Event Description

California is on course to have one of the most inclusive state-wide data systems in the nation. The Cradle-to-Career Data System, signed into legislation in 2019, will bring together data from across the early childhood, K–12, postsecondary, and workforce sectors to provide policymakers, advocates, and communities with actionable data to address disparities and improve outcomes for all students throughout the state. One of the most unique aspects of the system is that it is being built with the intentional focus of putting data in the hands of the people to get them the information they need to help students succeed. The Cradle-to-Career Data System represents a significant investment in the state’s 5.9 million students and holds promise to help California build a more equitable future.

Join us for this informative and engaging webinar focused on the potential impact of the Cradle-to Career Data System to improve outcomes for students.

Come Join Us To

  • Better understand California’s Cradle-to-Career Data System;
  • Hear how advocates are planning to leverage the data system to support their work; and, 
  • Learn how philanthropy can engage and support strategies to promote the Cradle-to-Career system.

Speakers

Mary Ann Bates

Executive Director, California’s Cradle-to-Career System

Mary Ann Bates is the Executive Director of the State of California’s new Cradle-to-Career Data System. This statewide data system will provide tools to help students reach their goals and deliver information on education and workforce outcomes. Its vision is to foster evidence-based decision-making to help Californians build more equitable futures and empower individuals to reach their full potential. Mary Ann previously served as a senior fellow at the White House Office of Management and Budget and as the Executive Director of J-PAL North America at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She began her life in Ohio's Amish community and started her college experience via dual enrollment at Kent State University Tuscarawas. She holds a Master of Public Policy from the University of California, Berkeley.
Profile photo of Dr. Tessa Carmen

Tessa De Roy

Founder & President, Tessa De Roy Household

Dr. Tessa Carmen De Roy is the founder and president of the California College Guidance Initiative (CCGI), which seeks to smooth the path to college and career for California students and unify the efforts of the institutions that serve them.

Combining data-driven tools and infrastructure with capacity building and student-focused curricula, CCGI helps to promote equity in public education, remove obstacles to student success, and close the gaps between California’s K-12, higher education, and financial aid systems. Through CaliforniaColleges.edu, CCGI provides data-informed tools that help students explore academic and vocational goals, make plans for how to achieve them, and launch and track public college and financial aid applications. Founded in 2013, CCGI supports districts serving one in five California 6th-12th grade students.

Before founding CCGI, Dr. De Roy spent a decade focused on issues related to college access and success for first-generation, college-bound students in Los Angeles County. Through her involvement with the development of the IRS Data Retrieval Tool, which simplifies the financial aid process for millions of students and families by importing tax information directly into the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), she developed an interest in using data and technology to lower barriers for students all along their educational paths.

Dr. De Roy received her Doctor of Education from the University of California, Los Angeles, where she focused on data-supported regional efforts to articulate high school and college coursework.
Executive Director of The Education Trust–West

Christopher Nellum

Executive Director, EdTrust-West

Dr. Christopher J. Nellum (he/him/his) is the Executive Director of The Education Trust–West, a nonprofit educational equity organization focused on educational justice and closing achievement and opportunity gaps from preschool through college through research, data, policy analysis, and advocacy. He has led successful advocacy efforts to ensure equity in the K-12 accountability system, create a statewide cradle-to-career data system, address food insecurity for college students, and ensure that every high school senior completes a financial aid application before they graduate. Before joining The Education Trust–West, Nellum was at the National Center for Institutional Diversity, Young Invincibles, and the American Council on Education. Nellum completed his undergraduate degree at UC Santa Barbara, master’s degree at CSU Long Beach, and Ph.D. at the University of Michigan. You can follow Nellum on Twitter at @chrisnellum.

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