The Skyline College President’s Council welcomed attendees to the inaugural year of the Success Summit on Saturday in the Fireside Dining Room of the Student and Community Center. Over 120 attendees convened to consider the challenges of the region. An overview of current trends in the areas of Transportation, Communication, and Jobs was presented by a panel of experts, followed by a moderated question and answer session. Attendees took the opportunity to add their voice and expert perspective to the conversation. The goal of the conference was to develop creative solutions for shaping forward movement and successful outcomes that will be tracked and reported on at subsequent events.
Dr. Regina Stanback Stroud welcomed the group to Skyline College and was followed by Ms. Jessica Evans, President’s Council Chairperson and President/CEO of Downtown San Mateo Association. Summit Co-Chairs Michele Enriquez-Da Silva and Greg Cochran took the stage to provide an overview of the conference and to welcome San Mateo County Supervisor, Don Horsley. Supervisor Horsley acknowledged elected officials and other VIP guests.
Attendees were addressed by two keynote speakers – Marlena Jackson, founder of NexGeneGirls and scientist at one of the world’s leading biotechnology organizations gave the morning address inspiring girls to go into science. Angela Batinovich, businesswoman and CEO of the San Francisco Bulls Hockey Organization talked to the group about her journey as a businesswoman.
Attendees participated in three separate sessions and followed a color coded rotation to ultimately attend a session on all three topics. The transportation session addressed the issue of “The Last Mile” – Efficiently reaching our destination after getting off public transportation. Moderators Jon Rubin, CEO of the Peninsula Coalition and Adrienne Tissier, San Mateo County Supervisor, led the discussion as the attendees broke into groups and responded to the question, “How can we successfully traverse the peninsula, including an east/west direction and along the Pacific coast, expanding access to San Mateo destinations such as learning institutions, employers, areas of commerce and recreation?”
The attendees in the Communications session addressed the question of “How can we successfully create a cross-generational and diverse sense of place/community amidst the array of communication platforms available today?” Moderator, Lloyd La Cuesta, Journalism Professor, SJSU and retired South Bay Bureau Chief, KTVU led the discussion.
Moderator Anne LeClair, President/CEO of the San Mateo County Convention and Visitors Bureau led the discussion in the “Jobs”: Connecting the Needs session. Attendees responded to “How can we successfully create a vibrant and fluid workforce that meets the current and future needs of north county employers?”
At the end of the sessions, using clicker technology, attendees voted on which of the issues they would like to see the President’s Council carry toward resolution. The group chose the Transportation session which will be a focus of the President’s Council who is in the great position to be able to seed initiatives that will begin to address the issues.
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