How Will California Educate Its Future Workforce?

Co-presented by Zócalo Public Square and Inland Empire Community Foundation, in partnership with California Humanities, with generous support from The James Irvine Foundation

Moderated by Adam Echelman, Higher Education and Workforce Reporter, CalMatters

With the largest population of public school students in the country, and an even larger workforce, California has a lot riding on educating its future workers.

Pressed by economic and technological shifts and facing enrollment declines, how will the state think outside the box—employing non-traditional learning approaches to remain competitive? Will this mean reimagining the state's mission to provide quality public higher education, or devising new ways to leverage "cradle-to-career" data to drive student and worker success? Will AI be student, teacher, or aide in our classrooms? And how will regions like the Inland Empire forge strong career pathways for future workers who want to join booming healthcare, manufacturing, and green technology sectors?

Zócalo heads to Riverside for the Inland Empire Community Foundation's 2026 Policy & Philanthropy Summit to host a free pre-summit conversation with health workforce manager Vicky Bocanegra, higher education and workforce policy leader Su Jin Jez, and Growing Inland Achievement president and CEO Ashish Vaidya on how best to prepare California’s students for the big, bright world ahead.

This pre-summit event is free of charge. Continue the conversation at the 2026 Policy & Philanthropy Summit! Purchase your tickets and use the code ZOCALO2026 to receive 20% off general admission pricing.

This program is part of California 175 — What Connects California?, a suite of free Zócalo events and essays, bringing together leaders and thinkers from all walks of life to envision California’s next 175 years.