and in the long run, more equitable access to the resources and the programming that we have across all agencies, across all systems. There is no other way to say it other than that's the way it really needs to be and it should be. Salvatrice Cummo [00:11:33]: And sometimes responding to disasters such as these helps us take a critical look at the systems and start looking at greater solutions for our communities, but also more importantly, removing those barriers and having greater access. Leslie Thompson [00:11:49]: Beautifully said. I would also like to point out that as I'm hearing you speak, I'm thinking about. This is our seventh Future of Work conference. Every year we have common themes that keep coming up in one way or another. We've been trying to address systems barriers. We've been trying to create collaboration. We've been trying to build these partnerships every year. It's been kind of a, if not an outright theme, kind of an underlying theme this year because of the need to address the Rebuild initiative and the devastating fires that happened in January, this is a super important initiative, but it's a common theme for the Future of Work conference and for attendees who've been in the past, they can expect us to dig deeper into these important topics and more. Leslie Thompson [00:12:33]: And for those of you who've never come, we invite you to join us at the Future of work conference on October 28th. Salvatrice Cummo [00:12:40]: I love how you said that, Leslie, because it's really about having that solution based framework, that mindset, and creating stronger synergetic alignment across our region. Beautifully said, Leslie. I know you and I are both really looking forward to the conference every year. It's really amazing just to see the collaboration, the work, the effort, and every year something great comes out of it. There's always, always a partnership that comes out of it, a solution that transpires. I'm looking forward to this year. Absolutely. Leslie Thompson [00:13:16]: So am I. I feel like I always learn something, even, you know, being part of planning, you know, throughout the years we lead up to the conference, it happens. And every time I'm there, I'm like, this is awesome. And it doesn't matter how much you plan or what you expect or that you know who the panelists are going to be, you know how the setup is going to be. Once you get those folks in a room and they start talking, there's always something special that happens. And I really look forward to it. Well, thanks for letting us flip the script today, Salvatrice. How did it feel being the interviewee? Salvatrice Cummo [00:13:42]: Actually felt really great. Leslie Thompson [00:13:43]: Oh, you're pretty good at it. I told you. You knew all the answers. Salvatrice Cummo [00:13:48]: Thank you, Leslie. Leslie Thompson [00:13:49]: Thank you. Salvatrice Cummo [00:13:52]: Thank you for listening to the Future of Work podcast. Make sure you subscribe on your favorite listening platform so you can easily get new episodes every Tuesday. You can reach out to us by clicking on the website link below in the show Notes to collaborate, partner or just chat about all things Future of Work. We'd love to connect with you. All of us here at the Future of Work and Pasadena City College wish you safety and wellness.
/episode/index/show/thefutureofwork/id/38647390
info_outline
Building Resilient Communities: Insights Into The Upcoming Future of Work Conference with Dr. Salvatrice Cummo and Leslie Thompson Episode 156
10/21/2025
Building Resilient Communities: Insights Into The Upcoming Future of Work Conference with Dr. Salvatrice Cummo and Leslie Thompson Episode 156
With the LA fires so prominent in recent memory, one question looms large: how can communities move beyond immediate recovery to create long-term systems that withstand future shocks? Today Dr. Salvatrice Cummo, Vice President of Economic and Workforce Development at PCC, and Leslie Thompson, Director of Operations, sit down to open a conversation on building a framework of resiliency and collaboration that will sustain the community for years to come. With the seventh annual conference on the horizon, the conversation dives deep into this year’s critical theme: rebuilding and resiliency in the face of recent natural disasters—specifically, the impact of the Eaton and Palisades fires. Join us for this glimpse into the upcoming conference and the discussions to come on October 28th! You’ll learn: The theme for this year’s Future of Work Conference and how PCC is leading the conversation on building long term resiliency after disaster How community colleges are positioned to act as anchor institutions during crisis response and recovery Why collaboration is vital to break down silos, form strategic partnerships, and create coordinated spaces for recovery and workforce development Why recovery must address systemic barriers to resources and how to build solutions which keep equity in mind Register for the Future of Work Conference on Tuesday October 28th, 2025 at PCC: Connect with us: JOIN THE FUTURE OF WORK CONFERENCE: Email: Facebook: LinkedIn: & : @pccewd Find the transcript to this episode To connect with us about the podcast visit our Please be sure to subscribe, rate and review us on apple podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts!
/episode/index/show/thefutureofwork/id/38647330
info_outline
Transcript- Episode 155: Rebuilding Community After Disaster: What It Means To Create Solutions Rooted In Equity with Lizzy Okoro Davidson, Director of the Pasadena Women’s Business Center at PCC
10/14/2025
Transcript- Episode 155: Rebuilding Community After Disaster: What It Means To Create Solutions Rooted In Equity with Lizzy Okoro Davidson, Director of the Pasadena Women’s Business Center at PCC
Lizzy Okoro Davidson [00:00:00]: I think that by actually going to this conference, learning about the strategies, learning about this, hearing the stories, seeing the support that you can get, finding, you know, community within the attendees at this conference, it's so, so important. And then you can come and learn about the Women's Business center and learn about how you can really just very quickly, very easily sign up to become the client and become a part of this ecosystem. Christina Barsi [00:00:29]: The workforce landscape is rapidly changing and educators and their institutions need to keep up. Preparing students before they enter the workforce to make our communities and businesses stronger is at the core of getting an education. But we need to understand how to change and adjust so that we can begin to project where things are headed before we even get there. So how do we begin to predict the future? Salvatrice Cummo [00:00:54]: Hi, I'm Salvatrice Cummo, Vice President of Economic and Workforce Development at Pasadena City. Salvatrice Cummo [00:00:59]: College and host of this podcast. Christina Barsi [00:01:02]: And I'm Christina Barsi, producer and co host of this podcast. Salvatrice Cummo [00:01:06]: And we are starting the conversation about the Future of Work. We'll explore topics like how education can partner with industry, how to be more equitable, and how to attain one of our highest goals, more internships and pcc. Students in the workforce. We at Pasadena City College want to lead the charge in closing the gap between what our students are learning and what the demands of the workforce will be once they enter. This is a conversation that impacts all of us, you, the employers, the policymakers, the educational institutions, and the community as a whole. Christina Barsi [00:01:40]: We believe change happens when we work together. And it all starts with having a conversation. I'm Christina Barsi. Salvatrice Cummo [00:01:47]: And I'm Salvatrice Cummo. And this is the Future of Work. Salvatrice Cummo [00:01:53]: Hi, welcome back to the Future of Work podcast. I am your host, Salvatrice Cummo. As you know, we are preparing for our seventh annual Future of Work conference to be held at Pasadena City College in just a few weeks on October 28th. And we're excited to give you a sneak peek into what we'll be discussing on stage with one of our panel speakers today, Lizzy Okoro Davidson, Director of the Women's Business center here at Pasadena City College. Lizzy is an LA based entrepreneur, consultant, speaker and previous guest on this podcast. She founded and Bootstrapped Bunch magazine in 2011 and now leads the Power of Play Children's Museum. Lizzy has over a decade of experience in media consulting and public speaking working with brands like Nike and Adidas. Together we'll be discussing how the Women's Business center is key in supporting local businesses in Los Angeles after the fires and how the Women's Business center is collaborating with community colleges to create solutions that are rooted in equity and economic opportunity. Salvatrice Cummo [00:03:02]: I am thrilled to have Lizzy join us on this podcast again. So let's get into it. Welcome, Lizzy. Lizzy Okoro Davidson [00:03:07]: Thank you so much for having me. I'm really excited to be back. Salvatrice Cummo [00:03:10]: Thank you. It's been a year since we spoke last, and a lot has has transpired since then. Between then and now, the anniversary and there's been a series of events that has happened. Give us a little bit of insight on what the first year has been like. Successes, challenges, opportunities, all that good stuff. Lizzy Okoro Davidson [00:03:32]: Yes, my goodness, it has been a year. So we opened up our doors October 3, 2024, and things were great. They were wonderful. The community was so excited to have the center on campus at Pasadena City College and were just so thrilled about all the opportunities that we were looking at to help build and foster community and entrepreneurship both at the community college and of course, to every entrepreneur in the San Gabriel Valley. And of course, as we all know, the fires happened in January. So very quickly, we immediately went from just being in this hyper optimistic, excited phase of how do we bring these programs to women entrepreneurs? And how do we really help them tackle all of the challenges of what it means to not only be an entrepreneur, but a female founder or a woman in this space. And then it became, how do we just help people recover? And that just became, you know, most or the bulk of the conversation around what types of programming and advice and mentorship that we could provide. So I will say that the challenge was obviously the fire, but it also brought an opportunity for people who literally did not know that we existed or that any sort of program like a women's business center existed. Lizzy Okoro Davidson [00:04:50]: They were just so grateful. They were like, you know, unfortunately, they're coming to us under duress and really unfortunate, sad circumstances. But it really created a sense of belonging. You know, people saying that they felt seen and heard and understood as an entrepreneur and as small business owners, because not everybody who comes to us is an entrepreneur. They, some of them maybe purchased a business and so that's how they came to lead their organization. But they were just so excited and so grateful that something like this existed. And they have also been become our champions and our evangelists and have given us the opportunity to be a part of conversations where we weren't able to reach them just through our own efforts alone. Salvatrice Cummo [00:05:34]: So, yeah, yeah, it certainly has been quite the run. I mean, the first year, you didn't have a chance to just take A deep breath and it's just. You just hit the ground running. To say that the fires impacted our community is an understatement. Right? It changed everything about our community. And the Women's Business center played a very important role and continues to play an important role at the time when the impacts happened and post and now really focusing our attention on rebuild. So share a little bit about how you partnered with and what it looked like for a women's business center housed within a community college like ours, and how did you partner with PCC to help with the initial assistance to our community? And what are some things that you've been able to do and accomplish within this year and where do you see the efforts kind of going and continuing the support for the rebuild? Lizzy Okoro Davidson [00:06:35]: When people have asked about the relationship between Pasadena City College and the Women's Business center and how we've been able to help the community at large, I feel so grateful, honestly, for so many reasons, but I feel so, so grateful. We are hosted at Pasadena City College. I mean, if you want to talk about a partnership and just the wraparound services, the support that I've received, that other folks who are my counterparts at different centers across California, across the United States, they have a totally different experience than what I have because of the amount of support that I have from the college. And one thing that really resonated with me very on that both you and other members of the executive leadership team all expresses that when you talk about Pasadena State College, you're really talking about a community college. And the community part, it needs to be underscored in bold, all caps, right? It's like, we are here. We are a part of the community. We are for the community. We have to put the community first. Lizzy Okoro Davidson [00:07:37]: And immediately from day one, I remember getting on a zoom call with all of management and our president, Dr. Gomez as well, and immediately creating, you know, just even an Excel spreadsheet to help us track and say, like, okay, who can do what? How can we plug in? How can we attract students and community members who need support? How can we understand and get ahead of any requests that our community has and have a better understanding of what they need? And Lizzy, what do our entrepreneurs need? Dawn, who's the director of our Small Business Development center, what are you seeing? And how can we immediately just have ears and eyes on the ground so that we can then create tools and strategies that help our community? So that was one part of it. The second part, of course, was that Pasadena City College, we have two campuses and where my, my Office and center is hosted immediately was offered up as a space for the entire Los Angeles county to every single. Every single organization from Los Angeles county and any sort of auxiliary support service, fema, sba, the Small Business Administration, who are still present to this day on that campus, all came and set up shop so that we could have a disaster recovery zone or location right there, utilizing the space that we have and making sure that the community and all of the people that want to support those who were rebuilding after the fire had exactly what they needed in one central place. So I thought that was just amazing and brilliant. And it really. Having that spotlight on Pasadena City College allowed for the work that we do at the Women's Business center to be seen to a wider audience. And so from that, of course, we had Paris Hilton pick up the phone and say, hey, well, you're literally again with your boots on the ground, eyes and ears to the ground. Lizzy Okoro Davidson [00:09:32]: You have a direct path to the community that I'm trying to reach. She has become a philanthropist who's very involved and cares a lot about women across different issue areas. And entrepreneurship is something that's near and dear to her heart because she understands what it takes to build a business and how much support women entrepreneurs need. And so because of that, we were then able. She was like, I want to just, you know, write a check. I want to write a check. You tell me how best we can distribute it. We decided that that support would come in the form of grants. Lizzy Okoro Davidson [00:10:06]: Originally, we're going to give 11 small business owners who were impacted by the fires a check for $25,000 each. And 11 is her favorite number. So that was where that number came from. GoFundMe.org heard about what we were doing. They said, okay, we'. And then within 48 hours, we had over 200 small business owners apply. And so less than 48 hours. Less than 48 hours. Lizzy Okoro Davidson [00:10:31]: I want to say it was actually 24 hours, honestly, but I think it was like closer to 48. Somewhere between there, it was very quick and obvious that there was a need. And so then they decided, okay, why don't we increase it to a little bit over a million dollars? So I will say that there is a clear through line that because of the support of Pasadena College, because of all of the efforts that Pasadena City College did, to say, hey, we are going to immediately react to the community. We're immediately going to do what we say that we do, which is show up for the community at large. And we are the eyes and ears of the community. And we know best of what they need. Those opportunities have now, you know, come through my door. So, very, very grateful. Salvatrice Cummo [00:11:18]: Yes, absolutely. So are we. Yeah, and so are we. Lizzy, we are incredibly grateful for your leadership, your network, your team. So much talent housed at the Women's Business center, starting with you. Lizzy Okoro Davidson [00:11:31]: I think so too. I think I have class, team, but thank you for the compliment. Salvatrice Cummo [00:11:36]: Of course, of course it starts with you. It really does start with you. You know, we in previous conversations talked about the unique differences that women entrepreneurs face. And specifically you shared a fact that I'm going to read here, is that 42% of all new businesses in the United States are started by women. But women are 20 times, 20 times more likely to be denied a traditional business loan than their male counterparts. So fast forward 2025, right? We opened up in October 2024. We are in October of 2025. All these things that we've been faced with that we've been able to accomplish in this one year, how has that influenced your approach to helping women owned businesses recover after a disaster like this? Lizzy Okoro Davidson [00:12:36]: I can't tell you how much I love this question because I think, you know, when I came into this role, I was very grateful that I had the opportunity to my own right and to really say, okay, well, these are the programs and that I think are important and I'm going to implement a certain vision. And from beginning day one, no matter what happened with the fires or any other curveballs, I said I want to look at what are the opportunities and growth areas and strengths that women entrepreneurs already have and how can we 10x that. And then on the other hand, how do we, you know, address any of those challenges? Yes, and of course, but how do we also say, okay, women, you're maybe leaving money on the table in certain areas or have you thought about going in this direction? How can we introduce, how can we mitigate some of those problems or challenges by actually introducing them to new concepts, new opportunities? And so of course, with the fires happening, the focus just became on, like, how do we get immediate cash to women entrepreneurs, whether it be through disaster recovery, loans or grants. But I also then thought too well, this just, there's no better time than the present to continue that original focus and strategy, which is you should be making money, you know, hand over fist all the time in your business as much as possible. So again, I thought, okay, well, we have an amazing, amazing advisor on staff, Deandra, who is a beauty professional. And women lead in certain industries, health, wellness, beauty, fitness. I think I Probably mentioned that in the last podcast, Childcare. Those are areas where women are already excelling. Lizzy Okoro Davidson [00:14:22]: So why don't we help 10x that again? So we started a beauty professionals accelerator called beyond the Chair. And we did four weeks. We had a small cohort, but the feedback that we got was incredible. Over the course of four weeks, they understood marketing, branding, how to really promote their services in unique, creative ways. We brought in three beauty professionals, skincare, hair and makeup, celebrity stylists to sit on a panel and speak to this cohort for two weeks. For two weeks. I'm sorry, for two hours. We couldn't get them to stop talking, like the whole entire cohort, which is. Salvatrice Cummo [00:15:03]: So that's good news. Lizzy Okoro Davidson [00:15:04]: Yeah. And I mean, these are women. I'm talking about their portfolio and rosters, their Beyonce works with them. You know, they have over a million followers combined on all social platforms. So to be able to bring those people in and have them speak to that cohort was just an amazing, amazing experience. And they're still reaching out, saying, you know, please have this again. We want you to do this again. We want our friends who are in the beauty industry to be able to take advantage. Lizzy Okoro Davidson [00:15:33]: So that's one, right? That was one idea is like, let's do this beauty accelerator to help women understand how to really build their business or continue to build their business and be successful. And then we also launched the READYLA accelerator, which is a procurement accelerator. And for anyone who does not know what procurement is, that's totally fair and fine. But essentially, how do you work with the government? How do you sell your services at the state level, local level, city level, federal level? Because that was one of the biggest ways that I found that people are, you know, making huge amounts of money. Right. So let's just say, for example, you have a balloon making company or a balloon arch company that. Where you might provide balloon arches for personal celebrations, birthday parties, et cetera. You can sell that to the government, right? Like, there are opportunities. Lizzy Okoro Davidson [00:16:26]: There are so many things that come down the pipeline that so many of our entrepreneurs are not aware of. The thought behind it and why I was so gung ho about making sure that. That we continue on with that programming is we need to diversify revenue streams. We need to help our small business owners understand all of the opportunities there are to make money. We, of course, prioritize letting in any business that was impacted by the fire for that reason, because we were like, you know, we want our small businesses to stay in the San Gabriel Valley. We want them to stay in Pasadena and Altadena. We don't want them to take their business and leave and go anywhere else because it's, it's absolutely crucial to our local economy to have these businesses that were impacted by the fires stay here. So that is what my thinking is, that is what my strategy is. Lizzy Okoro Davidson [00:17:17]: And it's always going to be how do we make sure that we're, you know, making 100,000 years and making millionaires and making billionaires contributing back to our. Salvatrice Cummo [00:17:27]: Local economy, contributing back into our communities and building a strong local economy. Lizzy Okoro Davidson [00:17:34]: Exactly. Salvatrice Cummo [00:17:35]: And when one is strong, we help the others become strong. As a collective. As a collective, we have these beautiful stories and beautiful impacts. And I'm going to ask this last question. Okay, so, because when you said the word strategy, it triggered a thought in my mind and I thought, well, what other strategies or initiatives? But you've already mentioned too, you know, so it's probably not a fair question, but is there anything that stands out to you when you're speaking to these entrepreneurs and business owners, you know, post disaster in their efforts? In our community's efforts to rebuild and build resilient companies, is there anything that stands out for you that's been the most impactful and effective strategy or, and, or initiative that you're saying, Salvatore, this is it. This is the golden ticket. Like this is what's going to help our business community become even more resilient than they are now. Lizzy Okoro Davidson [00:18:37]: It has honestly been community, literally that has been every single and in person events in particular. Like as soon as we hold anything in person, I mean it's going to come as no surprise or no shocker. We are dying for connection in all areas of our life. It's like everything is digital, everything is online and people are stronger together. And so when we have done things in person, like these accelerators, like workshops we've done in the wake of the fires, we started hosting pop up advising. So we typically do a lot of the one to one advising virtually. And so we were like, okay, well again, boots on the ground, let's go meet our, our small business owners where they are in convenient locations and have our advisors set up shop with a laptop and just be able to talk them through certain processes, answer questions. And you know, some people were in tears with gratitude. Lizzy Okoro Davidson [00:19:34]: That's how happy they were. Some of them just wanted to meet other business owners. That was one of our most successful ones, was one where we did, we brought together restaurant owners because if you don't know, Pasadena has some of the best food and most amazing Restaurants and, you know, they. They were definitely impacted by the fires. If their actual establishment wasn't impacted by the fire, they were, you know, a lot of the foot traffic slowed down. So they just want to be able to talk...
/episode/index/show/thefutureofwork/id/38570710
info_outline
Rebuilding Community After Disaster: What It Means To Create Solutions Rooted In Equity with Lizzy Okoro Davidson, Director of the Pasadena Women’s Business Center at PCC Episode 155
10/14/2025
Rebuilding Community After Disaster: What It Means To Create Solutions Rooted In Equity with Lizzy Okoro Davidson, Director of the Pasadena Women’s Business Center at PCC Episode 155
In anticipation of the 7th Annual to be held on October 28th 2025, Dr. Salvatrice Cummo brings back Lizzy Okoro Davidson, Director of the Pasadena Women’s Business Center at PCC and panel speaker, to touch on all the progress made by the center since opening its doors last year. Lizzy shares how the Women’s Business Center, with the full support of Pasadena City College, pivoted swiftly from fostering entrepreneurship to acting as a vital hub for recovery, connection, and hope for women and small business owners in the wake of the LA fires. Tune in for this sneak peek into the upcoming Future of Work conference as we explore how partnerships between community colleges and organizations like the Women’s Business Center play a crucial role in mobilizing for recovery and rebuilding after an unprecedented disaster. You’ll learn: Why community is vital for entrepreneurs, especially during times of crisis, and what can be done to foster it where it does not currently exist. How the WBC is harnessing in-person community events, targeted education, and major funding support from philanthropic partners like Paris Hilton to empower women and small business owners. Why it is so important to focus on the unique landscape for women founders, focusing on leveraging their strengths and addressing systemic barriers. How WBC’s free accelerator programs are teaching small business owners to diversify revenue and build resilience, post-disaster. About the Guest: Lizzy Okoro Davidson is an LA-based entrepreneur, consultant, and public speaker who serves as the Director of the Women’s Business Center at Pasadena City College. With over a decade of experience in media, consulting, and public speaking, Lizzy has worked with leading brands such as Nike and Adidas. Before working with the Women’s Business Center, she founded Bunch Magazine in 2011. She has experience managing a team of 100+ creatives including writers, photographers, stylists and art directors in a dozen countries over the course of six years. Throughout her career, Lizzy has been dedicated to empowering women entrepreneurs and fostering inclusive economic growth by providing the tools, resources, and support they need to thrive. Engage with us: JOIN THE FUTURE OF WORK CONFERENCE: , & : @PasadenaCityCollegeEWD Join our newsletter for more on this topic: Visit: More from Lizzy Okoro Davidson & Pasadena Women's Business Center at PCC LinkedIn: Website: Partner with us! Contact our host, Salvatrice Cummo, directly: scummo@pasadena.edu Want to be a guest on the show? Click to inquire about booking Find the transcript of this episode Please rate us and leave us your thoughts and comments on Apple Podcasts; we’d love to hear from you!
/episode/index/show/thefutureofwork/id/38570215
info_outline
Transcript- Episode 154: Future-Proofing Global Trade: The Next Era of Ports with Mario Cordero, Chief Executive Officer of the Port of Long Beach
09/30/2025
Transcript- Episode 154: Future-Proofing Global Trade: The Next Era of Ports with Mario Cordero, Chief Executive Officer of the Port of Long Beach
Mario Cordero [00:00:00]: When we started this program at Jordan High School, the ACE program, a few years back, there were two brothers, twin brothers whose parents, immigrants from Mexico, attending Jordan High School. And because of the ACE program, they really got into the field of engineering. So we kind of ignited a field that they weren't really familiar with. Those two kids today are about to graduate in the engineering school of Cal State Long Beach. Christina Barsi [00:00:29]: The workforce landscape is rapidly changing, and educators and their institutions need to keep up. Preparing students before they enter the workforce to make our communities and businesses stronger is at the core of getting an education. But we need to understand how to change and adjust so that we can begin to project where things are headed before we even get there. So how do we begin to predict the future? Salvatrice Cummo [00:00:54]: Hi, I'm Salvatrice Cumo, vice President of Economic and Workforce Development at Pasadena City College and host of this podcast. Christina Barsi [00:01:03]: And I'm Christina Barci, producer and co host of this podcast. Salvatrice Cummo [00:01:06]: And we are starting the conversation about the future of work. We'll explore topics like how education can partner with industry, how to be more equitable, and how to attain one of our highest goals, more internships and PCC Students in the workforce. We at Pasadena City College want to lead the charge in closing the gap between what our students are learning and what the demands of the workforce will be once they enter. This is a conversation that impacts all of us. You, the employers, the policymakers, the educational institutions, and the community as a whole. We believe change happens when we work together, and it all starts with having a conversation. I'm Christina Barci. And I'm Salvatrice Cumo. And this is the Future of Work. Hi. Christina Barsi [00:01:54]: Salvatrice Cummo [00:01:54]: Welcome back to the Future of Work podcast. I am your host, Dr. Salvatriz Kumo. Today I'm joined by Mario Cordero, Chief Executive Officer of the Port of Long Beach. Mario has spent his career at the intersection of law, policy, and global trade. He previously served as Chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission under President Obama and now leads one of the biggest seaports in the United States. Under his guidance, the Port of Long beach has become a leader in both international commerce and environmental innovation. In our conversation today, we'll talk about how ports are shaping the future of global trade, how policy and infrastructure decisions ripple through local communities, and why sustainability has become just as important as cargo volume. Salvatrice Cummo [00:02:45]: Mario, it's a pleasure to have you with us today. How are you? Mario Cordero [00:02:48]: Oh, good, thank you. Saratres. Is that how you pronounce your name? Salvatrice Cummo [00:02:52]: Salvatore? Yeah. You did it. Mario Cordero [00:02:53]: Well, all right, so thank you for this kind of invitation. So excited to be here with you and again to tell our story and work with the academia in terms of what that future is for the next generation. Salvatrice Cummo [00:03:05]: You bet. You bet. Thank you. I wanted, you know, typically I start my podcast and thinking about what led you to this work. And the maritime industry is not where you started, from what I understand, but it was where you were led to. So can we talk about that journey? How did you. What led you to this industry? Mario Cordero [00:03:24]: Well, I think I'd have to say faith and destiny. And the reason I give that answer is because I've been very blessed in my life to have these tremendous opportunities that have been before me, given the fact that, you know, my parents are immigrants from Mexico. Neither one of them had a college education and my dad was a laborer, my mother was a housewife. So I was born in Los Angeles to the son of Mexicano immigrants. So they had one ask of their three children that they had, I'm the oldest, that we should all go to college. And hence those were the marching orders. And again from there, I think that I decided to go into the profession of law. Initially, I chose engineering because my father wanted me to be in a profession and the only professionals he ever ran into at the aircraft company he worked at were engineers. Mario Cordero [00:04:16]: So he wanted to make sure that we worked with our brain and not with our hands. And he would say that in Spanish. But the reason he would say that because he worked hard. And of course, you know, he was a laborer, simple laborer, and he just wanted to make sure his children moved up and terms of opportunities that were presented by this country. So my profession that I chose as I commenced to be a freshman at Cal State Long beach, was to move forward with the quest to be a lawyer, of which I am still a licensed attorney. But in 2003, the mayor of Long beach, the then mayor, Beverly O', Neill, appointed me to the Harvard Commission of the Port of Long Beach. And I served there eight years and I became really interested in the subject matter of port authorities, maritime, international trade. I continued to practice law. Mario Cordero [00:05:04]: Commission is not a full time job, so you continue with your full time job. And that's how I entered into this sector. And then thereafter, eight years later, after being appointed by Beverly Mu, I get this call from the White House unsolicited. That's why I said faith and destiny led me here, asking me, President Obama, if I was interested in being considered to be appointed to the Federal Maritime Commission. So am I going to say no? And then the rest is history. Salvatrice Cummo [00:05:33]: That's right. That's. How do you say no to an opportunity like that? Right, Right. But it speaks to the value of your work and the ethics of the work and the drive and the passion and fulfilling your parents vision for you. I too am a daughter, daughter of two immigrant parents. It was the same thing we came here. We came here for a purpose and a reason. It was to provide better life and leverage the opportunities that are available at our fingertips here in this country. Salvatrice Cummo [00:06:01]: That story resonates with me and so many and so many in our community. So thank you. I really thank you for sharing that with me. It was beautiful, absolutely beautiful. I also want to think about speaking of life and where we are right now with tariffs and policy and all of the noise around that, you know, those things, to us as someone who is, or many who are not in that industry feel like those are very abstract things. They don't impact us in any capacity. Or maybe we feel like we don't have control over those things yet. They do. Salvatrice Cummo [00:06:38]: They do have impact on our daily lives. And so I'm curious about how those shifts are showing up at the port of Long Beach. Mario Cordero [00:06:47]: Great question. So the issue of tariff policy is certainly not new in our history with regard to the application of tariffs. If you look back into the whole issue of the historical implementation of tariffs, even in the prior century, the movement to apply tariff policy was twofold. One, to protect domestic manufacturing and, and two, to address trade imbalances. So history tells you that terror policy to try to address those two issues have not been all that successful. Now we're talking about a globalized world of international trade that has existed for quite a number of years. What's interesting about today is there's a third reason to move forward with tariff implementation. As we see the administration presenting this third factor, which is as a negotiation to. Mario Cordero [00:07:44]: Hence, that's what has created some uncertainty ever since the declaration of the move to move forward with tariff implementation back in April, termed Liberation Day. And since that time it has had an impact and it has created uncertainty certainly in the maritime trade industry and in the business sector for that matter. And as far as the average American, the consumer, I think you'll start seeing that a more visible impact in terms of price increases. So again, I'm certainly not there in Washington to determine the good or the bad about this particular issue. I mean, there's some legitimate concerns that the administration has about the role of the United States in terms of manufacturing, in terms of dependency on one region with regard to manufacturing. And of course protecting American jobs. But clearly it has created uncertainty and we're still in that period. So hopefully at some point the business community will have some comfort that there's more certainty in the application and in the movement of these tariffs. Mario Cordero [00:08:58]: So we've seen that we went from 145% tax on China back in late April, and now it's substantially diminished with some preliminary agreements. And of course, now we're looking to November in terms of what that final trade agreement between the USA and China, the two leading trade partners in the world, what those final numbers are. So I think at the end of the day, yes, they've had impacts tariffs, but I think the concern that everybody has is the uncertainty of what those final numbers are, whether it's Asia, whether it's the eu, whether it's even Canada, Mexico. I think again, we'll see how this plays out next year. Salvatrice Cummo [00:09:37]: Yes, we may have to revisit this conversation next year to see where we're at and what impacts those are going to have on our daily lives and communicate that in a way that really resonates with our community. Speaking of policy, this year marks, from what I understand, the 20th anniversary of the green Port policy, and I believe it was formed back in 2005. Is that correct? Mario Cordero [00:10:00]: That's correct. Salvatrice Cummo [00:10:01]: Excellent. And then I've read the progress on this policy. What is one thing that you are most proud of as it relates to that policy? And kind of where do you see this going towards in the future as it relates to any breakthroughs or measurable impacts for the future? Mario Cordero [00:10:18]: So let's go back to the year 2003 when the then mayor of Long beach appointed me to the Harbor Commission. And her directive to me was she wanted someone on that Harbor Commission that had some sensitivity to the concerns of the neighborhoods and communities, more specifically with regard to the environmental impacts that communities suffered from port operations. Water quality, air quality. So that was my role in fulfilling that direction. In 2004, I presented a concept that we needed to be a green port. Now, Salvatore, back then, that most definitely was not popular in this industry. Salvatrice Cummo [00:11:01]: No, it wasn't. Not at all. Mario Cordero [00:11:04]: So the reason I say the concept was presented in 2004, it took some time to get enough support and a consensus by my colleagues on the commission to move forward to declare to the world that the port, Long beach, we are going to be a green port. It was formalized in January of 2005 by the act of the then Harbor Commission, declare that policy. In answer to your question, and I think this is Very important for students in academia. Everyone wants to make a difference, and hopefully a difference for the positive. So for those who want to make a difference in whatever career choice you make, what was more satisfying personally to me, that I acted on the directive of the mayor, which I agreed with, by the way, and that policy that was presented to this Harvard Commission in 2004, and finally I had enough support to move forward with it, most definitely made a difference in the port maritime industry. So I'm most proud of the fact that I could say that I made a difference that led actually to the call from the White House. Five years later. I didn't seek a position in the Obama administration. Mario Cordero [00:12:21]: I was happy practicing law here in Long Beach. My family's here. I'm on the Harbor Commission. Why would I want to go to Washington, D.C. and for less money, by the way. And the reason, I'm told, once I get there, when I present the question to the White House counsel over breakfast at the West Wing, I said, how did my name even come up in this conversation? And the answer was that the President wanted to appoint people with subject matter expertise. And I think President Obama was very good at doing that. But second, he wanted people, at least for this Federal Maritime Commission that had some sensitivity to some of the environmental sustainable issues that needed to be talked about. Mario Cordero [00:13:05]: And hence, in a meeting, my name came up, or better said, the Port of Long beach came up and they referenced there was this guy out there named Cordero who moved forward a green port policy. And the President said, contact that guy. So I think the green port policy, how that personally was an attribute to myself, although I don't like to talk about myself, but I'm answering your questions. To be candid. How much could a son of immigrants ever ask, one, to be a presidential appointee and two, that have a difference in this port sector, that today Port of Long beach is seen as a leader in environmental sustainability. And that I attribute to my colleagues, the commissioners and the present commissioners and the staff at the Port of Long beach, who, you know, been very blessed to have a tremendous staff at the Port of Long beach over the many years even preceding me, who acted on the directive of a policy declared by the Harvard Commission back in 2005. Salvatrice Cummo [00:14:05]: That's beautiful. And to me, when I hear you share that, it is the legacy, the legacy that you've created and you continue to build upon. Mario Cordero [00:14:15]: I didn't go to Washington thinking that I'm going to do this so I could come back and be the CEO of the Port of Long Beach. That was the furthest thing from my mind, you know, and that led to this job, that experience. And it led to the fact that I believe I'm the first Mexican American ever to be hired to be a CEO or executive director of a major port. And of course certainly the first in California given the population or percentile that we have in the demographics of the Southwest, which is a tremendous honor, that I certainly can't complain about my life or my career. Which goes back to my answer that I gave you. How did this happen? It was faith and destiny. So God's been very good to me. Salvatrice Cummo [00:15:04]: I love that story. It's about alignment too. It's about natural calling and natural alignment as well. It's the opportunities were presented to you, you were open to it, you were willing to put in the work, the expertise. And it was recognized, noticed and celebrated. And thinking about that moment and what you created, that has had a legacy. You're creating legacy there at the Port of Long beach and transformational movement at the Port of Long Beach. What would you say or what are you seeing kind of as the next breakthrough as it relates to reducing environmental impacts? Mario Cordero [00:15:44]: If I could answer a twofold response to that? Salvatrice Cummo [00:15:48]: Sure. Mario Cordero [00:15:48]: I think the next breakthrough for the Port of Long beach is when we are. When we accomplish our goal of zero emission operations. Right now our goal is to have zero emission cargo handling equipment at the Port of Long beach. Currently San Matrice. Of our six container terminals at the Port of Long beach and we're part of the largest container complex in the country. 20% of our cargo hanging equipment at our terminals are already zero emission. So that's not a great percentage. However, it's more than any other port in the country. Mario Cordero [00:16:19]: So our quest is zero. We're committed and we'll continue. Which includes zero emission trucks by year 2035. The second part of my response is what's the next step after that? How do we make a difference in the quest of renewable energy? And here we presented the concept of peer wind. That is a concept where the Port of Long beach stages and integrates the largest turbines, wind turbines in the world, and barge them up the California coast to central Northern California so that we could accomplish the vision of our mayor, excuse me, of our governor and our mayor, by the way, but our Governor Newsom, who has a vision of having 25 gigawatts of wind energy by 2045, I think certainly with the demand of energy that we're going to experience as a community not just in California, but in the USA in The global community for that matter. We absolutely need various sources of energy to accommodate the demand of our growing population. And last, the technology that's coming, data centers, AI. So I think that's going to be something for the Port of Long beach that certainly fits our value proposition in terms of not only do we pride ourselves in our commercial growth, we moved a record amount of containers in 2024, 9.6 million. Mario Cordero [00:17:45]: But we pride ourselves on how we do that and how we make a difference as a port to better our communities and our neighborhoods. And last, to address the security issue of making sure that we have the reliance on energy from various sources and in this case, moving the needle on renewable energy. Salvatrice Cummo [00:18:05]: What was impressive to me when we were just doing our research and reading up about all the things Port of Long beach, what was impressive and I don't know that our community outside of Long beach really knows this. But while emissions, from what I understand and correct me if I'm wrong, while emissions are being reduced, cargo is going up. One would think if cargo goes up, then emissions go up, but that's not the case. We're still seeing cargo increase, but the emissions are going down. And it's amazing, it's amazing how that's happening. It speaks to the commitment of the Port of Long Beach. And when I read that and when I heard that, I thought that is something to celebrate. That is something to voice and to and to build on that narrative. Salvatrice Cummo [00:18:50]: Am I right or is there a disconnect between the reduction of emissions and increase of cargo? Mario Cordero [00:18:58]: You're absolutely right. Let me give you the metrics or the empirical evidence to support that. So, you know, in 2005 we committed that we would be a port that would prioritize reducing harmful emissions from port operations. So right now we're celebrating 20 years of leading green and what we've done at that point. And I will say the Port of Lumber hasn't done this alone. We've worked with our regulatory agencies, the industry stakeholders, the carriers, the truckers, our tenants and our community, our elective officials. You know, I mentioned I was appointed by Beverly o', Neill, but I since that time we've had Mayor Bob Foster, Mayor Robert Garcia and currently Mayor Rex Richardson. And I can represent to you every one of those mayors prioritize this subject matter. Mario Cordero [00:19:53]: So it's been an effort by many. So the result has been that I can represent to you. Based on our latest air quality inventory report that's done by a third party vendors, not our staff, we have reduced diesel suit by 92%. Now, anybody who's driven the Long Beach 710 freeway, if you go back to 2005, San Ba trees, we literally had dilapidated trucks with black smoke coming out of the tailpipes because these were secondhand trucks that were primarily owned by immigrants who bought the cheapest truck out there, used to move containerized cargo within the region. Very polluting trucks. The vessels back then that came into the port and at birth had black smoke coming out of the smokestack. So over the...
/episode/index/show/thefutureofwork/id/38397130
info_outline
Future-Proofing Global Trade: The Next Era of Ports with Mario Cordero, Chief Executive Officer of the Port of Long Beach Episode 154
09/30/2025
Future-Proofing Global Trade: The Next Era of Ports with Mario Cordero, Chief Executive Officer of the Port of Long Beach Episode 154
In this episode of Future of Work, Dr. Salvatrice Cummo speaks with Mario Cordero, Chief Executive Officer of the Port of Long Beach and former Chair of the Federal Maritime Commission. Mario shares how the Port pairs competitiveness with sustainability, why the Green Port Policy still matters twenty years on, and what it will take to move toward continuous operations across the supply chain. From tariff uncertainty to zero emission goals and major rail investments, he connects policy choices to real impacts on prices, jobs, and the communities that live next to our gateways. You’ll learn: What the Green Port Policy has achieved since 2005, including major reductions in diesel soot, NOx, and sulfur oxides, while cargo volumes grew Why the Pier B on the dock rail expansion is central to speed to market and removes hundreds of trucks from freeways with each train How tariff shifts create uncertainty for business and consumers and what steadier policy signals could mean for local jobs What a move toward 24/7 operations would require across terminals, warehouses, and labor, and why the greater cost is doing nothing Why embracing AI as a tool, not a threat, is part of building a future-ready workforce About the Guest: Mario Cordero is Chief Executive Officer of the Port of Long Beach, one of the world’s leading seaports and a recognized pioneer in green port initiatives. Appointed CEO in 2017 after serving as Chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission under President Obama, he oversees a staff of more than 500 and a $761 million budget. A longtime Long Beach resident, attorney, and former Harbor Commissioner, Cordero spearheaded the landmark Green Port Policy that has become a model for ports worldwide. He has also served on the boards of the American Association of Port Authorities, the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco’s Los Angeles branch, and the L.A. County Economic Resiliency Task Force. Named to the Los Angeles Business Journal’s “LA500” list of top civic leaders for seven consecutive years, Cordero continues to champion sustainability, infrastructure investment, and workforce development at one of the nation’s busiest trade gateways. Engage with us: , & : @PasadenaCityCollegeEWD Join our newsletter for more on this topic: Visit: More from Mario Cordero & Port of Long Beach LinkedIn: Website: , , , : @portoflongbeach Partner with us! Contact our host, Salvatrice Cummo, directly: scummo@pasadena.edu Want to be a guest on the show? Click to inquire about booking Find the transcript of this episode Please rate us and leave us your thoughts and comments on Apple Podcasts; we’d love to hear from you!
/episode/index/show/thefutureofwork/id/38396875
info_outline
Transcript- Episode 153: How Integrating New Media In Education Can Realistically Prepare Our Workforce With Rob Greenlee Founder of Spoken Life Media
09/16/2025
Transcript- Episode 153: How Integrating New Media In Education Can Realistically Prepare Our Workforce With Rob Greenlee Founder of Spoken Life Media
00:00:00 Rob Really, as you think about personal brand, for me, it's about building relationships and building trust. If a person understands that you're out there to contribute and participate and be involved, I think that the online media world is a terrific place to start that path for you. And I think it also has benefits being able to connect with future employers, being able to connect with people that are working at other companies. 00:00:29 Christina The workforce landscape is rapidly changing and educators and their institutions need to keep up. Preparing students before they enter the workforce to make our communities and businesses stronger is at the core of getting an education. 00:00:42 Christina But we need to understand how to change and adjust so that we can begin to project where things are headed before we even get there. So, how do we begin to predict the future? 00:00:54 Salvatrice Hi, I'm Salvatrice Cummo, Vice President of Economic and Workforce Development at Pasadena City College, and host of this podcast. 00:01:02 Christina And I'm Christina Barsi, producer and co-host of this podcast. 00:01:06 Salvatrice And we are starting the conversation about the future of work. We'll explore topics like how education can partner with industry, how to be more equitable, and how to attain one of our highest goals: more internships and PCC students in the workforce. 00:01:20 Salvatrice We at Pasadena City College want to lead the charge in closing the gap between what our students are learning and what the demands of the workforce will be once they enter. This is a conversation that impacts all of us. You, the employers, the policymakers, the educational institutions, and the community as a whole. 00:01:40 Christina We believe change happens when we work together and it all starts with having a conversation. I'm Christina Barsi. 00:01:47 Salvatrice And I'm Salvatrice Cummo, and this is the Future of Work. 00:01:51 Salvatrice Hi everyone, and welcome back to the Future of Work Podcast. I am your host Salvatrice Cummo. Today, we will be talking about the podcast industry and how new media is becoming a prominent tool for all of us, and where we see it heading in the future. We will also discuss how this new media and traditional education should overlap. 00:02:11 Salvatrice With that being said, we want to welcome none other than Rob Greenlee, Vice President of Partnership at Libsyn: the first podcast hosting platform. Mr. Greenlee has a rich background in new media, starting with the early days of the internet and was, of course, one of the ones, the first ones to jump into podcasting space back in 2005. 00:02:31 Salvatrice At Libsyn, Rob does everything from developing podcast content, distribution, paid subscriptions, advertising opportunities, and its podcast partners. He has been at his role since 2019, and we are absolutely thrilled to have him with us today. Good morning, Rob. 00:02:49 Rob Good morning. It's great to be here, Salvatrice. I appreciate the opportunity to join you. And as I love to do podcasts, this is like right in my wheelhouse. So, what I like to every day, so this is fun for me. 00:03:01 Salvatrice Well, thank you. I'm glad it's going to be fun. It's fun for me too. So, I'll tell you what, why don't we just jump right in if you don't mind. I've got a list of questions for you and I think that this is going to be super exciting to better understand again, new media and the braiding of education and the future of work. 00:03:17 Salvatrice So, with that said, Rob, if you could share with me what led you really to this path and this work, and why it's something that really kind of continues to be of interest to you and drives you in this space? 00:03:32 Rob Yeah, I think from the highest level, it's really, for me, I'm a marketing guy. I got a marketing degree in college and I spent years working in the grocery industry of all things pre-internet. And so, got kind of basically attracted to the internet as a marketing vehicle, and as a marketing tool to create deeper connections with customers, and then utilizing content to help reach customers in a different way and to build trust relationships and to build direct relationships. 00:04:03 Rob I had a really strong background in advertising, promotion, PR, and all that kind of stuff. So, you can kind of see how that was like, well, this is the way that I can reach a global market with what I'm doing. And I actually started to do that. It basically turned into a career. I walked into a radio station, created a radio show back in 1999, and then started to use that content online, and build an audience and build distribution and all that kind of stuff. 00:04:28 Rob And it really took me down a path of being a content creator online. I had never been really a content creator prior to that. So, it was really kind of a new frontier for me. And it really helped me, I think in a lot of ways, expand my skillset, build some confidence, not like what I spent years doing in playing competitive sports. You just get in and you start refining your skills and you get better and better and better, and you help others along the way. And that was kind of what got me into this. 00:04:55 Salvatrice Great. I imagine that you've seen media just evolving so rapidly, I think, in the last, I would say 7 to 10 years. I would even say less than that. And I wonder if there's emerging platforms that you're noticing that we need to pay attention to as new media continues to evolve. What are you seeing right now in this role, what are you seeing as emerging platforms? 00:05:18 Rob Well, I think the emergence or in some cases, I think if you have a historical perspective on online media, it's a little bit of a return to the values of the earlier days, at least in the podcast medium or video, was a very important part of podcasting. I mean, a lot of newer people to podcasting don't realize that, but in the early days of the podcast medium, about 30% of the market was video podcasts. And that was delivered to listeners via a download, just like the audio is today. 00:05:47 Rob But when we saw YouTube start back in 2007, it basically siphoned all that content away from the downloadable version of video into more of a streaming experience and free hosting and just massive potential of audience building on the YouTube platform. And so, I think what we're seeing right now is kind of a return to that to some degree. 00:06:10 Rob And I can't say that I can speak to specifically why that's happening here over the last couple of years, but I do think that there is kind of this ubiquity of internet access now and fast speeds that is enabling video to kind of go to another level. 00:06:26 Rob So, I think about kind of the cutting edge trends. I think and also, in combination with many people are kind of consuming less mainstream media. So, when I see corporate media, I think people are starting to have trust issues with corporate media. So, now, they're kind of gravitating over to independent voices and I think to some degree, that's happening around podcasting too. 00:06:49 Rob I think the trust factor is one of the biggest drivers I think of the digital media landscape right now of anything. And just the diversity of voices, the diversity of thought - I know that there's a lot of tension around misinformation and things like that. But if you can cut through that kind of cloud of misunderstanding, I guess, and really get to common sense, you can start building trust. 00:07:15 Rob And I do think that the digital medium right now is really starting to plow in that direction. And video is becoming more and more important. That's not to say that audio isn't very important. I think both of them can ride together and help each other. And I do think that there's people out there that are primarily video consumers and there's people out there that are primarily audio consumers, and there's some that like to do both. 00:07:36 Rob So, I think it makes sense that we're pushing a little bit harder on the video side. And I think we're all still trying to figure this out. And I think the video transcends into other platforms other than podcasting too, like TikTok and reels and Facebook and LinkedIn, and these other types of platforms are also becoming more and more important in people's lives. 00:07:57 Salvatrice Yeah. You've mentioned corporate medium and the trust factor. Folks are just not trusting corporate media right now. And what I'm understanding is that individual voices are dominating the space and it has been, I think - I think it's a combination of our environment, current events, social events. I think that it's obviously amplified right now as it should. I'm a firm believer of it. 00:08:22 Salvatrice But what trends do you think that you're seeing or what behaviors perhaps are you seeing with corporate media right now in building the trust back? And I ask this question because as educators, specifically within community colleges, it's important for us to have a relationship with our employers so that it informs curricula. 00:08:41 Salvatrice But when you have a space, for example, the space that we're talking about right now with new media, where employer AKA the corporates are not valued in this space, it's really individual voices. Like I wonder how do we as educators build for potential occupations in this space. So, that's why I was asking that question about what corporate is doing. Are they reexamining their approaches because that's going to inform us on how we build up for these potential occupations. 00:09:12 Rob I think that it's really a matter of finding voices in those organizations that can build trust. That may be difficult for some organizations to accomplish. And other ones, it'll be smooth sailing. But I do think that people generally trust people. I don't know that ... at least over the last few years have been growing in their trust of brands. 00:09:33 Rob So, I think as you think about how people communicate and be successful online in a career or as part of a company, I think those personal relationships that are developed with people representing those companies has become increasingly important over time, which also drives back to a different kind of skillset that needs to be valued in those companies or those corporations or those media companies that are trying to build trusted personal brands. 00:10:05 Rob And one terrific way of doing that is video. And another one is doing a podcast that's trying to help others, trying to communicate value, building some level of entertainment, but yet driving value to listeners. So, you can see how the trends in the marketplace are shaping the content creation side of the online media world. And I think it does propel us in a direction. 00:10:30 Rob I think younger people are seeing this. I don't think it's lost on them, the impact of TikTok and Facebook and Twitter and podcasting and especially, YouTube. I think it's having a transformational impact on our culture and our society and our education system about how we value skills. 00:10:50 Rob I think one of the most important skills, and this is something I developed when I was younger, because I didn't really have presentation skills because I played competitive basketball and I didn't talk. So, I've had to grow up in this medium and learn how to present and communicate, and going from not really speaking very much because I had a little bit of a speech impediment when I was younger, to getting up on stage and keynoting at events around the world, and doing podcasting is something that I've had to learn how to do, and had to struggle at times to learn how to do. 00:11:25 Rob And I think that's going to be more and more the journey that we see younger people go through. Some people have natural abilities in this area and other people don't and they have to learn how to do it. They have to just get out there and put themselves out there and start building their community and building trust with other people. And I think it's going to be key to success in pretty much every career. 00:11:46 Rob To some degree, I'm not saying every career needs to have a podcast or every career has to have a large video brand out there that's associated with them. But I do think that the skills that are needed are the same. Just like what we're doing here, trying to do this conversation, I think a lot of people do video calls, I think a lot of people get in front of their supervisors or their boss and need to present themselves on a microphone or in a call or something like that. And these are all skills that are relatively new. 00:12:16 Rob I think the pandemic really exposed the need. I mean, I laughed when I saw a lot of the mainstream media personalities that are so professional in the studio being forced to become podcasters. They failed miserably for the first three or four months until they got their act together. So, I think that was a terrific example of the transformation that we've experienced here over the last couple years, because we were all locked home. 00:12:43 Salvatrice Right. The skillset of presentation is, to your point, transferable across all occupations, across all sectors. But I wanted to maybe kind of unpack a little more about the skillsets because I heard two things. I heard building the skillsets for our new talent, but then I also heard that there's the skillsets within existing organizations like corporates and others that they have to build upon. 00:13:09 Salvatrice Is there any other skillsets that you're saying Salvatrice, like yes, communication's important. Yes, presentation's important. But are there any other perhaps technical skillsets or soft skills that we need to be paying more attention to? 00:13:21 Rob Yeah, I do think that there's technical skills that are important on this and one of them is creating an environment that is clean sounding, looks good. Like I've set up in my office here, especially after the pandemic started because I started doing so much online video. You know, I got studio lights in here, I got a higher quality camera. You know, I have audio gear, you can see I have a professional microphone. 00:13:45 Rob But I am a podcaster and I've done live radio for many years as well. So, I'm a little bit ahead of the curve. I didn't buy this mic like last year, I bought it 2009. So, if that tells you anything, how long I've had this, but it's just a matter of learning about how to create content online and creating quality audio and video. 00:14:05 Rob Because as you look to the future, I think many people are going to be judged on that, and how they show up in their videos, whether it's dressed up for an interview or doing a call with some sort of media company that wants to just do a recording with you to talk about your company or your job or what you're doing. 00:14:25 Rob I like what we're doing right here. This is a common practice for me that I've been doing actually for, I don't know, probably since 2010. I've been doing things like this. So, it's just a matter of getting yourself positioned and knowledgeable and trying to get as good a quality of production of what you're putting out because it will reflect on you, your professional skills. 00:14:47 Salvatrice As I heard you say that, I was thinking through rapidly all the services within our career center and we don't do any of this. I'm sitting here going, why are we not preparing our students in front of the camera? Hello? Like we just went through a pandemic, everything's been flipped upside down, why haven't I spearheaded that momentum around preparing our students to be in front of the...
/episode/index/show/thefutureofwork/id/38201930
info_outline
How Integrating New Media In Education Can Realistically Prepare Our Workforce With Rob Greenlee Founder of Spoken Life Media Episode 153
09/16/2025
How Integrating New Media In Education Can Realistically Prepare Our Workforce With Rob Greenlee Founder of Spoken Life Media Episode 153
How might educational institutions begin to tap into new media tools to support and prepare students? Today we will discuss the importance of understanding the new forms of media being developed and how we can prepare our students to enter this new industry successfully. Founder of Spoken Life Media, Rob Greenlee, is here to fill us in on where education and new media should be overlapping. From valuable skill sets students should learn to school career centers where they can build their personal brands, there is so much potential. We’ll break down the implementations needed to meet the demands of new, global media formats so we can give our students the most valuable knowledge possible. By integrating educational materials surrounding online media, like podcasting, we can help students connect to future employers and stay up-to-date with current news and trends. Engage with us: , & : @PasadenaCityCollegeEWD Join our newsletter for more on this topic: Visit: More from Rob Greenlee: Visit Visit Listen to Email: LinkedIn: Twitter: Partner with us! Contact our host, Salvatrice Cummo, directly: scummo@pasadena.edu Want to be a guest on the show? Click to inquire about booking Find the transcript of this episode Please rate us and leave us your thoughts and comments on Apple Podcasts; we’d love to hear from you!
/episode/index/show/thefutureofwork/id/38201900
info_outline
Transcript- Episode 152: Why Apprenticeships Are The Pathway To A Sustainable Future Workforce
09/02/2025
Transcript- Episode 152: Why Apprenticeships Are The Pathway To A Sustainable Future Workforce
00:00:00 Salvatrice For the future, if we genuinely as a community care about the health, longevity, sustainability of our communities, of our local communities, the health of workforce, and I'm not talking about like physical health and mental health, I'm talking about wealth-health of our community, then I'm going to ask the employers to speak to us. 00:00:20 Salvatrice Tell us what is happening, why aren't they engaging? Is it because it doesn't make sense? Is it because it's just too much? Is it because, well, like I haven't been sold on the value? It's like let's dig in deep, so speak to us. 00:00:37 Christina The workforce landscape is rapidly changing, and educators and their institutions need to keep up. Preparing students before they enter the workforce to make our communities and businesses stronger is at the core of getting an education. 00:00:50 Christina But we need to understand how to change and adjust so that we can begin to project where things are headed before we even get there. So, how do we begin to predict the future? 00:01:02 Salvatrice Hi, I'm Salvatrice Cummo, Vice President of Economic and Workforce Development at Pasadena City College, and host of this podcast. 00:01:11 Christina And I'm Christina Barsi, producer and co-host of this podcast. 00:01:15 Salvatrice And we are starting the conversation about the future of work. We'll explore topics like how education can partner with industry, how to be more equitable, and how to attain one of our highest goals: more internships and PCC students in the workforce. 00:01:29 Salvatrice We at Pasadena City College want to lead the charge in closing the gap between what our students are learning and what the demands of the workforce will be once they enter. This is a conversation that impacts all of us. You the employers, the policymakers, the educational institutions, and the community as a whole. 00:01:49 Christina We believe change happens when we work together, and it all starts with having a conversation. I'm Christina Barsi. 00:01:56 Salvatrice And I'm Salvatrice Cummo, and this is the Future of Work. 00:01:59 Salvatrice Welcome back, this is Salvatrice, your host. I'm joined today by my friend and colleague in Economic and Workforce Development here at Pasadena City College, Ms. Leslie Thompson, who is our Director of Operations. Welcome to the show, Leslie. 00:02:16 Leslie Hello, thank you. 00:02:18 Salvatrice This is a really good time for us to pause and have some one-on-one dialogue. I think you and I are involved in this work so intimately and I have the honor and the privilege to interview so many individuals across this county and across the country. 00:02:34 Salvatrice You and I have never really talked about some of this stuff. I mean, we do outside of course, the podcast, but we never really take a moment to talk about some of the things that you and I face everyday within our work, and how it really influences the direction of the podcast. Real time, real talk. 00:02:53 Salvatrice So, you and I had attended the Future of Work Conference. First of all, we put on our own Future Work Conference, but what I meant to say is that we did attend the economic forecast not too long ago. 00:03:05 Salvatrice And a reoccurring theme that comes up at a federal level, at a state level, and at a local level are apprenticeships, and how valuable they are, not only to the student, but more importantly to the employer and their role in shaping our future talent. So, I kind of wanted to spend some time like you and I chatting about it. How do you feel about that? 00:03:27 Leslie I think that's great, I think apprenticeships are a fun topic. I mean, for a long time, everybody's talking about internships, but internships are also valuable. But apprenticeships are unique in a lot of ways and I think it's a worthwhile topic for sure. 00:03:37 Salvatrice We have seen some issues with apprenticeship. There's the obvious of the administrative part of itm and the coordination that involves the Department of Labor, but what else are we seeing? What is the root issue? Why aren't we doing more of it? 00:03:53 Leslie I think there's also issues with labor unions and trying to align apprenticeships within that structure so that it makes sense for everyone involved, that we're not trying to take away jobs or take away opportunities from folks. We're trying to create pathways into those trades, particularly the trades - just trying to create pathways into those arenas. 00:04:12 Leslie So, there's a labor component, not just department of labor - but like labor unions, if you're talking about certain trades. There may be issues there. 00:04:20 Leslie The flip side of it, like you said, administrative challenges for the colleges who are trying to navigate this work. Like with any new program, there are always a lot of, not just learning curves, but kind of roadblocks or things that look like roadblocks, but they're not really roadblocks, we just don't know yet. 00:04:36 Leslie So, there's a lot of learning that has to happen, but I know it's an area of focus across the region, across the state. At the state level, it's an area of focus and that's where we're headed and it's super important. 00:04:47 Salvatrice You were a former employer at one point in your career, technically. Had I come to you and said, "Look, we need to build an apprenticeship program with your organization." How would that sit with you? Erase the fact that you know what you know now, but at the time. 00:05:04 Leslie No, if I'm just like average employer, and I know we're talking about apprenticeships, but I also liken it to like even just internships. If someone were to come to you as an employer and say, "I would like to create a partnership with you whereby I provide you with students to do work for you, but here's a bunch of rules." 00:05:21 Leslie It has to be meaningful, it's not like you can't bring an intern in like go fetch coffee. It's like it has to be tied to program of study. You have to meet all these rules, you also have to have all these insurances in place because we can't just send our students out there if you don't have all your ducks in a row. " 00:05:35 Leslie It would depend on the size of the employer. I think in this scenario that you're describing, I would consider myself a small business at that point, I mean small to mid-size business at that point. And I don't know that I would've had all those ducks in a row. I think I would've because it was tied to the college at the time. 00:05:50 Leslie But your average small employer may not have all those ducks in a row that they need to accommodate that request. And it would depend on what the apprenticeship looks like. What's the ask? Like how are you tying it to a program of study? What am I going to get out of this when I complete this apprenticeship? I'm going to be certified or I'm going to have some sort of degree, and I'm pretty much guaranteed a job, I hope. 00:06:09 Leslie After I get out of it, it depends on if I'm the employer, if I can provide those things, those educational components, and if I can guarantee that trajectory, that would limit my engagement. I might be like, this is a lot. 00:06:20 Leslie That's why it's important for the practitioners at the colleges and other entities to be well-versed, to have the pitch on hand. When you're out there talking to employers, like this is why it's better, this is why it's great. And I don't know that that works the same for apprenticeships as it does for internships, but that's what I liken it too, the request to place interns. 00:06:40 Salvatrice I agree with you. I agree that it is overwhelming for an employer. I would imagine that it would be incredibly overwhelming because there's many moving parts. It's not as simple as what most employers might be used to as an internship or a paid internship. 00:06:54 Salvatrice Although, internships do have agreements and MOUs with employers, but they're not tied to the Department of Labor, they're not tied to potentially unions. And typically, within an apprenticeship program, you certainly could have one employer. If this one employer is securing (just throwing a number out there) - 50 placements. 00:07:19 Salvatrice Okay, then let's do an apprenticeship program with that solo employer. But typically, what we see is there are multiple employers in a cohort of an apprenticeship program. There could be four, there could be five, very specific to an industry, for example, plumbing or ... 00:07:37 Leslie An electrician. 00:07:38 Salvatrice An electrician, that's right. I mean there's so many different, what we like to call trades, very specific, high-skilled, high-certified occupations, well-paying. I'm going to underscore that as well - well-paying occupations. So, I think it merits us to pause and really talk about why is it important? Why does it matter? 00:07:58 Salvatrice Why does it matter that employers get involved in the apprenticeships and students do too? Why does it matter that colleges make a concentrated effort in developing apprenticeships? And lastly, why does it matter for our federal and state government to support the apprenticeship programs? 00:08:18 Leslie I think from a college perspective, obviously, it matters to colleges because for apprenticeship programs to be viable, you have to have a certain percentage of classroom component. So, you need the colleges to be partners, and I think, again, we've made the argument and had the conversation time and time again, why community colleges are the best place for all things workforce. 00:08:36 Leslie Like it makes sense that the community colleges are going to drive this, it makes sense that we're going to be integral partners because there is a component for classroom learning that enhances the on-the-job training that these students receive at the employer level, so the colleges have to be involved. 00:08:53 Leslie Why is it important for employers? Because they get a hand in actively kind of molding the workforce that they're going to be hiring from. And in many cases, they hire maybe the people that they have as apprenticeships and they get them and they've trained them and it's just great for them. 00:09:08 Leslie But again, they're going into this workforce that that employer and the next employer and two other employers in the industry, all employers in that industry are going to be pulling from, and it makes that pool that much better. So, it's just win-win for everyone. And then from the student perspective, it's paid on the job training that leads to, as you said, in many cases, high-paying occupations, it's win, win, win. 00:09:31 Salvatrice It really is, and I do want to acknowledge though, Leslie, that we've come to some barriers around apprenticeship in the cost associated in developing apprenticeships. 00:09:42 Salvatrice So, for us, yes the outcomes are all win, win, win, but there are real serious hiccups around the development of apprenticeships because of the high cost involved, and I think that's why we're seeing this influx of money coming from the state, and assisting the colleges. 00:10:01 Salvatrice I feel like the colleges have done a really good job in vocalizing like, look, we want to do it too, we're all in it. But A, we need the human capital first, and in order to have the human capital to fulfill these kinds of apprenticeship programs or our engagements, we need the capital itself. So, I just feel like we're in a really good sweet spot right now to do some serious work. 00:10:26 Salvatrice So, knowing that Leslie, what do we do from here? And what do we do from here when we know that the cost associated with these apprenticeship programs is really one of the biggest barriers. I feel like that's the biggest thing. Although the state's being super awesome right now and acknowledging that and providing more. 00:10:45 Leslie So, I think that yes, that funding is one of the primary barriers because without the money we can't do anything, but I think there are other barriers as well. The state is given money, I think when they're issuing for the grants that just came down, you get the planning grant, they're acknowledging that you're going to get money to spend time to do the planning, because that's going to take some effort. 00:11:05 Leslie And then you have execution, even the state seems to be acknowledging that this is going to take a minute. And it's not just about giving you money and telling you to hit the ground running, you have to plan this out and you have to do it because there's other barriers, like limited employer engagement. We have to figure out how to address that. And we've had this ongoing employer engagement issue, so that's one of the problems. 00:11:20 Leslie Another one of the barriers is the regulatory barriers. Meaning that regulations related to apprenticeship's vary by state to state, they're nuanced in some cases. And you have to learn all that, you have to know all that, that's another barrier you have to work with. 00:11:36 Leslie The education and training resources, the community colleges, again, are the best place to do it, and they have to be prepared to supplement that on-the-job training with relevant classroom experience and relevant curriculum. And the curriculum may have to be updated. 00:11:51 Leslie There's so many things that have to happen, it's not just money. The state is handling that component, it is a big component for sure because without the money we can't do all these other things, we can't even do employer engagement without some money, everything takes money. 00:12:02 Leslie So, there are a number of barriers, I think, that funding is just one. So, where do we go next? I think we start addressing each of those barriers as we can as we go. The funding is a big help, the state providing that funding and creating that kind of call to action by saying, "Hey, this is what we want to do and we want to have X number of apprenticeships by this year - giving that kind of goal for the community colleges I think is really great, and then funding that goal is also really great. 00:12:25 Leslie But in terms of next steps, we're in the planning phases, at least at PCC, we're in the planning phase. We need to be intentional about that and what does that mean, and how do we address all the other barriers? Because that's what the planning stage is about, addressing the other barriers. 00:12:44 Salvatrice That's right, I also wonder, when you were talking about program development and curriculum and curriculum redesign or implementation or fill in the blank - I wonder if there's elements of ed code that gets in the way. There are industries that are traditional, and curriculum design can wait a year. 00:13:06 Salvatrice And that individual that goes through that apprenticeship is still going to...
/episode/index/show/thefutureofwork/id/38011470
info_outline
Why Apprenticeships Are The Pathway To A Sustainable Future Workforce Episode 152
09/02/2025
Why Apprenticeships Are The Pathway To A Sustainable Future Workforce Episode 152
Why don’t we hear about more apprenticeship opportunities for students? Today we’ll discuss the development of apprenticeships and cover what goes on behind the scenes when it comes to funding, planning, executing, and regulating these programs, and why they're so hard to come by. Digging in deep we’ll cover the barriers to apprenticeships and how we can engage and support local employers in order to create more long-lasting apprentice programming. Despite the administrative challenges, creating pathways to trades is crucial for the health, longevity, and sustainability of local communities and the future workforce. Connect with us: Visit Email: Facebook: LinkedIn: & : @pccewd Find the transcript to this episode To connect with us about the podcast visit our Please be sure to subscribe, rate and review us on apple podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts!
/episode/index/show/thefutureofwork/id/38010715