Assembly Select Committee on Community Economic Mobility and Investment

Good afternoon and welcome, today's committee select committee hearing on community economic mobility and investment. I'm Assemblymember Dr. Joaquin Arambula, and I'm happy to chair this select committee and thank my Assemblymember Juan Alanis for joining us. Hopefully, we'll have some others join us here in the near future.

I I'm beginning today with a bit of gratitude, recognizing the time and collaboration and the experiences that many of our nonprofits, many of our community groups, and educational leaders have taken to invest into moving our regions forward together. Whether or not it was from the California jobs, first jobs first initiative or from transformative climate communities, we've been making this change for years and wanna share some of the successes that we have.

At least for me, having practiced emergency medicine for a decade, I I saw issues outside of my four walls that I couldn't make improvements in, such as the social drivers of health, the social determinants of health. The fact that so much of their health was predicated on the air they were breathing, the water they were drinking, or the economic conditions of our communities.

That the abject poverty, the living conditions, the community that they were coming from was impacting their health, helped me to bring a lens and a focus towards economic development to ensuring that ultimately we were needing the underlying, needs. We were addressing resources and shortfalls and opportunities that we could be working on. And that can't come without collaboration.

That can't occur in silos. It requires us to put our gloves down and to figure out how we could work together. How are we able to better address and work collaboratively between our educational partners and industry to ensure that we were preparing the workforce for tomorrow. And that's why I'm glad that this hearing today is about three things.

First, it's about providing examples of how organizations that are working on the ground in a coalition with each other and across sectors can help us to promote inclusive economic development.

Second, it's helping us to understand the role of training and education higher education in bringing emergency emerging approaches into equitable and inclusive economic development to our state. And finally, it's about identifying the solutions and the opportunities that we have in the future. And while California has made recent investments, in our most current years, too many communities, especially our rural and low income and historically under invested communities continue to face barriers. There's a lack of coordinated support.

There's a complicated application process and limited technical capacity in many of our counties that we help to hold these forums to share an approach that is working across our state.

As a result, usually, communities with the greatest need are often the least able to access resources. Today, we will hear from participants in successful models of collaboration in our state, from nonprofits and from industry. We'll hear from local education partners, as well as grassroots leaders and community based organizations. These efforts can help us to show why strong partnerships, local capacity, and community leadership can lead towards us driving for more inclusive and sustainable economic growth.

Our goal is really clear, to build a more inclusive and equitable economy to ensure that every community has a fair shot at prosperity, and to secure and promote some of the most impactful next steps in addressing the nonmedical environmental conditions, the social drivers of health, like economic stability that have wide ranging health and quality of life outcomes.

Thank you for the panelists and participants in today's hearing. I'm looking forward to a thoughtful conversation today. With that, I'd like to invite forward our first panel. I'll see if any Assembly members have words to share at the beginning.

Well, good afternoon, everybody. I wanna thank you. Obviously, we all have busy schedules and, obviously, this is an important matter. So I wanna say thank you for taking the time. Looking forward to possibly learning some more stuff.

And I don't know everything, so please teach me more. Thank you.

I'll invite Arnie Sowell up, Adam Peck, Dr. Carol Goldsmith, and then finally, Barbara Foster with Fresno State.

Dr. Arambula, if you don't mind, I'd I'd like to defer to my colleagues to probably to start to to to to start with. And then I will if it's okay in in in the.

Let begin with Adam Peck.

Thank you, Chair Arambula and member Alanis. We I appreciate the opportunity to speak to you this afternoon. I'm Adam Peck, executive director of the California Workforce Association. We're the statewide member organization for California's local workforce development boards. Before taking on this role a year ago, my entire career was in the Central Valley where I was born and raised and where I led the workforce investment board of Tulare County for eighteen years.

At well, at Tulare County, our our board stated the problem this way and had offered as a frame for my comments. Too many people are unemployed or in low wage jobs that don't sustain their families, while at the same time, too many businesses have high quality jobs that go unfilled. And that becomes the challenge of where we kinda come together to try to solve those problems. Both halves of that are true at the same time in every county in this valley.

Closing that gap is what the local workforce development boards exist to do.

Here's how they're built and because of the structure is why they can effectively tackle these challenges. Federal law requires that a majority of members of every local workforce board come from the private businesses in that community, and the chair must be one of them. At least 20% of the members represent labor and community organizations, and the board is rounded out by community colleges, adult education providers, economic development, and vocational rehab. That design reflects something worth saying plainly.

This is a big country in a nation of more than 340 million people and in a state of nearly 40 million people spread across regional economies that have little in common with each other.

Nobody in Washington or Sacramento, with all due due respect, can know which employers in Porterville are hiring next quarter or which training provider in Modesto places people into jobs or why a program that works in Fresno doesn't work in Merced. Only local business community education labor leaders can see that clearly enough to decide how to invest in their own workers. That premise is what this system is built on.

In 2025, the the annual unemployment rate across the eight San Joaquin Valley counties ranged from 6.7% in in San Joaquin County to 10.8% in Tulare County. Statewide is 5.5%.

We know there's chronically higher unemployment in the Central Valley. All eight were above the state rate, but the harder problem isn't the number of jobs, but that as jobs have steadily been added, wages haven't kept pace with the rest of the state. But let me give you a few examples of what local boards in the Central Valley have been have been working on to to tackle these challenges. The Fresno Regional Workforce Development Board runs mostly on funding that scrapes together through effective grant writing.

Close to 60% of what it spent last program year came from competitive grants rather than the federal WIOA, Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act, formula funding that is the base of funding for local workforce boards.

Example of one program that some of those competitive funds prepares one prepares women for construction trades that have been largely close to them. Of the 78 who enrolled, 71 finished and 11 entered directly into registered apprenticeship programs. In Kern County, Employers Training Resource enrolled more than 1,700 individuals last year and placed 841 in employment. It signed 452 on the job training agreements that returned about $2.2 to local employers to compensate them for training the the new hires that they brought on.

Kern is also managing as you as we all know, the oil and gas transition.

Since August 2024, it has served 561 laid off oil and gas workers, and close to 200 are back in unsubsidized jobs at a median wage of almost $23 an hour, trained by community partners like the Kern Community College District and Cal State Bakersfield. And Tulare And Kings County is the board's partner to convene three employer led partnerships in manufacturing, health care, and agriculture. 26 companies sitting at those tables.

They've reviewed over 22, they've reviewed 22 local education programs to see the match against what employers are hiring for. In Madera County, who also braids effectively braids all federal, state, and local funding, they listen to employers who said that that there was a dramatic school bus driver shortage that was costing them money.

The board trained 55 drivers and 93% went to work in the field they were trained for. Farther North, San Joaquin Stanislaus and Merced Counties put their boards at the center of the region's California's job first work. The regional strategy there was led by the Merced County Workforce Development Board with their workforce director as the region's convener and a partnership of all three boards with it written into the governance. Merced, though the smallest and most rural county of that region, is has been leading that work.

I wanna be clear about where this money goes because I think it gets misunderstood.

When the state funds a local workforce board, it is funding local community colleges and adult schools because that's who delivers the training. It is funding labor organizations that run apprenticeship and pre apprenticeship programs because that's who runs the earn while you learn pathways. And it's funding community based organizations because that's who reaches the people furthest from work and opportunity. The board is the mechanism to determine where investments will be most impactful.

And, of course, the K-16 collaboratives are another strong resource that are strong partners in that same effort.

The return shows up in wages. Across those eight counties, roughly 5,400 people who left these programs were working in the quarter that followed earning an estimated $42 million in that quarter alone annually. That's on the order of a $168 million earned, and it's a conservative estimate. That is money earned and spent in valley communities to support valley businesses and families. One more thing I'd ask you to keep in view.

When the state talks about artificial intelligence and jobs, the measure is usually how many workers hold roles directly exposed to AI and automation. By that measure, The Valley looks less exposed than the Bay Area and other tech centers. I'd ask you to weigh a second thing alongside it, how easily a worker can adapt when the work changes. The valley's exposure is largely indirect. It shows up in warehousing, food processing, back office, and customer service work, and increasingly in the fields.

Those jobs are held by people already near the bottom of the wage ladder, often without the credentials, the the English language capacity, and with few other options nearby. A tech worker who is displaced by AI may have the skills and job options to easily pivot. Someone working warehouse work in Stockton or packing work in Tulare has fewer places to land for the next opportunity. There's a more immediate pressure that lands harder in the valley.

The new work requirements in HR 1 will reach roughly 840,000 Californians on food assistance and millions more on medical, and they buy it hardest where unemployment is highest and job openings are scarcest.

That's this valley. Merced and Tulare are two of only seven counties in the state still operating under a waiver, and it expires October 31. Participation in the program counts towards compliance under federal rules, which means a workforce board is one of the few doors a person can walk through and keep their benefits and get on a path to work that supports their family. Our boards are working with local social services to be part of that work. I should say we don't do any of this alone.

The labor and workforce development agency, the workforce service branch of EDD, and the California workforce development board have been steady and constructive partners for all our local boards. When something isn't working in the valley, we can get a call returned and a problem worked through. That relationship is part of why this system functions. Say having said that, three things would be helpful. First, build on the planning.

California jobs first is past the planning stage, and it's well into implementation. And the valley has three regional plans with real project pipelines behind them. What the region needs now is for the workforce education and economic development systems to be funded together with the partnerships and accountability structures. Those plans already built in at a scale that reaches workers across the whole valley rather than one county at a time. The planning identified the work the system needs to be resourced to continue to carry it out.

Second, fund systems rather than just individual projects. A project ends when the grant ends. A system compounds. Fresno's board can successfully compete for close to 60% of its budget, one application at a time last year, and every application with staff time not spent with an employer looking to grow or a dislocated worker struggling to know what to do next.

Multiyear investment in these systems paired with strong accountability will help offset long term federal divestment at a moment when labor markets are facing their largest shift in a generation.

Third, watch the base funding for the program year that started July 1. California's federal WIOA allocation for adult training fell more than 8%, and youth funding fell more than 7%. So in a year when valley unemployment ran as high as 10%, the funding that trains an adult or young person for a career went down. CWA will keep pressing for more robust federal investment, and we aren't giving up on that.

But California cannot wait for the federal government to work out how this state invests in its own workers.

If we intend to keep the most productive and nimble workforce in the nation, this is a decision California has to make and fund on its own. Let me close where I started. Too many people in this valley are working and still not making it, and too many good jobs are sitting unfilled. Nobody in this building can fix that from here.

What you can decide is whether the people closest to it, the employers and colleges and unions and community organizations who sit around these local board tables have the resources and the time horizon to finish what they start.

Thank you.

Thank you, Adam. Next, we'll hear from Barbara Thomas, executive director at Fresno State.

It's Foster. No problem. Thank you, Mister Chair. I am pleased to be here.

Thank you, Mister Alanis. And I am thrilled that we have an opportunity to share some information regarding the Central Valley, which is long been under a shadow of Northern And Southern California in many instances. Unemployment in the San Joaquin Valley ranges between 6.2% and 10.1% with Tulare, Merced, Kern, and King's Counties hit the hardest.

The Office of Community and Economic Development, OCED, leverages federal, state, private, and philanthropic funding as well as the resources of the division of continuing and global education and the broader campus at Fresno State to support equity, education, and economic growth throughout the valley. Our USDA rural business development grants have supported small business development in the underserved cities of Taft, McFarland, San Joaquin, Huron, and Parlier.

Without those funds, these communities, as you both know, are underserved, and many individuals do not have access that they need to provide economic growth. The Small Business Administration and the California office of the Small Business Advocates are primary sources and sponsors for the Central Valley Women's Entrepreneur Center, which is housed in OSAD. In addition, funding from CASA adoption and regional consortia grants, Verizon, Comcast, AccessPlus Capital, US Bank, Wells Fargo, and Irvine Foundation, as well as Cameo Network supported the work of the center.

Without that braiding of funds, like was mentioned by Mister Peck, it could not have done the work in the valley. In addition, the the braiding of these various funding streams enabled the center to assist 5,210 unique clients with thirteen thousand three hundred and sixty eight hours of counseling and 624 training classes.

81% of the clients served resided in low wealth areas. These results were only possible through a collaborative cross sector effort to address economic growth and development in the valley. Public and private partnerships, when intentional, increase the public's trust in the work being performed. OCED provides a bridge for partners to operationalize connections that align individual priorities to forge innovative shared goals. Higher education drives local economies, modernizes agriculture, strengthens schools, and expands health care.

It builds a skilled workforce and sparks research and innovation. High speed broadband connects these efforts, making the impact faster and stronger across every sector. Fresno State's Carnegie community engagement designation is an integral driver that marries the commitment to community service, partnerships, and real world experiences for students through service learning. These efforts have been recognized by the Wall Street Journal ranking Fresno State fifth in the nation for social mobility.

OCED's campus engagement spans diverse disciplines, including research and sponsored programs, industrial technology, social work, public health, business, graphic design, and agriculture.

OCED and our efforts mirror the university's vision to empower students, advance social, economic, and environmental programs. Fresno State is recognized as a valuable partner within the valley and generates over a billion dollars in regional industry activity. Fresno State's many economic contributions strengthen local business and wages, support targeted regional growth, advance workforce development, and foster agricultural, excuse me, innovation.

These factors support higher education education as an integral player in promoting inclusive economic development, Building an inclusive sustainable community that supports the well-being of all members requires a shared effort. No single person group or organization can achieve this goal alone.

It takes active teamwork from all members. This challenges all to reflect on what we can each contribute to the effort. How can I maximize participation and minimize the challenges that partnerships and collaborations present? That means not pushing away from the table. It's getting large bureaucracies to function and push the edge of what their guidelines and rules are, as well as connecting with other partners in the region to support activities around permitting and laws that slow the process down incredibly.

Only collectively can we create partnerships and collaborations that go beyond individual priorities, rules, and guidelines to establish an environment where we participate actively to establish the foundations that allow communities and the families within those communities to thrive. Thank you.

Thank you, Barbara. And next, we'll hear from Arnie, please.

Good afternoon, Chair Arambola and Assemblymember Alanis. I appreciate the the opportunity to speak in front of you today. My name is Arnie Sowell, and I'm the executive director of NextGen Policy. NextGen is a nonprofit organization that fights for transformative policy, budgetary and program solutions that break down systemic barriers, foster economic opportunity, and empower community engagement. We work across a range of issue areas, climate, health care, affordable housing, workforce development, income inequality, etcetera.

Just to just to name a few, particularly in communities, that are have been under invested in. And over the last two plus years, we have been one of the strategic partners in the the CME initiative along working very closely with the Sierra Health Foundation and a number of the other strategic partners.

As a strategic partner, our focus and our goal is to work to try to help CME grantees and the the the ecosystem that the CME model has spawned to engage with state and local governments to access resources, participate in legislative proceedings, and implement economic development programs. Specifically, our work focuses on technical assistance and strengthening the capacity of community organizations to more effectively interact with state and and local government to support local economic development.

Today, I just wanna spend just a few minutes with you, discussing a few NGP and, CME, aligned, projects that I think relate to this committee's focus today, which is on training, education, inclusive economic development, as well as I wanna make a a few recommendations of to you as well.

As has already been stated, and I don't wanna just restate the obvious, but I think it's important. Too many Californians, particularly for not underrepresented communities, face barriers to stable living wage jobs. At the same time, a shortage of qualified workers posed obstacles to growth in key industries like health care, technology, infrastructure, and climate resilience.

NexGen believes strongly that workforce development and training, particularly traditional and non traditional apprenticeships, are critical tools for accessing economic opportunity and in turn, providing levers for educational achievement as well as economic mobility. Simply put, our theory of change is as follows.

To address income inequality and generate economic and upward mobility opportunities, we must create the policies and tools, the systems, to expand the apprenticeship infrastructure in California. And to that end, we have, been fortunate enough to receive both a federal grant and a state grant that, that builds on this. The federal grant we received from was from the Department of Labor, and it's to help expand the public sector apprenticeship programs in California, particularly for underserved populations.

The project is entitled the California Statewide Register Apprenticeship Hub, and it is focused on building and strengthening non traditional public sector register apprenticeship programs throughout the state, which will lead to sustainable career pathways and improve workforce development and economic mobility opportunities. The hub supports government, nonprofit, educational, and community based organizations with design, registration, and technical assistance.

And its unique focus is on non traditional apprenticeships. These are apprenticeships that are in high demand fields like health care, education, technology, infrastructure, legal operations, social, financial, administrative, etcetera. And that is the federal grant that we received and that was a four year grant. We also received a a state, environmental development department not environmental. Employment development department grant.

EDD, which is a grant for what was called Opportunity Young Adults Career Path the Career Pathways Program. And this was a program that was focused almost entirely on Sacramento County, and it was to try to support young adults who were justice involved. And to work with them to give them the necessary training and tools, so that they could get into and be successful in the job market with the requisite skills that they needed.

It offered career readiness and exploration training, work based learning opportunities, college and career certifications, and comprehensive wrap around services to improve employment outcomes. And that was an effort also to try to re reduce recidivism and also bridge some of the labor market gaps.

The program engaged 31 partner organizations including training programs, community based organizations, higher education institutions, and employers to serve nearly 200 program participants. And of those participants, a 106 secured jobs with an hourly wage weight of over $20 an hour, and 15 per 15 participants are now enrolled in higher education programs. I would also mention that NextGen is also cosponsoring along with the California Workforce Association of Bill, Senate Bill 845, which is focused on youth apprenticeship and expanding youth apprenticeships.

And these are this is a a statewide effort to build youth apprenticeship models, codifying some definitions, and also trying to make this the system more streamlined and more aligned with the needs that that higher education systems are are requesting, as well as report employers are requesting. Finally, I'd I'd just like to say just in terms of an overview of of programs that we've been involved in, we were a cosponsor of the jails to jobs program.

This was a a program that was funded just most recently in the in the state in the state budget. It's a pilot program and it is a program designed to try to assist individuals who are injustice involved, who are pretrial, and are presenting presented with an opportunity for diversion programs.

And so, it is a pilot at this particular point in time, but we feel very strongly by intervening pretrial this the jobs to the jails to jobs program will offer training and support at a moment when people really, really need it and have the the greatest opportunity to sort of secure sort of meaning meaningful stable employment that will really, really sort of assist them on on in in in terms of their their future endeavors and get them out of the cycle of being justice involved.

I I was a long time assembly legislative staffer and I know the importance of select committees. I know their importance as it relates to the influence they have and the and in terms of bill ideas, in terms of budget ideas, those sorts of things like that.

I just want to offer just three very very sort of quick sort of recommendations to the committee as I conclude my remarks. First is that this CME model works. And, this is a collaboration of nonprofit organizations, philanthropy, government, the private sector, and others. There is an ecosystem here that touches every corner of the state.

And I would just encourage this committee as as they continue to to work through the CME model to consider it as a a model that should be more formally realized in state government.

And a model that, where government funding, philanthropic funding, other sources of funding, as well as the lessons learned through this process will help to deepen the work of CME, as well as expand its work, statewide.

I believe very very strongly that many of the problems that the the state is facing rather than have them siloed with government trying to attack them or the private sector trying to attack them or the nonprofit or philanthropic sector trying to attack them. This is something that deserves the collaboration and cooperation across sectors, and CME represents that, and it has worked.

Secondly, I would just just sort of offer that I know that the the assembly right now and and the legislature is grappling with the cap and invest program. And I would just sort of say, this is one of the sources of money that has provided economic opportunity to underrepresented communities. It's provided you know affordable housing funding, public transit money.

It's it's provided funding for small business, and it is something that we need to continue to to support and and to maintain. And the final thing that I'd like to to make note of is that it was mentioned that we need to to also be thinking about artificial intelligence and and and think about tech. And I think it is incumbent upon not only this this select committee, but incumbent upon us as we as we think to the future.

We cannot leave communities behind, and we cannot allow for what is happening with the AI boom and and, etcetera, to leave communities behind. And so there is a real opportunity through the CME model.

There's a real opportunity through apprenticeships. There's a real opportunity to the work that I know that is already underway, in the in this legislative body, that we we focus on artificial intelligence. So we focus on how it it can be an economic mobility lever and driver. And so, with that, I I just thank you for the opportunity to have a few minutes to engage with you.

Thanks for the great testimony from this panel. I'll begin with any questions from my colleague.

Not really a question. Just more of a comment. I was in another meeting during lunch, and we talked about AI a lot also and how we've got these preconceived ideas of what it's gonna be doing or possibly doing, replacing people in their jobs, but we're also finding out that it's actually becoming a very good tool to help in the workforce. So with that narrative, I'm hearing from you right now.

I'm I'm I'm seeing that maybe we'll grasp it, embrace it, and maybe grow with it, and make it make it again a tool more than something that we're gonna fear.

So I appreciate those comments, all of your comments. Thank you.

I like to summarize if I can to make sure that staff that may be watching this, other offices that may be participating get a shortened version of Cliff Notes version. You know, I may be aging myself, but that was a thing that came before AI and allowed us to talk about it. But for Mister Peck, I heard that when we fund our workforce development boards, we're really funding community colleges. We're we're funding adult education.

We're funding labor and many of our nonprofit organizations and to really utilize your experience in being on the front lines and being much closer to the problems than we could ever be front in Sacramento or in our nation's capital.

I I wanted to dig in a little bit regarding the work requirements that are coming from HR 1. Many of us are grappling with what that will require, how we're going to be able to meet that need. And that ultimately, those requirements might be more stringent than we initially thought of because of how it's been rolled out.

And so we'd love to hear insights you may have and how we could address those work requirements to ensure that we kept people on to our social safety net who deserved to be there. I'll begin with that first question.

Yeah. We everyone is grappling. I appreciate the state leadership both at the labor and workforce development agency and Department of Social Services have put together a pilot of seven counties where the Department of Social Services and workforce boards are working together to to to figure out some of these things because it's fast moving. There's a sense that well, there's more than a sense.

There's a realization that the effort is to push some people off the roles and that and that we wanna make sure and that at the same time, workforce development is a system that helps transform lives and gets people the skills they need.

It's not about helping people maintain busy work hours. And so there's there can be a where on the social service side, there's a there's there's a desperate effort to make sure people don't lose the safety net and whatever means it takes. Well, we think these are folks as the workforce development system should be serving, and we think we can help towards an opportunity, but without the resources.

When I I became into this work when, TANF, late nineties, when when TANF came on board, and there were resources to assist with that transition on the workforce development side to make sure that as we are moving people in and prioritizing work, that there were the resources to make sure people could do that. That doesn't exist this time as we're getting hit the double barreled on on the food stamp and the medical side.

So it's a lot of concern, a lot of technical rules coming and know trying to figure out how to to not have people's lives caught up in that. And and requirements work requirements for TANF where there was a check is different than when there is a a balance to to help pay for food is different from access to health care. And people's recognition that that something's gone awry in their benefits is different in those different systems.

And so we I don't think anyone has it totally figured out, but I do appreciate that the state has taken some leadership with these these pilots to to assist in in in figuring out the best way to to to take care of these folks.

I do wanna continue the conversation regarding resources. You had identified through the California Jobs First initiative that we had done the planning that was necessary. Right. That the regions had identified priorities, and yet we're lacking the resources to implement it. Right.

Can can you help speak to the need for us to fund all of the great planning that's gone into effect so we can realize the change that we wanted to see locally?

Yeah. The state led folks going through a lot of work over a lot of years. OSID was was one of the sub regional tables. We had one of the sub regional tables in that when I was in Tulare County. A lot of work, so a lot of voices in and very important in pulling together economic development and workforce development and community college education and CBOs. Statewide blueprint to economic development, and all those pieces make sense. And it's helped even piece together going after federal money and things like that, which is the whole plan.

But it feels like there's a real concern that as we go through some, you know, leadership transitions administration, that that work will fall aside and that it'll all have been a lot of table setting without getting to to to get into the work. There's been some implementation funding, but there's a lot more work to be done.

And with I'd say, especially in the Central Valley, there are good systems, economic development, community college, adult ed, you know, K-16 partnerships that existed before the K-16, collaborative funding came out. Good work going on there and that should be held accountable and should the state should have a say in how that accountability should look. But the pieces are there.

The people are at the right table, and it's and it'd be a shame not to invest at a time when AI is is upending both creating risk, but also creating a huge opportunity that California has always been on the forefront of.

Assemblymember Arambula, can you hear me?

Doctor Goldsmith, I do and would love to hear from you.

Yes. Thank you. I I I knew I was with the first panel, and I wanted to make sure I I shared a few things. I've heard, the words community college, said a few times. And, first of all, I wanna thank you, Assembly member, Ramblin, member Alanis.

We are so grateful for you, for your leadership and your deep understanding of the fact that health is linked to education and careers. Thank you for your deep understanding of the power of collaboration, which this, session is really focusing on. You know, in in the valley, I think we all can attest to, my colleagues at the table can attest to that we're hyper focused on an inclusive economic health for all.

And so the California Community College is serving 2,200,000 state center community college with our four colleges serving 72,000 students. I I wanna focus on California's newest community college and, the one, in Madera.

Madera Community College, which is the only higher educational institution and provider, along with our workforce investment board. We're working really diligently and closely with our community partners, to not only train students, but to develop the workforce that attracts and retains employers in our region. I think that's something we really need to focus on too. We don't want our employer base to leave because they can't find high qualified people. And we know the people in the valley are hardworking and they prove that each and every day.

For us, we know that workforce development is economic development. And Madera Community College, in addition to all the community colleges across the Central Valley, not only the ones in my district, but you heard about Kern and COS and West Hills. We are really working closely with our employer partners, our four year university partners, and our high schools. You heard about the K 16 project, how we're creating pipelines that responds to industry needs and supporting that upward equitable economic mobility and strengthening the region's long term competitiveness.

I'll give you a few examples.

In Madera, we are doing a couple of things in interesting ways. We are standing up now in Agave Innovation Center. And you may be thinking, what is that about? Well, as you know, we still face issues in agriculture around water. Agave is a product that is a low water plant that not only can be distilled, but the byproduct of that can be used for a feed, can be used for very similar like hemp, for rope.

There's a lot of products made from, agave. And we're currently offering a community college education courses through this and through our partnership with UC Merced and the UC Ag Natural Resources working towards a for credit program. But we know our employers, they're so hungry for students. It could be for credit, not for credit. This past June, we planted 20 different varieties of agave, in Madera at the campus.

And we will be evaluating how each different variety performs in our region's climate, working with our agricultural partners up and down the valley. This research will help inform our industry partners and provide the valuable data that supports farmers, who are interested in cultivating agave. As I shared, we have a great working relationship with UC Merced and UC, the Ag Resource Center. We're also working very closely with Fresno State, in in their distilling program. And we're excited about this new work.

And, of course, if you've been up and down the freeways of 99, you know that, with there's a lot of trucks on the road. We continue to move a lot of product out of the valley. We are focusing on increasing our truck driving program, working with large employers like Okay Produce and others. We know that those programs often are very expensive. So we're trying to provide it for a very low cost through a private training provider.

Our students can get their driver their truck driving license in a little nine or eighteen weeks for less than $400 That is a great savings for our families when we know that it's not knocking the private post secondary. They have a place at the table as well. But they're expensive and some of our students just can't afford it. We know that our graduates are getting well paying jobs with wonderful benefits. Many of them are union jobs where it's a high demand industry.

Speaking of high demand industry and traveling of goods, you know, the Central Valley, we make a lot of goods, and we're working with the San Joaquin Valley Manufacturing Alliance to do just that. We're hearing from our partners that maintenance mechanic, machining, and welding, all of those are in high demand. And all of those programs are our students are being trained at the Madera campus and the other four colleges as well. So they can get a certificate and a degree and then find employment in these industries.

You know, earlier I heard you all speak about the impact of HR1.

I know Assemblymember Randall, you are keenly aware of how this is going to impact our hospitals. We're working closely with our hospital CEOs and our nursing CEOs because they've stressed that this is going to put an additional impact of stress on the system. And so they're they're coming to us and our our private for profit colleges as well as the four years to say we need more nurses, allied health, and the like.

So we continue to have a vocational nurse program at Madera, a nursing program, a bridge program. All are at full capacity.

All of these graduates are finding jobs. We're looking at creative ways of working with Fresno State to expand the access to our transfer program for the BSN program at Fresno State. In all of these programs, and I could go on but I'll stop, all of these programs are made possible by our ability to braid funds, both the state and federal dollars, philanthropic dollars, and the strategic private public partnership with many of our industry partners, many of whom are sitting at the table right now.

And Arnie's right. The CME model, it works.

Community colleges are well working with other institutions. They're working well with employers and governmental nonprofits, not just my community colleges, but all of the community colleges and the CSUs. You know, this work together, advancing the workforce development and economic mobility and inclusive development in the Central Valley, it's working. It's difficult. It's challenging.

But the cross segment collaboration is important and our communities need it. So I urge all of us to be able to work together for that that greater good.

Thank you, my friend, and grateful that you, as always, would stand up and advocate and make sure that your voice was heard. It's needed today. And if you'll stay online, we'll, I'll get to some questions with you, but we'll finish up, with Mister Peck and then miss Foster. Your second and third points that you made, Mister Peck, were really about funding systems as well as that California should be a backstop.

Hoping again to try and get some understanding of resources and the totality of what that could do to ensure that we had this space for public private partnerships.

Thank you, doctor Rambula. It when you look at federal workforce development funding, I think there's a good structure. Local boards, I explained the the importance of that structure. But the total funding level, just on nominal terms, not even accounting for inflation, has dropped by over 80% over the last thirty years.

And at a time when we we so I think we states have often looked and just seen this as because the structure has been federally funded, and this workforce development isn't the only area where this has occurred.

Where that the federal support is eroded over time without a real recognition that that the amount of work to do. There used to be robust summer youth programs. The number of people I still talk to who who tell me the first job I got was a summer youth program, and the first thing that kind of let me see something different from the the, the the path I was on. Those programs went away. The funding for those went away as stand alone summer youth programs.

And just that erosion over time, and it just has come to strike as as I look at some other states that have that have invested state dollars. And I know state dollars are there's a lot of competition for limited resources. But we're really in this moment as we try to take advantage of of shifting a workforce that that that will need to shift because the economy is just going to shift.

It's gonna be great opportunity and a great lost opportunity if we don't, especially in the Central Valley where the population is overall younger, we are there there are

a lot of young people coming into the labor market, and happy to share some statistics on how that looks different than than the rest of the state. So there's tremendous resource of human capital there, but it will be a lost opportunity if we don't figure out how to invest in those. So I don't know how to make that happen.

But having and I can give some examples of other states that have come alongside with state investments in the workforce, and they get to have a little bit more say about it deciding who gets served with those fund those funds and such to understand where the gaps are. If we're trying to transition a an immigrant workforce that may not be able to that some federal funding can't touch, there there have been and there have been examples of that.

And just we just need to understand that we are at at this inflection point. And if we don't make, an investment in what it will take to prepare our workforce for the opportunities that exist over the next decade. It's gonna be a lost opportunity, I think, we'll regret.

As we look at the California jobs first initiative, it takes a certain amount of funding to fund all of the regions that are being talked about. How do we help to prioritize those regions that have 50 to a nearly a 100% higher unemployment rates than the statewide average may may give us some insights on how we create prioritization as we look towards funding in the future. Good point. Again, just wanted to thank you for your testimony today.

Miss Foster, if I can, when you were clicking off the cities that you worked with, Taft, McFarland, San Joaquin, Huron, and Parlier, I represent or at least represented three of them over my tenure up here in Huron, San Joaquin, and Parlier.

And my father grew up in McFarland where he was picking in the fields. And I was born in Delano, just down the street from there. And so I know that many of these cities are our poorest cities that we have. I actually think Huron might be the poorest city we have in the state of California. El Corazon Del Valle, the heart of the valley and, you know, really look towards how you focused on public private partnerships to help us to address the needs.

You had seen 5,200 roughly and that you had 624 that were currently in training and the more than thirteen hundred hours of counseling and how it really positioned Fresno State to be about social mobility. But you're the fifth in the country in terms of taking people who grew up poor, but helping to position them into a better space. So we just wanted to give you the floor a little bit to highlight a pride of the valley that we have. Go dogs.

And and just wanted to Absolutely.

Speak about that if that's alright.

Go Fresno State. That's it. And part of that credibility, the reputation of campus is part of the reason that they draw the partners that they do. The reality is we look at how are we in place to impact these underserved committee communities. We offer the all of those services in English and Spanish as well.

The cultural congruence is important. The, maneuvering around federal changes and how that's impacted individuals' ability and sense of freedom to come and access services. We spend a lot of time with virtual training for that reason. It's provided to them in their homes. You can it takes a little bit different modality, but we've been able to braid our CPUC funds and look at how do you present digital literacy from just straightforward device, Internet, those kinds of things.

And so we've built curricula around improving your parenting skills, health care, telemedicine, all of the, components that the CPU see through their CASF grants requires can be put into those courses, which then you draw a different audience that then benefits from their ability to maneuver and feel comfortable in the Internet environment. Without those improvements for them, education, health care, economics don't change. It's very fundamental to that process.

We also have a program that provides the opposite end of the spectrum from working with the corrections department in Chowchilla men's and women's prisons to provide degrees of change where they get a degree. So it does change that trajectory when they're released and they have a sense that I can do something different.

Those relationships and it open communication, building the trust, and that sense that you will, in fact, follow through with what you say you're going to do are critical. They are the underpinnings of a collaborative cross sector approach. And I think the university does that exceptionally well. It does take a lot of time. You do have to manage frustration.

You've got multiple large bureaucracies that you're dealing with on top of governmental directives and guidelines as well. And sometimes getting them together is not the issue. It's in the details of, okay, now that we've agreed to do this, how are we really going to do it, and what prevents it, and how can we eliminate those barriers? I came into this, OSID position about two and a half years ago with a social work background. Oh my goodness.

I am amazed at how much of that communication conflict resolution that you utilize in this process, but it has been working well. So I am quite I am definitely a person who loves the university. I have been there. I was in retirement, came out of retirement to work on the OSID, and I can see that it makes a huge impact in the valley from the parkway to the prisons to the schools.

We just recently changed our digital literacy program, which was previously known as Parent University to rise and including those high school students and partner with Upward Bound program on campus to engage and connect with them.

So they really truly believe and can see themselves on a campus that is going to provide them with a future.

I I really appreciated your comments here, miss Foster, especially about being more diplomatic. Having a brother who's the board Chair for the entire CSU system, I see the importance of bringing everyone together as well as ensuring that the flagship university for the CSU system is supported. So Absolutely. Grateful for your comments here today. I'm gonna turn to a favorite of mine and miss and doctor Goldsmith, if I can.

I was with you as we helped light up downtown as the the building with the big g downtown got got lit up was wonderful for us to see. And and, you know, and and and a big proponent of economic development and ensuring that where our students start, where the vast majority of our students go to are are getting the investments that they need.

I've been following you since your West Hill days, going to Fresno City, rising then to be chancellor, the creation of Madera, and have been such a big fan. I've I've helped to support your mechanics training, the welding training, the nursing, program with grants from the state level that have brought investments to our local community colleges. And and really wanna come back to, if I can, the public private partnerships that you highlighted.

Later, we're gonna hear from the Fresno, workforce development corporate or sorry, from the Fresno EDC, Economic Development Corporation. This last year, I was at their award ceremony where they gave the giraffe award to Okay Produce and the Matoyans who used to be neighbors of mine back in the day that that I wanted to hear more about these truck driving programs, the Agave innovation. You know, we're focused forward.

The work we've done in our West Fresno campus, the alternative motors, whether it be electric or hydrogen, the the preparation for semi trucks, the ability for us to be innovative, with these new campuses all happened under your leadership. How do we encourage more of that innovation across our community colleges throughout the state?

And how do we ensure that we're meeting that that willingness to listen to our private industry about what their needs are and then delivering resources to them through our students.

Yeah. Thank you thank you. Thank you for the kind words. You've been a huge supporter of education at every level, and we are blessed to have you at the legislator at the legislation. And I wish you all the best in your future.

And I know, Barbara, you talked a little bit about retirement. I too am gonna be retiring soon. And I know that the call to this work is so strong. My my hope is that, you know, how do we get people to do this work? We have to continue to have conversations and we have to keep going back to the table and bringing people along.

And the CSU and the community colleges have seen a huge kind of shift over the years. People are retiring. New people are coming. I was talking with one of the provosts actually yesterday morning about the need for collaboration between the CSU and the community colleges. I said regionally, we do it, but we need something system wide to do this.

I'm hoping, and I'm gonna keep working. I it may look different, but the goal is we have to keep bringing these young administrators to chamber events. We have to bring chamber and business and community members and parents to educational events. It's all about getting people talking. You know, you talked about the the business council that's coming up, not the business council, excuse me, Will Oliver's group, the EDC.

They have been a great convener of just doing just that. And so actually, it was at one of their meetings when I was sitting next to the Brady Montoya. We were talking about truck driving and all the changes in regulations and how we couldn't find drivers. And we started talking about what we could offer, but we needed a place to be able to expand. And so he's like, well, I have space at my facility.

Would you wanna come do classes there? So we have classes in Madera, and we also have classes at Okay Produce. So it's just those conversations that can open up possibilities. Because when we get into our silos, the creativity ends. You have to be in courageous conversations.

And sometimes they're tense. They're never tense with Okay Produce or the FTC or or or Fresno State. But we have to be able to go outside our regions and have more of those conversations. But this is how we've done it. How can we help you do the same?

And what can we learn from them? So just staying in communication, I think, is important, Assembly member.

I I will just highlight for the governor's office. They received a grant when they they moved because of high speed rail, which allowed them then to transfer to electric trucks. Because of the advantages they had from decreased transportation costs, they could bid lower than many of their competitors, which increased their demand for drivers. It it led towards needing to partner with our community colleges.

And so it's a, again, an example of public private partnerships that didn't always seem that way at first, but ultimately has led towards us addressing the needs of our community and helping to create good jobs.

And they've done a tremendous job locally helping to deliver on that. Thank you, doctor Goldsmith.

I I wanna end with you, Arnie, if I can because, really, this comes back to see me. And and I don't mean to highlight any one particular grantee program, but it's not a mistake that we have the same acronym while we're here to focus on investments or initiatives. And what CME has been doing is showing us what works, whether it's through traditional or non traditional apprenticeships. I'll come back to what Adam mentioned earlier.

Thank you.

We've had a valley built now or valley built for a very long time helping us to bring people into apprenticeships, but the Valley Build now stands for nontraditional occupation for women.

And it was a state specific grant of $3,000,000 to the Fresno workforce development board that addressed women's needs. It it listened to them about needing childcare and transportation and stipends that they were the head of their own households, and they couldn't take the time off to enter into an apprenticeship without that type of support.

That allows us to address the requirements that we have from the state and Federal Government towards women participating in many of our trades, working on large transportation projects, and believe that is an example that you were highlighting about needing for us to address the income inequality, needing apprenticeships that met all people. Not just men entering into the trades, but women inclusive. I kinda wanted to come back to, if I could, some of the barriers to the stable living wage jobs that you were referencing.

And the justice involved are are many of those who are harder to employ historically. And so your work that you were mentioning, working here in Sacramento, the pilot that we had with Jails to Jobs, I was hoping you could speak a little bit more about both of those. Is that some model that we should be looking to expand to other parts of our state to ensure that we're all capitalizing on a workforce who, whether they've been diverted or whether or not they simply need employment.

After their time is done, we we should be figuring out how to be inclusive inclusive of them into our workforce. But then more broadly, just wanted you to talk about youth.

You know? And maybe because I got three kids and maybe because so much of Fresno is young. You know? Many of them talk to me about wanting to get a job here shortly, but not feeling like they can compete when there are so many people fighting for entry level jobs. So how do we create that appropriate work ethic when there's a willingness, but there's not the opportunity that many of them desire.

Well, you're throwing a lot at me. And and I and I know you gotta get to your your second panel. So I will go on too long. But I think one of the things I think that is a thread that runs throughout my colleagues and Aye, our our conversation with you today is that of being close to in in proximity to to to issues in proximity to to the problems.

And I think in in in that proximity and having those conversations, I think innovation happens and ideas are born.

And I think that that is to your your question about justice involved youth and and folks in in the justice and in the justice system. It was literally one of our team members who works on criminal justice issues, who was really really concerned about high recidivism rates. And, you know, obviously, was thinking about, you know, programs that may be programs prior to folks getting out of of, you know, a jail or an incarcerated situation. But that spawned in him.

What are some of the what is, you know, what is it that's missing for these for these particular individuals that, might be put them on a different track?

And that was a job. And so that is what, started his and some of our other team members efforts along down this path of we need to start figuring out what's happening in the workforce system and how it is that we we try to align, these particular individuals better into opportunities within, the the workforce system. And that's what's led to to the jails to jobs pilot project. That's what that was what led to the work that we were doing with Opportunity Youth, etcetera.

And as you can see from just, you know, so just some of the the early figures particularly on the the Opportunity Youth work, wildly successful.

While successful. You know, I echo my colleague's sentiment here, you know, that opportunity of a summer job or a summer you know, that your first contact into the into the workforce, can be a real life changer. And and we see it with the work that we're doing, with these particular individuals. Many of whom have never had anybody come to them and ask them, what do you wanna do with your life? You

know? What where do you see yourself? And so put them on the road to to to getting there. I I think the other thing that I'll just sort of say is to amplify just on that just a little bit more about CME in general. If you look at the map where all these CME grantees are, you know they're every in every corner of the state.

You know? And one of the things that was was not done was to try to presuppose what was needed. It was to try to really rely on those folks from the community, those those individual organizations to to bring forward, what they knew, might be the most appropriate solutions for their respective, communities.

And I would just sort of I know this has been done before, but I would just say we we just need to double down on these types of regional approaches, these types of approaches that really, really just sort of focus on what's happening on the ground and what's been successful. And and do our best to give them the resources, give them the policy levers that that they may need and then get out of the way.

And and let the folks that really know what they're doing get to work.

Again, it's one of the reasons I'm so supportive of NextGen is you've really been doing that capacity building and technical assistance that those nonprofits need to make sure that they're supported, that their voice is heard, and that we're all working towards economic development. That's what's needed in these trying times, and I'm appreciative of this entire panel for the conversation that we have. I will invite the second panel up, which focuses on examples of collaborations between states, nonprofits, and industry overall.

Again, it's one of the reasons I'm so supportive of NextGen is you've really been doing that capacity building and technical assistance that those nonprofits need to make sure that they're supported, that their voice is heard, and that we're all working towards economic development. That's what's needed in these trying times, and I'm appreciative of this entire panel for the conversation that we have. I will invite the second panel up, which focuses on examples of collaborations between states, nonprofits, and industry overall.

Are we okay to go in order? Kaying, are you okay to begin?

And I hope it's okay. I'm informal. I'm planning on you introducing yourself more generally, and it's great to see you since last night.

Okay. Well, good afternoon, Chair Arambula, and I'm sorry we lost a member of the committee, but I'm delighted to be here. I am standing in for our CEO, Chet Hewitt, who unexpectedly had an emergency to deal with, but my name is Kaying Hang, and I serve as the President for the Center of Sierra Health Foundation, delighted to be here.

For those of you who don't know who we are, we are a statewide intermediary along with our sister organization Sierra Health Foundation. We have an explicit focus on ensuring that every individual in the state of California has access to a helpful life. And from the center's perspective, we believe we bring people, ideas, and infrastructures together in order for us to be able to realize that vision and that mission. So delighted to be here.

I'll just start off by saying that, I believe, we are all here because we share a common goal, and that is that we wanna make sure that California's communities become stronger, healthier, and more economically resilient. As someone who has spent much of my life and two decades working in public health, thank you for your introduction, Doctor Arambula, I've learned that our health is influenced by far more than health care.

The opportunities people have to work, start a business, support a family, and participate in a thriving local economy have a profound impact on their health and well-being, economic opportunity and public health are deeply, deeply connected. When people have stable employment, strong local businesses, quality education, and trusted community institutions, communities become healthier, more productive, and more resilient.

Healthy communities strengthen our economy, and of course, strong economies create a healthier community. That is the foundation of our collective work. The Community Economic Mobility Initiative or CEMI acronym is very similar to the naming of this committee. And for us, CEMI is where community members are the core center of the design of solutions that impact their own economic future. And for us, that is really important and powerful.

Our goal, while distributing funds is important, it was never only just about distributing funds. Our goal has been able to help community organizations build their capacity to compete successfully from public resources, strengthen regional partnership, leverage public investments, and create inclusive and economic and equitable economic opportunities that are driven by communities themselves, and you'll hear from some of them shortly. I'm pleased to share that the CEMI model is working as testified by our strategic partner from NextGen.

And since 2022, CEMI partners have pursued more than four hundred million in public grants and contracts, resulting in approximately a hundred and seventy-eight million in investment flowing back into California's community. Just as importantly, 80% of our partners have reported that they feel stronger collaborating today than they did three years ago.

Those numbers for us represent much more than the 15.3 million that we deployed to 53 organizations back in 2022. They represent stronger local leadership, greater organizational capacity, and communities that are much better positioned to solve their own challenges and leverage future opportunities with local leadership. And, to us, that is key. I'll share that one of our most important lessons has been the value of regional collaboration.

For example, in Northern California, we've helped supported the Inclusive Economic Development Collective, and I know Tonya is gonna talk a little bit about that, by investing in local organizations and providing technical assistance that enables them to work together around shared economic goals.

We're excited about the opportunity to apply these learnings to the San Joaquin Valley and other regions throughout the state of California. As Sierra Health Foundation, we've spent more than forty years investing in California communities. And through the center, we spent the last thirteen years working alongside community partners. One lesson has consistently remained true for us, and that is long-term, place-based investment produces lasting results.

Because by building trust, strengthening relationship, and creating local capacity that is needed for communities to succeed, and that is key to our work.

Our work through initiatives like the San Joaquin Valley Health Fund, which I know you know well, has shown that sustained partnership creates healthier workers, stronger small businesses, more resilient nonprofit organizations, and ultimately stronger regional economies. We've also learned that when organizations have the capacity and resources they need, it can build stronger regions, network, and system. And sometimes it requires more than just financial contributions or support.

Community based organizations have told us that they need trusted relationships, technical assistance, leadership development, and the flexibility to respond to local priorities, all of which are components of CEMI and supported through our partnership with NextGen, USC, UC Santa Cruz, and Lyft Freight. Small businesses, family farms, workers, and community organizations all benefit when local institutions have the capacity to support them.

From a public health perspective, these same conditions, those same conditions also improve health outcomes. Economic security reduces stress, increased ability, strengthened mental health well-being, increased healthier families and economies. And these are all outcomes that benefits everyone regardless of where you live in whichever part of the state. Short-term investments are made at any point, but they don't solve long-term structural challenges.

But when government, philanthropy, nonprofit organization, institute, educational institutions, and industry work together, we create solutions that are more sustainable, make better use of public investments and resources, and produce stronger outcomes for everyone.

At the end of day, in closing, I believe that we all want those same things. Communities where businesses can grow, workers can find opportunities, families can thrive, and young people see a future for themselves. Our experience shows that collaborative, locally driven partnerships help make those goals achievable. Healthy communities strengthen our economy, and a strong economy supports healthier communities. That's an investment that benefits each and every one of us in every Californian.

So with that, thank you so much for your leadership and the opportunity to share experience and looking forward to our conversation.

Thank you, Kaying. Next, we'll hear from Tonya. But I noticed an emphasis when you said young people that you weren't including me and you in that conversation. But, you know, that's just me dealing with age as it comes. So, Tonya, when you're ready.

Nor I. Good afternoon, Chair Arambula. Thank you for the opportunity to be here today. My name is Tonya Dowse, and I represent the Siskiyou Economic Development Council. I'm honored to also represent a view from California's very far north, and to offer the Siskiyou example as one rural perspective, on how collaboration, place-based investment, and local leadership can lead to and support economic well-being.

Siskiyou County is geography, geographical, one of California's largest counties and one of its most rural. We serve small, dispersed communities across vast miles with much of our landscape under public ownership and managed by government. But like many rural regions, we've experienced significant economic distress, transition, and decades of underinvestment. Yet our communities have continued to stretch and leverage every resource with real grit. In rural California, collaboration isn't simply a strategy, It's a necessity of life.

We don't have the luxury of working in silos. Government, business, education, philanthropy, nonprofits, and community organizations all have to work together because no one organization has the capacity to do it alone. We also believe that place matters. Maybe what we have most in common is that every community in our state has different strengths, different challenges, and different opportunities.

Lasting economic prosperity will come only from helping communities build on their unique value and position them better for a durable future. Every place has something important to contribute to California. It is exactly this combination of challenge, diversity, and local resilience that the Sierra Health Foundation recognized through their community economic mobilization initiative. I think they saw that potential in us where others saw limitations. In fact, they intentionally invested in our overlooked communities because we could demonstrate emerging local leadership.

The budding and emerging trusted partnerships and the absolute determination to turn opportunity into lasting results. They didn't simply invest in a project. They invested in us. Through relationships, mentorship, technical assistance, and a statewide network of peers, they challenged us to think bigger, they encouraged us to advocate, and they expected us to contribute and not simply participate.

They trusted that the people closest to the challenges are often the first to see the solutions. And I think I can, summarize their result, the result of their investment in our work by saying that one small investment in our organizational capacity became many investments across our communities. They helped prepare us to successfully complete one of California's jobs first pilot projects, the California Rural Business Innovation Center, as we've called it, in Yreka. Today, it serves as a permanent home for entrepreneurship, innovation, business assistance, and regional collaboration.

More importantly, it stands as a demonstration of what rural communities can accomplish when they have the capacity.

We're proud of what we've built, but we don't see it as the finish line, just the start. And we are constantly tested. When our region was recently shaken by the closure of one of our last major forest products mills and one of our largest local employers, we didn't simply respond to the hardship.

We looked to our California Climate Collaborative and leveraged our role in that state-recognized initiative to bring industry workforce education, philanthropy state agencies, you name it, to the table to build long-term, forward-facing strategy for our forced economy.

Today, we're pursuing investment through new public and private partnerships and tools, supporting innovation and expanding into new markets and wood fiber products, empowering our local businesses with assistance from the California office of small business administration and the California office of economic development, and creating the ecosystem to rebuild one of our region's legacy industries for success and for what is the new reality.

In our experience, we think Siskiyou might offer an example of what investing in local leadership and organizational capacity, how it can create lasting returns and serve as a multiplier, that rural communities do have ideas and determination to build their future from. They can do a lot with a little, but as has been stated already, we need some long-term perspective and stability in order to continue on this long-term path towards economic stability.

And California's regional strategies, like the Jobs First Initiative, can and should, hopefully, continue to deploy resources to organizations like ours and other trusted local organizations that can turn plans into actions. Thank you again for allowing me to be here and speak a little bit about my home, Siskiyou, and we look forward to continuing to do our part.

Thank you, Tonya. Next, we'll hear from Will Oliver, CEO of the Fresno EDC.

Great. Thank you, Chairman Arambula, and thank you for the opportunity to be here today. My name is Will Oliver, serve as CEO, as the Chairman had mentioned. One of the first times I was in this building or in a committee room was when I was serving as a summer intern for then, Assembly member, Juan Arambla, so this is definitely a full circle moment. So my remarks, I wanna focus on how economic development organizations can connect business development, workforce development, and economic mobility, and how government, nonprofits, and other social enterprises contribute to that system. And the Fresno Economic Development Corporation certainly sits at the center of those efforts in our region. We as an organization work directly with thousands of businesses each year.

We partner with the state and local governments such as GoBiz here as a state agency and collaborate with many community-based organizations that understand the barriers that are facing residents. It gives us a very unique line of sight from the employer who's trying to grow or keep their doors open to the job seeker who needs an opportunity or perhaps a second chance, to the public investment that can connect all those pieces together. So, we're uniquely positioned to translate those needs into action.

And in a region where poverty, you know, has persisted for generations, economic development cannot be solely measured by building occupancy, capital investment. It must also be measured by whether residents are accessing good paying jobs, whether families are being supported, and whether or not they see themselves in the future economy.

As you know, and I think everybody knows, Fresno County's economy is underpinned by agriculture, by food production, manufacturing, transportation, and increasingly, technology-enabled industries. These sectors make up what I call the maker's economy. This is the economy that grows, builds, processes, repairs, moves, and produces tangible things. And as automation and artificial intelligence reshape the state economy, California should continue investing in this productive sector while preparing local workers to participate in its next generation. For our organization, business attraction and retention remains central to our mission.

But today, a successful recruitment strategy cannot just focus on available land or infrastructure or access to markets. Companies wanna know if your community is gonna have a regional and steady workforce, and they wanna know that there's a responsiveness to support them. In fact, later this month, I'll be joining the governor's office to SEMICON Taiwan, to pursue the semiconductor supply chain and identify opportunities for the state in Fresno County.

But beyond attraction, I wanna share a few examples where, in partnership with many organizations, we've been able to bring together government industry, nonprofits, and social enterprises. One, I wanna highlight a partnership that we have with Fresno County's Department Of Social Services through our new employment opportunities program.

This is our local, expanded subsidized employment model. From our knowledge, it's one of the few partnerships in the state where a social services agency and an economic development organization work hand in hand to connect CalWorks's job seekers or folks in Welfare to Work, directly with employers. These aren't simply subsidies for companies who participate, they are designed to advantage job seekers. So this program allows folks to enter a new role, gain experience, more importantly, build confidence, and begin to see themselves and their future differently.

And then the wage reimbursement helps offset those hiring costs, those training costs. It gives an employer greater flexibility to hire someone that may need additional support or an opportunity to prove themselves. We follow up with monthly retention services when our companies hire from our CalWorks's population. To date, through this partnership, we have placed over 2,600 people into employment through subsidized employment, working nearly two million hours and earning more than 24.5 million dollars in wages, with nearly 500 businesses who have actively participated.

So this is a great incentive tool for us to promote Fresno County as well as an amazing lever to pull for individuals in CalWorks to access employment.

So they are earning paychecks, supporting their families, and, again, building pathways towards more permanent employment. So this is a model that's working. I think it's worth replicating and innovating and certainly protecting. Building upon that, our organization has been a part of a regional effort called the Good Jobs Challenge. This is a 23 million dollar historic investment into our region, from the Department of Commerce, that united our For Workforce boards, our community colleges, industry.

We had a thousand job commitments, many community-based organizations. The central thesis of good jobs is to create industry informed training pathways at the speed of business while providing the services to remove barriers for our residents to take part of those opportunities. Industry helps validate hiring and they help shape training. These are often the same businesses that we assist with at the EDC with expansion and retention or locating them in our community.

And it also allows us to translate those needs directly into that program design.

OK Produce has been mentioned several times, and they've been an active partner in that effort. So today, with the Good Jobs portfolio of programming, we have dozens of training, and community partners that are offering short-term manufacturing boot camp-style programs in the summer term, evening and weekend welding at the West Fresno Center, so folks don't have to jeopardize their paycheck during the day to get new skills.

As was mentioned by chancellor Goldsmith, commercial truck drivers training, both with access to simulators as well as on the ground at the employer's facility getting that direct experience, to construction pre-apprenticeship and as well as advanced manufacturing through the FAME program at Ridley College, which is a global-best manufacturing modern apprenticeship. The first chapter west of the Rockies, hosted at Reedley College, could not do it without the support and partnership of chancellor Goldsmith and president Buckley.

With this program in particular, it's amazing. Employers come together, they form a chapter, they agree on the entry-level wages that they're gonna collectively pay. They sponsor students to go through that program for two, two and a half years.

They go to work three days out of the week. They go to school two days out of the week with industry-informed curriculum, and they walk out of there with their associates and advanced manufacturing technician certification. So this is investing in the future leaders of those facilities and the production line, created by Toyota. So that's the continuum that we're helping support through the Good Jobs Challenge. With just over two years of active implementation, we've now reached over 1,300 job placements.

We have over 2,000 people in training or have completed training thus far. One of the most important aspects of this funding is that we have helped bring programs that have been historically concentrated in Fresno or Clovis, and we brought them to rural areas in Fresno County.

And here on Orange Cove, Reedley, Kermit, Selma, and hopefully soon, Mendota, A resident should not be excluded from opportunity because training is 50 miles away from where they reside or transportation is unreliable or the schedule does not work for someone supporting the family. Just a couple quick anecdotes in Selma with Central Valley Training Center, a partnership with the Building Trades Council, with Fresno EOC, and the Valley Apprenticeship Connections and High-Speed Rail. We've had over 300 people complete that program.

We took a vacant underutilized industrial facility. We have renovated it into this very modern multidisciplinary training center, 22 cohorts. Many of those folks that come to this program, it's word-of-mouth from the program prior to them. And often, their parents, their brothers have also completed it. It's very, very impactful.

And then just one of the last examples in the city of Huron. We've launched for the first time pre-apprenticeship construction training with Valley Apprenticeship Connections in Huron, two cohorts so far. Half of our plate students have been placed into Leona 254. And, when you take a step back and just look at those two, you know, initial cohorts, it represents 1% of Huron's labor force.

That might not seem like a big number, but if we can spread that out over the next five to ten years, that represent a massive, impact.

And GoodJobs wasn't designed just around placement success, but also around what happens when someone drops off drops off or isn't quite ready. That means creating intentional on ramps or off ramps for individuals so they can reengage before they get lost in the system. As such, we've been able to leverage that federal money and secure, state money, such as with our SCENE program, which is through EDD's employment social enterprise program or one of the first SURF implementation, programs through Jobs First.

So we're creating additional pathways for individuals. As I mentioned, they may not be ready, they may need some supportive services, some, you know, on the job experience, with SCENE, for example, folks are going through a voluntary hundred-hour period at Neighborhood Industries or Goodwill Industries. Once they complete, they're referred to a staffing agency and they are placed into employment. The employers receive or get those wages offset, and those individuals are advantaged and prioritized to be placed into appointment. So really great backstop and off ramp for folks that aren't quite ready for full-time employment.

So we really do think social enterprises can play a a very strategic role in our workforce and economic development system. And I would be remiss if I did not discuss on the business development lens how important retention is as part of our larger work. Businesses are confronting energy costs, you know, operating expenses and other cost pressures. As those costs go up, hiring is softening. You'll see that statewide with our manufacturing sector.

And while our organization, for the past several years, has helped secure 22 million dollars in state tax credits and energy rate reductions. We still need to do much, much more. And I think we need to proactively evaluate, policies that are in place and the things that are creating a competitive disadvantage, you know, for our region and for our state. It's why we also sponsored AB 2377 with Assemblymember Soria this year to help improve California's ability to compete for capital intensive, manufacturing investments.

So just in summary, you know, in our viewpoint and lessons, industry brings demand and employment.

They're critical. Community organizations and social enterprises bring trust and support. Educational institutions like State Center bring training and credentials, and government brings investment in scale. And economic development organizations such as the EDC can help connect those people, pieces, translate needs across sectors, and keep them moving in the same direction. So very proud of that work and happy to answer any questions that go into further detail.

Thank you, Will. Next, we're we'll hear from Anne Rogan.

Thank you, Chair Arambula, and thank you for your time today. I'm Ann Rogan, and I lead a group called Edge Collaborative. I'm gonna focus my remarks today in three different areas, talking a little bit about the backdrop of the work with my organization, Edge Collaborative, and the region in which we operate, which is Stockton, located in San Joaquin County. And then I'll talk about some examples of innovative community-oriented economic development led by organizations in the region.

And I'll conclude with some reflections on the gaps and opportunities for further research and study that the state of California should consider taking up in future forums.

Founded in 2021, Edge Collaborative, my organization seeds and supports demonstration projects that strengthen a community's agency to better determine its own future, unlock investment, and lay the foundation for long-term inclusive economic growth. Part research and development lab, part seed investor, part nonprofit, Edge acts as a connection point facilitator between funders, communities, local industry, and government across three functions, all focused on seeding, supporting, and spinning out demonstration projects. To achieve this, we do three things. We do deep community research and benchmarking.

We do invest capital and talent with boldness and experimentation, and we support cross-sector work in the building of coalitions of unlikely allies in service of a range of public private community partnerships seeded by philanthropy.

The work we do at Edge is shaped by the everyday needs we see in the region. To understand why community oriented economic development matters, it's important to first understand some of the underlying challenges our communities are navigating. According to CalEnviroScreen, Stockton's poverty rate is in the ninety sixth percentile range in California. Environmental conditions continue to affect community health.

According to CalEnviroScreen 5.0, Stockton neighborhoods ranked in the sixty seventh percentile statewide for drinking water contaminants, and the hundredth percentile for asthma, highlighting the connection between environmental quality and public health.

And according to our California Jobs First North Valley Thrive strategic plan published in 2024, residents in the North San Joaquin Valley made 77% of the Bay Area's per capita income in 1971. But in 2021, that number had fallen to 45%. North San Joaquin Valley has not received investment in high quality jobs and industries and instead has received impacts from the Bay Area's housing crisis and the need for warehouses.

At any given point in time, Edge, my organization, is incubating around 15 projects and has supported over 30 projects to date that show what's possible. Today, I'll speak to three.

In one, a proven example of community-led development and action led by a group called Little Manila Rising. Two, a cross-sector effort to build good jobs in an emerging industry led by Beam Circular. And three, a coalition building effort around land and water preservation led by Restore the Delta. The first example I'll speak to is Little Manila Rising, an organization that serves South Stockton by developing equitable solutions to the effects of historic disinvestment, institutionalized racism, and harmful public policies.

Little Manila Rising or LMR is a local nonprofit and demonstrating how community ownership can build wealth and stability from within neighborhoods.

To advance this mission, LMR is working to become South Stockton's first community development corporation. Holding a project portfolio of community-owned and community-governed assets addressing environmental justice, health justice, housing justice, youth development, and economic justice. What makes this work unique is its emphasis on community ownership of land and real estate and local decision making.

Rather than relying on outside developers to determine the future of South Stockton, LMR is building a model where residents help shape development, guide investment, and benefit from the long term growth of their community. LMR has already demonstrated its ability to lead this work.

In 2025, the organization successfully financed the Little Manila Rising Center, leveraging 1.76 million of its own investment to attract an additional 5.7 million in downside funding, including from a private nonprofit hospital. This project demonstrates that community led development can successfully attract public and private investment while keeping leadership rooted in the community. The second example I'll speak to is Beam Circular, a nonprofit creating a new regional industry by transforming agricultural waste into valuable products, quality jobs, and new manufacturing opportunities through innovation, infrastructure, and workforce development. A key part of this effort is the California Bioeconomy Innovation Campus in Stanislaus County, breaking ground this fall.

This will be a shared facility where start-ups, manufacturers, researchers, and workforce partners can access equipment, office space, and workforce training that would otherwise be too expensive for most organizations to build on their own.

By sharing these resources, more local businesses can grow and create jobs in the Central Valley. What makes this work unique is its collaborative approach. Beam Circular has brought together more than 200 partners from industry, education, government, and nonprofit organizations to build an ecosystem that supports entrepreneurs, strengthens the local workforce, and helps new ideas become successful businesses. Beam Circular has secured more than 45 million in public and private investment, including 13.5 million from California Jobs First.

By sharing these resources, more local businesses can grow and create jobs in the Central Valley. What makes this work unique is its collaborative approach. Beam Circular has brought together more than 200 partners from industry, education, government, and nonprofit organizations to build an ecosystem that supports entrepreneurs, strengthens the local workforce, and helps new ideas become successful businesses. Beam Circular has secured more than 45 million in public and private investment, including 13.5 million from California Jobs First.

To date, Beam has also provided 4 million to 32 start-ups and small businesses and launched 34 workforce training programs serving more than 15,000 students and workers.

To date, Beam has also provided 4,000,000 to 32 start ups and small businesses and launched 34 workforce training programs serving more than 15,000 students and workers.

A third and final example I'll speak to today is Restorative Delta's leadership of the Restoration Association, a coalition of community organizations, tribes, government agencies, and technical experts working together to restore nine miles of Mormon Slough, a slow moving and shallow waterway that has long suffered from pollution, flooding, and neglect in South Stockton. The Mormon Slough Restoration Association shows how environmental restoration can also drive economic opportunity, public health, and community investment.

By investing neglected neighborhoods, this decades long endeavor aims to reduce flood risk, improve public health, create parks and recreation spaces, improve air and water quality, and lay the foundation for a long term economic opportunity. What makes this work unique is that the community has been involved in planning from the very beginning.

Restorative Delta has engaged nearly 3,000 residents over the last nine months, held more than 70 community planning meetings over the past two years, and worked alongside local residents to design restoration plans that reflect neighborhood priorities.

The economic impact is significant. A recently completed cost benefit analysis found that every $1 invested is expected to generate $4.50 in community benefits, including reduced flooding, healthier neighborhoods, increased recreation, and gradual increases in property values that can help families build generational wealth while minimizing displacement. Where does all of this lead us to? All of this work to advance a more inclusive economy is deeply inspiring, and it proves that doing hard things is possible. But let's be clear.

This work that we're talking about today to center people in our communities and economic development projects should not be as hard as it is to do right now. Some of these projects have benefited from CME and California jobs first and the k through sixteen collaborative. But these initiatives are not funded presently beyond no cost extensions. Not more not only is funding needed to sustain, but a durable structure is needed to align funding across agencies and programs.

Over the past eight years of doing this work in the North San Joaquin Valley, I have witnessed nonprofits struggle to find long term sustained funding to build the things that they want in their communities.

I have also witnessed industry players that seek to cite projects in historically disinvested communities. In many cases, that bring about low wage jobs and more pollution to already impacted residents struggling with poor health outcomes. We don't need nonprofits to fight for scraps while we have voluntary, vague notions of community benefits for industry that are a series of one offs. There are far better ways to invest in communities, and we've seen it ourselves up close over the last decade.

But to get there, we must be realistic about what it will take to do and to fund.

We need the state of California to lay the groundwork for a future wherein commercial objectives are intentionally and directly aligned to the community's interests. I will offer two examples that I believe merit further consideration and study by California. Number 1, the Alaska Permanent Fund, a sovereign wealth fund created in 1976 that is resourced by a percentage of the state's oil revenues. It in turn invests in an annual dividend offered to Alaskan households throughout the state.

Number 2, in Wisconsin, a state law ensures that communities hosting high voltage transmission lines receive financial benefits through an environmental impact fee.

Counties, towns, and cities are proportionally awarded a one time 5% fee and a recurring annual point 3% fee, both based on the cost of the line. I believe that we can make these examples of the public private community partnerships more of the norm across the state. And the way to do that is by understanding how to build shared prosperity models. We can and should help develop shared revenue models that align the incentives of industry with long term ongoing financial benefits to the community.

Those models are possible, and we need more of them, whether that's in Stockton, in Modesto, in Fresno, Bakersfield, or beyond.

Thank you for your time today.

Thank you so much. And finally, we'll hear from Irene.

Alright. Thank you so much, and great to see you, Assembly member doctor Aramula. It's an honor to be here and hear about everyone's work as well. So I I'm director of policy and communications with Lidaras Campesinas. During the COVID nineteen pandemic, our nonprofit organization, together with many of our community and state partners, encountered the influx of resources to accompany the increased demand to fill gaps and address many of the long standing issues affecting essential agricultural workers and rural communities, as you well know.

Limited access to health care and affordable housing, food insecurity, workforce development, and overall economic instability are just a few of those issues that we address. As a prior panelist mentioned, when a grant ends, the work ends. That usually is the case, but when you represent and work for an organization that is made up of and serves one of the most vulnerable sectors and populations of our labor force, farmworker women, the struggle continues, or as you would say in Spanish, La Lucha cige.

Thank you to the initiatives like CIMI. Some of our efforts were able to continue to serve the communities that are constantly navigating the barriers of underinvestment in many areas that we serve.

Our first meeting with the Sierra Health Foundation regarding the CIMI opportunity was like music to our ears, almost too good to be true. CIMI allowed us to expand our policy team staff, which went from me to three of us, something that was much needed to acquire necessary systems change and participate in various coalitions, work groups, and task forces. It also provided valuable technical assistance that has helped our organization's capacity.

To name just a few of our very important collaborations and work with both state and community partners that continue to flourish during during the last few years, we are recipients of the Job First grant in both Ventura and Kern County, where we are working toward farmworker led Cooperatives. Soon, we will be doing the same in the Northern Central Valley, like Fresno and Merced.

This is a part of the Valley Seed Initiative, a coalition led by UC Merced Community Labor Center, another CIMI partner and recipient. We created a wine label initiative called Guardian Vidal that promotes fair, safe labor standards, as well as workforce development, and it invites environmental friendly natural winemakers to participate. We have seven participating wines so far. I was able to participate in the California Agricultural Land Equity Task Force, a two year endeavor tasked to deliver a report of recommendations to the governor's desk by 01/01/2026.

This work continues to be led by CME partners, such as CAF, and now is facing an urgent need of continued funding, so the work does not risk being abandoned.

One of our policy coordinators has also been actively involved in a newly formed North State Collective, in collaboration with Simi Partners that addresses a lack of resources and funding that is available in counties North Of Sacramento to bordering Oregon. We have been participants in work groups addressing the negative environmental and economic impacts in the Salton Sea as well.

We continue to formally work with the State Department of Industrial Relations, doing work worker outreach and workers rights legal clinics, and recently received wonderful news of permanent funding in that area. We look forward to working together to ensure that all

of our necessary work across 17 regions in California, necessary work across 17 regions in California, only some of which I've mentioned here today, can continue in an intentional and well funded, and supported manner. Facilitating the economic pathway for our communities to thrive in a more equitable way should elevate initiatives like this from merely being music to our ears to normalized and continued state investment. Thank you.

Thank you. I'm gonna begin with Kaiying, if I can. I I was really drawn to your comment about stronger economic stronger economies create healthier economies. That's something many of us need to gravitate towards to own and to make sure that we're supporting. The better that we can create economies that work, the healthier we can focus on public health.

That that was the emphasis that I heard from you, and that's imperative for us to grapple with. That if we're harming economies, we're hurting public health. That if we're not retaining and attracting businesses, that we are worsening economies and thus affecting our community's ability to be healthy. And that's imperative for us as a body to make sure that we own a space for us to be and hence why we need so much local leadership in this space.

I I do wanna highlight Simi, if I can, as as you've held forums up and down the state.

And, I I think I went to tier one that was in Davis a few months ago and and loved that opportunity as we heard from grassroots organizations, as we heard from many of these nonprofits. I I was glad that you quoted that 80% feel stronger to handle their own challenges going forward. But I wanted to share that your investment of 15,300,000 led towards a $178,000,000 in terms of investment.

Can you, speak to how that level of investment, how a little went a very long way in making sure that we were building capacity and addressing local communities needs.

Yeah. We're we're really proud on that return investment. I think that's multiple multifold in terms of ratio for every dollar we've invested. And in this case, 50,000,000 got us to a 178,000,000. So that's pretty impressive, and I think that speaks well to the collective, the cohort that we've been able to assemble to really represent the best thinking from their region. It is it is challenging to be able to sustain that just given the times that we're in.

When CIMI was created back in 2022, we were, we were we existed in an ecosystem where there was a lot of tension to increasing inclusive and equitable economic opportunities for low income and disadvantaged community all the way from the Federal Government that then continues to amplify the commitment here in California. And, sadly, that commitment has gone away. We believe strongly that the infrastructure we've created, whereby we've, helped support the 53 organizations who are part of, of CME with the necessary technical assistance.

So it is access to, the best and brightest technical providers like doctor Manuel Pastor, doctor Chris Brenner, who wrote the book on solidarity economy to really think about imagining a concept with the economy is our economy, not someone else's economy. So seeing yourself taking ownership helps to amplify the notion of a healthy economy is healthy community, healthy communities, healthy economy.

It is our plan that despite the challenging time to sustain that infrastructure, because we believe that knowledge is gold. And once you retain that knowledge by having access to incredible faculty, you will be able to use that knowledge in many other ways. And so we're excited about that. We're really, you know, thankful for the collective work. As I said earlier, that is a $175,000,000 that are brought back to California communities that are centered on solutions created by community.

And that is the beauty of what CME is all about, centering individual, seeing myself, seeing ourselves in that work.

You you also mentioned how you're building trust for local communities. And and we're hearing that throughout the testimony today, how it's investing into you, Now it's making sure that your voice gets included, how you're supporting then the beam or the little Manila rising or restore the Delta or ensuring that it's future leadership that we're getting from Siskiyou County.

And so I I do want to allow both Tanya and Anne to be able to talk about long term stability and funding as that seems to be core to what many of you were discussing is, the need to make sure that this initial investment that we got, $1 returning $11, but how do we continue forms of investment that ultimately will build that trust even further? Make sure that communities, don't take a step back after this, much success that we've had.

Yes. And thank you for allowing me to speak on this point because it's very important to us. Our communities are so rural and so far apart. And when you look at the North State Of California, you just see this vast amount of acreage. And, I think there there's a tendency to wanna think that we can all work together, but it and we want to work together, believe me, but it's it's a great distance.

So this funding that, we were honored to receive allowed us the kind of flexibility so that we could even be here today as an example, because our organization and our communities cannot fund local economic development on an ongoing basis at a level in which they need the support. So, the whole model that our organization is built on is we're a nonprofit that support all of our communities and local jurisdictions.

They contribute to a pooled pot of money and that we take that pool pot of money and we deliver a 100 times its value back to our communities. And the challenge is always the flexibility and the funding. We are always blessed when we receive a state or federal grant, and we're always excited to have the opportunity to make those investments in our community, but they are so limited that in how you we have to be so tied to the requirements of the grant.

It's not saying that this is bad. It's just that the ability to represent our communities, to provide the voice, to be part of the planning exercises, to be present at the table, to be heard. Those are dollars that aren't represented in grant funding. So, so, again, we're just so pleased, and we hope this kind of investment continues. We don't know where it's going.

We know that we have a lot of work to do ahead of us, and we have a lot of, work that we've started that is in progress. And we want to keep it going because we see that there's a chance for us. We see, an evolution in our economy and, opportunities to, reinvest. So

I I you know, your words were think bigger and advocate. I I always think that's important, especially for our rural communities. Anne, I wanted to give you a chance to comment. Yeah.

Thank you, Chair. When I think back about the last decade, so roughly 2020 or 2016 to to present day in 2026, I think a lot about all of the work that I did not mention that preceded the organizing work, and I think about the role that local government played. I actually came into the Central Valley in 2018, to work for the the mayor of the city.

And it was in the year 2017, that the transformative climate communities initiative really, was bolstered by community organizing work that was happening on the ground in a lot of these neighborhoods. And when I think back about how that work was funded over time, it was philanthropy, state program, philanthropy, state program, and then sort of a bunch of ellipses.

We don't really know where that work leads, and I think that speaks to this durability question of where does the funding come from. When you look at how funding flows for traditional economic development, it's funded in large part by membership organizations operating at the city level and the county level. Those initiatives, while important, are funding not community groups. They're funding industry industry associations. And so the work that is being discussed here today is going up against the grain.

It's it's going against the grain of where funding flows are actually happening at the local municipal county levels. And that's that's the sort of truth beneath the truth. And so the question for the state really is, how does the state want to come in beyond transformative climate communities and beyond California jobs first so that the funding flows at the local level can be influenced to be more centered around community priorities and aligned to industry objectives.

But without that, it's gonna be stop and go, stop and go. And eventually, communities will and some already have lost interest, and they will step away from these tables that the state has put real money behind.

And it would be a shame for $600,000,000 worth of investment to not have built something durable long term, both from a fiscal responsibility perspective, but also from a, you know, an equity perspective locally.

I Will align myself with your comments regarding community benefits and being aligned with local leadership. It's it's noted for me what you mentioned about Alaska and Wisconsin and opportunities we may have with AI going forward about ensuring that we have real investment into many of those nonprofits, coalitions, the leaders that we're building for tomorrow.

Many of us are hoping that someone from this administration may be in the White House one day and, that the California Jobs First initiative can be a model For us then to be highlighting and to receive federal funding Knowing that the state can't do it all as well That we're gonna need to work with our partners to secure that ongoing funding But to highlight all of the successes that we've had. I was really drawn towards being circular Out

of the three you proposed. I've I've worked with Little Manila Rising. I'm I'm very aware of The success that they've had over the years. But being circular was talking about agricultural waste and opportunities for us, working with 200 different partners. You know, it was 13,500,000 from California Jobs First. 14.5, I believe.

Okay. And it led towards 45,000,000.

Yes.

In total. And and so just wanted to give you a a bit more of a a platform to be able to speak about that. Is that something that other regions should be innovating in, working in to, bring that many partners together?

And I will correct myself. It was 13.5. You are you are correct. Yeah. I think knowing that there is a whole team at Beam Circular that can speak much more eloquently on their work than I can.

But from where I'm sitting, I think Beam Circular is building a really important base for a new industry to take root that builds off of all of the strengths of the region that I think when I think about agriculture, I think about, all of the goods movement that we have in the region, when I think about the role of farmers, when I think about the role of light manufacturers, when I think about the role of startups.

There is a really interesting opportunity that we have right now to seed an industry and bake a different set of values into that industry in a part of the state that has experienced historic levels of disinvestment. And we, by the way, have that opportunity to do that as a global leader. I actually went to I took a trip study trip with some of the Beam team in April of this year to Belgium to study the role of fermentation.

And what I learned on that trip is that a lot of biotech companies that are started in US and start and run their operations in California actually end up leaving California and leave The US to go to places where they can actually do testing and and scaling up their fermentation work.

And so California has a real opportunity not just to seed this industry in a really meaningful way with innovation campus, but it has an opportunity to cite that work in a disinvested part of the state and actually bring and create good jobs, good paying jobs, that are in place. These can't necessarily these are not remote working opportunities. These are sort of you know, these are in in factories and in the fields, working with farmers.

And so I think that there's some really interesting opportunities the state of California has to invest in that.

I appreciate your use of seed and root as we're talking about agriculture. We can see these innovations, but we should be rooting them in place and ensuring that our state continues to be on that cutting edge. Thank you for your testimony. Irene, I'm gonna move to you next if I could. I've seen your wine label.

I I love the depiction that's on it. It's both catchy, and I'm glad that you've now got up to seven participants who are in it. But you also spoke about permanent funding and to make sure that it was intentional and well funded in the long run, especially nowadays with all the fear we're getting from the national level? How do how do we ensure we continue to build the trust, particularly with our immigrant communities, women led immigrant communities?

Wanted to give you a platform to speak to that.

Oh, thank you. Yeah. Definitely, I think, you know, there's there's a big difference when you're receiving unrestricted funds, like we did with with the CME funds, being able to explore different avenues with the input of of the women themselves and the farm workers themselves. And so permanent funding would would allow us to develop these initiatives a lot more.

Something like a wine label is really meant to develop into something where the farm workers themselves can be the certifiers, and it'd be a certification where the the vineyard workers are actually, you know, ensuring that these practices are being, you know, fulfilled in in the Vineyards.

And and we know that other certifications like that exist in in other in other crops, right, like EFI and whatnot. But it's initiatives like that, other other work like the North State Collective, where we're just sort of, like, stretching ourselves thin, being a part of this because we know it's necessary and and it's going in a great direction.

But, you know, you hope to not see organizations start to dwindle off in in this very important work, especially the it's work being led by some of the technical assistance providers that have been very key in in in leading that work, right, and and lifting us all up together. Right? I think, definitely, just in this political climate, we're seeing our our women farm workers even more vulnerable than ever.

A big reason that Lidres Campesinas came to existence was because of the abuses that women face, not just in the field, but in the communities as well. And so I think our work, like, with Cal OES, accompanying women to their court visits and all of that.

Like, we're always fighting for more of that funding for it to be consistent, and, also, for the women to make sure that we're doing that outreach so they're not more and more fearful or more vulnerable because, also, in the workplace, people know, okay. Here's someone that's even more vulnerable, so let's threaten them with, you know, the the, I guess, the threat of, being undocumented or whatnot. So we're just finding a lot more cases of of women facing abuse, the the, fear of reporting cases.

And so just a a lot of, this permanent funding would make a big difference in supporting our work and and making sure that the community themselves aren't aren't fearful of taking advantage of of so many services that still are available in California. Just also, just to to mention our legal rights clinics. I mean, it's amazing to have attorneys there, but our participation is very low because of the fear of ICE rep, you know, being present and whatnot. So thank you.

I I may ask any of you from this panel to allow space for Will Oliver so he can answer any final question. I'm not picking whoever's quickest. That's perfect. This is it. I loved your comment about CalWORKs mostly because I've worked for a decade trying to improve, strengthen, and ensure that we're meeting people where they're at.

Yep. It's it's a program where over 90 of those served are women. Many of them are women of color, and it's oftentimes their first interaction with government support. And so to hear that 2,600 people had been supported through organizations like Neighborhood Thrift, which, by the way, is in my ZIP code is less than half a mile from my house, which has received development funding from my office to make sure they could create these spaces.

I I just wanted to highlight it as a way for other parts of our states to be considering.

You you've put people back to work for two million hours. Yeah. You you've affected thousands of lives and making sure through a program and the work requirements that you're connecting them to industries. How do we build upon our success locally, but highlight it as a model then for everyone else to be utilizing?

Yeah. I I think we should, as a state, challenge the organizations that possess those funds to innovate and recreate, how they deliver programs, for this population and involve, a myriad of community stakeholders. As I mentioned, this is one of the first partnerships between the EDC and the DSS.

This last year, what we've also did differently is we put out micro grants to social enterprises and nonprofits building off the model that we experienced with the Good Jobs Challenge for them to help us, inform the public industry and even, potential CalWORKs participants of this program. So we're trying to socialize that work a bit more.

And so I think there's a lot more we can do, creating RFP or procurement standards that offers a race to the top by involving many other actors or disparate agencies and organizations, to accomplish that. The other thing too with with this particular partnership, I didn't mention because of time, is this was essentially what got our organization into the workforce arena.

We've used that fund to support over 700 people in training pathways as well, truck drivers training to pre apprenticeship in the construction trades, and now we're opening that up across different sectors. So I think really being industry aligned, finding win wins and incentives that can nudge positive behavior on behalf of industry. And it's just all the way around.

It creates a very lucrative opportunity.

You highlighted the subsidies that help with wage reimbursements that are through CalWORKs. Yep. Did wanna highlight, if I could, the work requirements that are now being added to CalFresh and to Medi Cal. Yep. That might not come with those subsidies, but it's an it's going to increase opportunities.

We're we're gonna have potentially 1 to 1,700,000 for Medi Cal alone. Absolutely. Have work requirements. And so I just want to have us imagine what we could be doing if we could bring industry to the table and helping us to meet those needs. And I look forward to ongoing conversations as we address that.

And potentially, that's a space where the state should be looking to subsidize to make sure we're not having people fall off the rules as much as we anticipate.

Yeah. Or or perhaps even alongside, you know, incur or, you know, incentivizing applicants that provide local hire agreements or project labor agreements, agreements with social enterprises. I think the power of a social enterprise is profound. Neighborhood Industries is a terrific example, as is firm, as is, you know, Goodwill Industries, HopeNow.

They've they've figured out a way to take the power of the business model, which is one of the most productive tools to immigrate poverty and put it to good use, and also provide a pathway for employers to confidently hire and allow time for individuals to get the wrap around services and support that they need and the confidence.

I think we have a crisis in confidence. And, and that's also why we find some of our greatest successes are when they come from referral, from a family member, friend, or loved one. And that's that's also the population that we're marketing to, because people need good role models and and, to see someone else go go through it, whether it's a brother or family member, that makes all the difference.

Yeah. I just saw AP Armor, who's the head of neighborhood industry at Los Panchos this last week. And so just highlighted as an example, you know, he was able to really elevate himself and then has been intentional to turn around and open the door for as many people as he can. So we need more of that where we're looking at our neighbors as ourselves Yep. And bringing the humanity into this and ensuring that they're becoming healthier by supporting the economy

100%.

And by and by helping to put them back to work. I do wanna mention the Huron and the Lyuna. Our future governor, you know, comes from labor, comes from Lyuna

Yep.

Himself that I think these types of pre apprenticeships will will speak to him

And appreciate that we're starting with some of our poorest communities. As was mentioned earlier, it's the poorest city in California. And for us to be showing that level of success, we're now 1% of their population is working towards a good living wage job. You know, it's a wonderful thing for us to be speaking about going forward as well.

Yep.

Yeah. Absolutely. And I think if you look at large scale utility grade solar, you know, I think we can make an argument that it it largely exports value being created to supplement the grid and other large utility consumers, but it is a large magnet of a project. So for folks in the West Side, they could see, you know what? Maybe there is a opportunity to work in the laborers union and get my start in that project.

And so that's what we're trying to bridge to. And I will say there have been several of those projects that are interested in investing in programs such as in Huron. The other thing is they may happen to be some of the most impoverished and probably stand the benefit the most when we stand those programs up there. There are also communities that act with urgency. So for the large workforce systems or boards, those are the communities where you wanna make the investment.

It's gonna be a little bit easier to find the facility that could be right sized to to deliver those programs. And so I think we've been able to try out a few different three things, step a lot of toes, but come up with different models that I think are duplicable not just in Fresno County, but across the state.

Earlier, I heard from you regarding automation and AI and focusing on business attraction as well as retainment. And, you know, we we heard from Stockton the ideas of statewide solutions instead of one offs. But how do we make sure that community benefits are aligned with us bringing in industry so we can then support some of the other good work that they've been talking about. The successes that they've been having as ultimately that allows us to build further upon our successes.

You you talk about the good jobs challenge and the 23,000,000 we received and how you've been able to stretch it.

How do we ensure that as we bring in more industry that we're similarly able to, support many of the groups who have opinions on how to spend it themselves?

One, I'm gonna come up with a wild example or analogy. If we can create a race to the top framework for the cannabis industry to receive licenses and in return put people to work and training and health care and benefits, why can't we do that in some of the industrial sectors? Yep. I mean, just there's a precedent there. I think it's something that's worth imagining both at the local level and at the state level.

I think what we've seen when it comes to community benefit agreements, it's largely on a bespoke basis. I think that companies are willing to make investments. They don't wanna have to come up with the prescriptions. Yeah. I think it's important though that it represents areas that, require active investment and giving and not just passive.

Yeah. And it's also material to the business. You know, labor and generating labor income is absolutely material to the business. And so aligning participation in these programs with permits or entitlements, so you have a race to the top to an industry and community, I think is a sweet spot. And I think that through various incentive programs, whether it's Cal Competes or, you know, other resources available, there's a lot of space in the state and local government to create and imagine a a few different ways forward.

So

And we need to make sure that what's driving California's economy, what frankly is the tent pole for America's economy, that we're rooting that here in our state, that we're benefiting and that we're supporting it. Yep. That's how we ultimately will be getting healthier communities and ensuring those who historically have been left behind Yep. Have an opportunity in the future to have better health outcomes and to address many of the disparities. Yep.

Absolutely. With that, I wanna thank this entire panel and the conversation we've had today, and we'll now be opening it up to public comment for anyone who would like to. Don't be shy if you got something to say. If not, I will be thanking the entirety of this panel for Assembly member Alan East for joining us, for Tech and the sergeants for helping to keep us safe. Thank you for joining today's California economic mobility and investments sub excuse me, select committee.

We are closed today. Have a great day.