$5 cover (includes light snacks)

6 to 7:30pm

EDTALKS: THE ROLE OF CAREER & TECHNICAL EDUCATION IN THE 21ST CENTURY:

Our region is facing a growing worker shortage and one of the country’s largest equity gaps in employment, wages and education. While companies struggle to find skilled workers, many young people lack the resources and connections necessary to identify and secure high-demand, family-sustaining careers.

Career Technical Education (CTE) has the power to bridge this opportunity gap by making education relevant and experiential, and by equipping students with the skills and connections they need to secure living-wage careers.

Join us at our next EDTalks, where three education and employment leaders will explore what CTE looks like in the 21st century and why it’s so critical to introduce students to multiple pathways to success as they pursue their career passions. The event will be emceed by Adia Morris.

Our speakers include:

Hanane Kachman, Fairview Health Services
Hanane serves as Workforce Development Consultant at Fairview Health Services, where she provides expertise in specialty recruitment, workforce planning, pipeline creation, diversity and inclusion, and building partnership with educators and public officials. Hanane is currently focused on creating career pathway programs that begin in high school and continue through a variety of post-secondary opportunities, including community and four-year college, training programs for working adults, internships and fellowships.

Brendon Paulson, Anoka Technical College
Brendon is a Minnesota native who got his first job in in a machine shop as a high school student. He went on to attend Anoka Technical College, with tuition paid by his employer, All American Manufacturing. Brendon has worked in medical manufacturing for 20 years at Medtronic, Boston Scientific, St Jude and Covidien, developing processes and components to meet the needs of the medical device market. He now serves as a machine shop instructor at Anoka Technical College, where he enjoys helping students understand the many manufacturing processes used today.

Sara Etzel, Minneapolis Public Schools
Sara is Director of Career & Technical Education for Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) and a national America Achieves Fellow. At MPS, Sara is leading an innovative team of educators in a systems-change effort to expand access to co-curricular STEM experiences, develop career exploration opportunities that align with Minnesota’s World’s Best Workforce legislation, and create experiential learning that better equips students to succeed in a wide range of disciplines.