At the end of February, the Center said their goodbye’s to longtime researcher Tara Smith.  Tara came to the Center in 2005, and she was a vital part of the team during her tenure here.  She led research on the workforce development investments for Travis County project,  the two-generation effects from participation in Capital IDEA, and the TAACCCT evaluation at Tulsa Community College.   She also played an instrumental role in the Workforce Data Quality Initiative, the implementation study of the CareerAdvance® program in Tulsa, and with our ongoing two-generation strategy initiative funded by the Foundation for Children Development.

Tara leaves her post at the Center to join the staff at Jobs for the Future as a Senior Project Manager (SPM).  Her work will include assisting community colleges in developing and implementing integrated pathways, including a small group of innovative community colleges developing competency-based instructional approaches to support underprepared adult learners.  She will also provide and manage the delivery of technical assistance and coaching to a subset of workforce boards that are Workforce Innovation Fund grantees.

We hate to see her go, but we wish her the best of luck in her new adventure!

Christopher King, LBJ School lecturer and Ray Marshall Center senior research scientist, gave two invited lectures on two-generation strategies in Missouri on Wednesday, January 14, 2015. The first was to the 3rd Annual Missouri Family Impact Seminar held in the state capitol building in Jefferson City. The Family Impact Seminars are operating in nearly thirty states. Seminar topics are chosen by state lawmakers. More than two dozen state senators, representatives, and staff attended the morning talk. In the afternoon, Dr. King presented a version of the lecture to a seminar of academics and practitioners at Washington University’s Brown School of Social Work.  You can view the presentation here: The Promise of Two-Generation Anti-poverty Strategies: Existing and Emerging Evidence.

Dr. Chris King traveled to New Brunswick, NJ, to participate in the Transforming US Workforce Development Policies for the 21st Century  conference from October 15-17, 2014.  The conference was sponsored by the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University and the Federal Reserve Banks of Atlanta and Kansas City.  He participated in a panel discussion on effective strategies for engaging employers in workforce development programs moderated by Bob Giloth of the Annie E. Casey Foundation.   The session titled “Aligning Employers and Workforce Development Strategies” was held on the second day of the conference, and other panelists for the session included Dr. Burt Barnow of George Washington University and Dr. Kevin Hollenbeck of the Upjohn Institute.  Other RMC researchers attending this conference include Dr. Heath Prince.  Photos courtesy of Patrick Rodio.