FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 26, 2015
Danielle McNamara
(510) 987-0230
Press Release
Senior level executives in Silicon Valley will join education leaders to explore smart solutions to the workforce diversity gap during an upcoming summit in Mountain View, CA.
The Workforce Diversity Summit will be held Tuesday, February 10 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Microsoft SVC Building 1 in Mountain View. Connect•Work•Thrive, the Mountain View Chamber of Commerce, and MESA are organizers of the event.
Topics will include the business and economic benefits of diversity as well as creative ways for companies to be inclusive. Both industry and education leaders will participate in panels and presentations.
Presenters include Saama Technologies CEO Ken Coleman and KTVU co-anchor Dave Clark, Cisco Senior Vice President K.C. Wu, and California State Superintendent of Public Schools Tom Torlakson.
MESA Executive Director Dr. Oscar F. Porter will speak about MESA’s success in fulfilling industry’s need for a diverse workforce during the panel “The STEM Pipeline.”
“Companies see the value of programs like MESA and as a result have supported us for 45 years,” Porter said. Industry must recognize the changes in California demographics and adjust their recruiting strategies accordingly, he emphasized.
Summit sponsors and supporters include Microsoft, Google, Intel, Talent Advisory Board, Abilities United, University of Houston Bauer College of Business, CapGemini Consulting, Cisco, Stanford University’s Michelle R. Clayman Institute for Gender Research, Golden Seeds Venture Capital, California Department of Education, KTVU News, and Saama Technologies.
For more information about the summit or to register visit http://chambermv.org/workforce-diversity-summit. Join the conversation during the summit on Twitter. Use #wdsmv when posting.
MESA is one of the largest programs in the state to support educationally disadvantaged students so they can graduate from college with science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) degrees. MESA provides academic support and enrichment to more than 18,000 K-12 students and more than 7,800 community college and 4-year college students each year. Follow MESA on Twitter @MESASTEM.
Connect•Work•Thrive hosts conferences which empower job seekers to find their next career opportunity: http://connectworkthrive.com Most recently, CWT has worked with mid-career professionals facing difficulty returning to the workforce after a career sabbatical. CWT CEO Johanna Wise proposed the Workforce Diversity Summit after realizing that the difficulties mid-career professionals faced were a systemic problem faced by many underrepresented groups.
Mountain View Chamber of Commerce is a Silicon Valley-based public benefit corporation dedicated to enhancing the economic viability of the community. Funded by its membership of over 500 organizations and businesses, the Chamber serves as the collective voice of local business and industry. Through progressive leadership, our organization offers programs and services that support members, and in turn, support the community.