Dean, Economic and Workforce Development, California Community Colleges
"California can no longer afford to approach economic development in a piecemeal, reactive way. California is poised to build beautifully on what we have, or to loose some of our basic, foundational assets. We must understand where our future wealth will come from and partner with each other strategically to foster and retain it."
Address:
California Community Colleges,
Chancellor's Office
1102 Q St., 3rd floor
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916-324-5646
Email: kferrier@cccco.edu
Kay Ferrier is Dean of Economic and Workforce Development for the California Community College System. She has twenty years experience as a leader who understands the importance of strong linkages between workforce development and business development to ensure quality economic development for California. She has worked at the local, regional and state levels for education, economic development and job training entities. She has managed local and regional programs for the CA Trade and Commerce Agency, Job Training Partnership Act, Small Business Development Centers, economic development agencies and the CA Employment Development Department, as well as College Districts, before working for the Community Colleges at the System level. Her background also includes teaching business marketing and entrepreneurship in the Yuba CCD.
Currently she manages the Economic and Workforce Development Program, which is the largest state-funded economic and workforce development delivery system in California. She oversees the remaining in-depth services left in California for manufacturers, small business and for businesses moving into international trade. Her Program is a major provider of incumbent worker services as well. The Program funds $40 million in both long-term and short-term grants to promote industry partnerships in strategic initiative areas. The areas include Multimedia/Entertainment, International Trade, Biotechnologies, Environmental Technologies, Health Careers, Small Business Development, Advanced Transportation Technologies, Applied Competitive Technologies/Manufacturing, Workplace Literacy and Business and Workforce Performance Improvement. Her economic development network includes 100 delivery centers throughout California. Technical assistance and training services are provided to employers and employees to meet a variety of objectives. The centers are funded at $19 million and leveraged $61 million annually in outside investment.
Her Program assists with business development, expansion and retention issues by utilizing a regional and industry cluster approach. The Program helps the colleges become better players in an arena where students are more broadly defined than those on the campuses. She has pioneered evaluation techniques which capture unique outputs and outcomes in a responsive, diverse network and has documented macro economic outcomes, such as return on investment and benefit to cost ratios. Her education is concentrated in the field of workforce education, with a specialization in training and business development.