Global Leadersto Keynote Summit on College and Career Readiness

New Dimensions for College and Career Readiness is the fourth annual summit hosted by CFES, addressing challenges facing underserved youth.

A Harvard professor, the president of the technology industry’s largest lobbying group, and a leading educational innovator at the GE Foundation will be featured speakers at a summit at the CFES Center in Essex, NY, May 3 and 4, that will focus on ways to prepare low-income youth for college and careers in an era of unprecedented change.

“While a college degree and career pathway knowledge are prerequisites for 21^st-century jobs, there is a large cohort of youth that is being excluded from these opportunities,” said College For Every Student CEO and President Rick Dalton. “This hurts these young people and their communities and ultimately threatens our global economy.”

College For Every Student, along with the GE Foundation, and Trinity College Dublin will convene 50 education, corporate, and philanthropic leaders from 25 organizations across the United States and Ireland. Participants will hear from higher education and industry thought leaders and take an active role in generating strategies and next steps.

Kicking off the event, Robert Schwartz, Senior Research Fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, will talk about building college-career pathway networks for low-income students. In his report, Pathways to Prosperity: Meeting the Challenge of Preparing Young Americans for the 21^st Century, he addresses the importance of changing cultural attitudes to reflect the realities of work and educational opportunities.

Dean Garfield, President and CEO of the Information Technology Industry Council, will add his perspective as the leader of an organization that is regarded as the global voice of the tech sector. Under his leadership, ITI has defined the tech agenda for global policymakers and launched a foundation that serves the preeminent thought leaders on innovation.

Day two of the summit will begin with remarks from Kelli Wells, Executive Director of Education and Skills at the GE Foundation. Wells will speak from the vantage point of a change agent at a $130 billion high-tech global industrial company that is leading the digital transformation of industry.

New Dimensions for College and Career Readiness is the fourth annual summit hosted by CFES, addressing challenges facing underserved youth. Following the Summit, the organizers will produce a solutions-driven white paper that offers strategic steps to ensure college and career readiness in our new industrial age, while increasing awareness and investment among key corporate and education leaders and policy makers.

You can read last year’s white paper that proposes strategies to close the skills gap here.

New Dimensions for College and Career Readiness Summit Agenda

MAY 3

1:00 p.m. WELCOME
1:30 p.m. KEYNOTE: BOB SCHWARTZ
2:15 p.m. PANEL: DOUG BAUER, CATHERINE MILLETT
3:00 p.m. KEYNOTE: DEAN GARFIELD
3:30 p.m. PANEL: JULIE HENDRICKSON, DON OUTING
4:15 p.m. PANEL: TOM BOLLAND, BILL FITZSIMMONS, KATRIONAL O’SULLIVAN
5:00 p.m. ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSIONS

MAY 4

8:15 a.m. KEYNOTE: KELLI WELLS
8:45 a.m. PANEL: JIM FORDE, BRENDAN TANGNEY
9:15 a.m. PANEL: JOHN FORTUNE, LAURA ANN LAMBERT
10:15 a.m. PANEL: PORTER BRASWELL, JASON KLUGMAN
11:00 a.m. ROUNDTABLES
12:00 p.m. SUMMARY & NEXT STEPS

About The Summit Organizers

GE Foundation

The GE Foundation, the philanthropic organization of GE, is committed to building a world that works better. We empower people by helping them develop the skills they need to succeed in a global economy. We equip communities with the technology and capacity to improve access to better health and education. We elevate ideas that are tackling the world’s toughest challenges to advance economic development and improve lives. The GE Foundation is powered by the generosity and talent of our employees, who have a strong commitment to their communities. We are at work making the world work better. Follow the GE Foundation at www.gefoundation.com and on Twitter at @GE_Foundation.

College for Every Student

College For Every Student (CFES) is a global leader in helping low-income students become college and career ready. CFES currently supports 25,000 students through partnerships with 200 rural and urban K-12 schools and districts in 30 states and Ireland. Learn more at www.collegefes.org.

Trinity College Dublin

Founded in 1592, Trinity College Dublin (www.tcd.ie) is situated in an historic campus at the heart of Ireland’s capital city, Dublin. The Trinity Access Programs (TAP) are a central part of Trinity’s plan to encourage students with ability and potential from low income backgrounds to participate in higher education and to realize their potential.

GE-Published Report Identifies Steps to Close Skills Gap for Low-Income Students (www.essexonlakechamplain.com)
Book Lauds College For Every Student’s Success with Schools (www.essexonlakechamplain.com)
Closing the Skills Gap: Helping Young People Become Exceptional (www.essexonlakechamplain.com)
New Employees Join College For Every Student (www.essexonlakechamplain.com)
Adirondack Students Learn Robotics from West Point Cadets in Essex (www.essexonlakechamplain.com)
Willsboro Mentors & Mentees Reflect at End of the Year Celebration (www.essexonlakechamplain.com)

About CFES Brilliant Pathways

CFES Brilliant Pathways is a global leader in helping K-12 underserved students from rural and urban communities become college and career ready, giving students an opportunity to forge their own route to a bright future. For 29 years, CFES has worked closely with schools, colleges and businesses in urban and rural areas to help students become college and career ready through mentoring and by equipping them with the EssentialSkills that include perseverance, agility, goal setting, networking, teamwork and leadership (www.brilliantpathways.org)