Community development chapter in CALED’s Economic Recovery and Resiliency Playbook, August 2022
I worked with the California Association for Local Economic Development (CALED) on a comprehensive practical guide for planning and developing resilient communities. In the context of the pandemic, local communities across the nation sought to better prepare and plan for shocks to the economy. CALED won a grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration to produce a “playbook” for local economic developers and other officials in California. I worked with CALED and a group of advisors from state and federal agencies, and co-authored the playbook with a group of professionals in the field. I was responsible for a chapter on enhancing quality of life and livability in a community, and building historical and cultural assets based on the history of business and the economy.
Early Childhood Education - workforce assessment and market study, October 2022
I partnered with the City of Sacramento and Sacramento Employment Training Agency (SETA) to conduct a needs assessment of the early childhood education industry. The research included a market study, labor market assessment, a survey of current and former workers, and employer interviews. The report supported a task force that had been meeting since prior to the pandemic. We collaborated to write recommendations that are guiding the task force to create strategy with education and training providers and policymakers.
PARTNERS: City of Sacramento, Sacramento Employment Training Agency (SETA), Valley Vision, Sacramento County Office of Education (SCOE), Child Action, North / Far North community college consortium
Op-Ed on Outdoor Recreation Community Development Strategies in California, March 2022
The Gateway and Natural Amenity Region (GNAR) initiative grew out of research efforts at Utah State and the University of Utah that have long-addressed tourism, recreation, community, and the environment. Increases in remote work and visitor use of parks and public space during the pandemic worsened traditional impacts to rural communities nationally and especially in Western gateway communities.
I partnered with the GNAR team to write an op-ed based on a paper summarizing findings from 30 interviews community leaders in the Sierra region and Northern California. I continue involvement with the GNAR core team to inform the program’s development.
Placer County Workforce Conditions and Opportunity Profile, February 2022
Building on the earlier regional research to support strategic planning, I partnered with the Placer County Office of Economic Development and Sierra College to address workforce shortages in the context of the pandemic. Faced with immense hiring challenges, economic development and business groups sought to enhance talent pipelines and understand economic strengths and weaknesses.
The research recommended supports especially for manufacturing, health care, and hospitality pathways for education and training programs.
PARTNERS: Placer County Office of Economic Development, Sierra College, Golden Sierra Workforce Development Board
Regular economic and labor market update brief for regional school and community partners, 2020 onward
With the onset of the pandemic, our community colleges and other regional partners sought to quickly understand the impacts to the labor market that would provide context and information on how to best respond. By the end of 2020, we had refined our approach and had morphed the report into a regular product and newsletter, an economic update containing up-to-date unemployment, labor force, industry, and jobs postings trends and detail. The newsletter and report goes out to hundreds of school and community partners quarterly.
PARTNERS: North / Far North regional community college consortium
Nevada County Economic and Workforce Opportunity Profile, March 2020
I partnered with the Nevada County campus of Sierra College and the county’s Economic Resource Council, a community-economic development convening group, to update existing economics data and provide a workforce profile. The goal of the research sought to identify priority areas for workforce and economic development investment and small business program support. The research catalyzed education and training investment into allied health programs to support two local hospitals.
PARTNERS: Sierra College, Nevada County Economic Resource Council
Position paper on community/economic development and outdoor recreation strategies, July 2020
A movement has formed in many states to coordinate outdoor recreation stakeholders for community and economic development initiatives. I attended a number of advocacy sessions and conferences on the subject, and realized that there was a disconnect in understanding basic definitions, the economic opportunity, and regional strategic planning. I worked with a regular collaborator, Fran Faulkner, and we interviewed 30 community development leaders from around the Sierra region and Northern California to gain a better understanding of the challenges and opportunities for using outdoor recreation as a community development framework and strategy. We presented a summary position paper of the findings at the California State Parks annual conference, California Trails and Greenways, and part of the American Trails national webinar series.
PARTNERS: American Trails, California State Parks
Manufacturing industry and workforce profile infographics, February 2019
The executive director of the Sacramento Valley Manufacturing Initiative (SVMI) approached me about providing a summary brochure of market data and workforce opportunities. I created a design concept for a fact sheet to describe the regional manufacturing sector and its workforce needs, and worked with a graphic designer and the client to arrive at the final deliverable. We released the product at several school and industry forums. The collateral was used to establish school-industry partnerships and to recruit students into career technical education programs.
PARTNERS: Sacramento Valley Manufacturing Initiative, North / Far North community college consortium
Hospitality industry in the Sacramento region - workforce and market study, April 2019
I continued supporting our regional civic leadership organization, Valley Vision, on a research and engagement effort for the hospitality and tourism industries in the Sacramento region as part of the Next Economy Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) in the region.
The report provided support for continuing investments in culinary and hospitality management programs, but noted well-known job quality challenges. Convening industry and school partners around the report led to new partnerships for workforce education and training.
PARTNERS: Valley Vision, North / Far North community college consortium, Dean Runyan Associates
Presentation on the workforce impacts of remote work, September 2021
My office provides technical assistance to a regular convening of industry partners who advise regional education and training providers on business trends. The region surfaced remote work as a potential training opportunity. I provided jobs postings data and a literature review to support the convening. The project informed broader conversations about the future of work.
PARTNERS: Valley Vision, Sacramento Employment Training Center (SETA), Golden Sierra workforce Development Board, North / Far North community college consortium
Workforce opportunity profile for campus expansion, July 2018
The dean overseeing the Davis Center for Sacramento City College approached me to support strategic planning efforts for career education program investments in conjunction with the expansion of the campus.
The report provided a comparative scan of community, economic, and workforce elements for the City of Davis and surrounding counties. The dean used the report for planning investments with school and community partners, resulting in the creation of life sciences and allied health programs.
PARTNERS: Sacramento City College, Compass Policy Strategies
Working landscapes economic impact analysis, April 2021
The Centers of Excellence partnered with the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources Division to conduct an impact analysis of industry sectors in related agriculture and environmental sectors. The analysis covered jobs, earnings, establishments, sales income, and export value.
The report was used to showcase the value of agriculture and natural resources for industry and school partners in forums throughout the state and region related to environmental, workforce ,and economic development planning.
PARTNERS: University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, North / Far North regional community colleges
Mental and behavioral health industry and workforce assessment, December 2020
A consortium of community partners in the Sacramento region contacted me to prepare a workforce needs assessment focusing on entry-level jobs, pipeline entry points, and advancement pathways for jobs in the mental and behavioral health industries based on the mental health crisis that had worsened with the onset of the pandemic. The report supported the development of an apprenticeship program with a major employer sponsor, a community college, and the state Division of Apprenticeship Standards (DAS), and led to additional program development in other parts of the state.
PARTNERS: Institute for Local Government (ILG), Sacramento Employment Training Agency (SETA), California Community Colleges Health Workforce Initiative
Public sector workforce needs assessment, September 2019
A large multi-stakeholder partnership of local and state public sector agencies, convened by the Institute for Local Government (ILG) asked me to perform a workforce needs assessment to support their Innovative Pathways to Public Service (IPPS) initiative. I provided technical support for monthly meetings during 2019, and created a report and companion profile to support a launch of the initiative. I presented the final report at a public event attended by more than 200 agency and education leaders and elected officials in Fall 2019. The planning group adopted several of the report’s recommendations for their strategic plan, and secured funding for additional rounds of the initiative.
PARTNERS: Institute for Local Government (ILG), California Workforce Development Board, Sacramento Employment Training Agency (SETA)
Presentation on the workforce impacts of automation and AI, April, 2021
My office has researched future workforce needs based on the impacts of automation and AI, noting impacts to occupations whose work is likely to be significantly impacted in the years to come. New technology is also likley to catalyze education and training needs for many workers who will be implementing and analyzing data for process improvements and organizational efficiencies. Our data analysis has informed regional workforce consortium consisting of schools, community, and industry partners since 2019.
PARTNERS: North / Far North community college consortium, Valley Vision, Sacramento Employment Training Agency (SETA), Sacramento County Office of Education (SCOE)
Industry sector labor market fact sheets, February 2019
I developed a series of 10 industry sector profiles as a collateral piece giving a high level overview of industries and jobs in the Sacramento region. The audience included dozens of local high schools and industry partners, including on campus support staff and faculty, and community-based organizations for marketing education and training programs to students, parents, and residents. A consortium of schools and industry partners distributed more than a thousand copies of the profiles at a major event. The profiles and data have been widely cited and used for grant applications and regional planning.
PARTNERS: North / Far North community college consortium, Sacramento Valley Manufacturing Initiative
Health care workforce needs assessment, May 2021
An environmental scan of Nevada County revealed the importance of the health care industry for workforce strategy. This follow-on study for Sierra College emphasized the western side of Nevada County, and resulted in investments in the creation of an allied health training program that supported a rural hospital.
PARTNERS: Sierra College, Nevada County Economic Resource Council
Survey report of Northern California manufacturing and logistics industries, June 2018
I partnered with two regional Centers of Excellence in a survey of manufacturing and logistics employers for maintenance and repair occupations. The report resulted from communications with community and industry partners who surfaced hiring challenges. I led the survey analysis and report production. The report resulted in the creation of several industrial maintenance programs in the Central Valley and Sacramento area.
PARTNERS: Northern California Centers of Excellence, Valley Vision, Sacramento City College
Regional labor market assessment, Greater Sacramento region, January 2019
My office analyzed the regional labor market for the middle skill occupations most associated with community college programs. The report was used as a reference for a multi-million dollar statewide workforce investment in career technical education programs, the Strong Workforce Program.
PARTNERS: North / Far North regional community college consortium, Compass Policy Strategies
Industry workforce opportunity analysis for a community college, August, 2018
I performed analysis and wrote a report for Yuba College as the college developed their education and training investment strategy for Strong Workforce Program dollars. The report uses the US Cluster mapping project clusters and staffing patterns to analyze agriculture industries.
PARTNERS: Yuba College
Construction industry in the Sacramento region - workforce and market study, January 2018
I led a research effort with a team of analysts to assess the construction marketplace and workforce needs in the Sacramento region. The report supported a follow on the the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS), Next Economy. The study included a market and industry analysis, workforce scan, and asset assessment of regional education and training offerings. We conducted executive interviews, and presented the findings to more than 100 industry, school, and agency leaders.
PARTNERS: Valley Vision, North State Building Industry Association
Market and workforce study, transportation and logistics sector, May 2018
I worked with a group of deans from the four community colleges in the Los Rios Community College District to study the transportation and logistics sector, and several areas of emerging technology. The goal of the research was to identify investment areas for career technical education programs using Strong Workforce Program funds.
PARTNERS: Sacramento City College, Cosumnes River College, Folsom Lake College, American River College