10th Anniversary Interview Series with California Competes Alumni

Conversation Spotlights Higher Education Coordination and Data in Policymaking

To reflect on California Competes’s decade of impact in anticipation of its upcoming anniversary celebration on March 1st, Executive Director Dr. Su Jin Gatlin Jez speaks with four past leaders and alumni of the organization:

• Mr. Bob Shireman, who was California Competes’s first Executive Director and held the position until 2015;
• Dr. Lande Ajose, who served as California Competes’s Executive Director from 2015 to 2019;
• Ms. Ria Bhatt, who served as deputy director and then interim executive director until 2019; and
• Dr. Valerie Lundy-Wagner, who led California Competes’s research efforts during her tenure at the organization.

Together, they discuss the importance of higher education coordination and data in policymaking and reflect on the past, present, and future of California Competes.