Executive Director Dr. Su Jin Gatlin Jez Receives Appointment to Cradle-to-Career Data System Governing Board
California Competes Executive Director Dr. Su Jin Gatlin Jez was appointed to the Cradle-to-Career Data System Governing Board on October 7, 2021. As an appointee to the new governing board, Dr. Jez is one of the eight public members of the 21-seat board that will provide guidance and drive the data system’s creation, implementation, and success.
The Cradle-to-Career Data System is California’s first statewide, longitudinal data system that will link existing education, workforce, financial aid, and social service information and serve as a tool for practitioners, researchers, and policymakers to address disparities in education and improve outcomes for all Californians.
Dr. Jez is not only the executive director of a research and policy nonprofit focused on improving the state’s education and workforce outcomes, but she served in several academic and policy leadership roles prior to California Competes. She served as Associate Professor of Public Policy and Administration at California State University, Sacramento as well as the Director of the CSU Student Success Network, Academic Advisor for the California Executive Fellows Program, and Associate Director of the Sacramento State Doctorate in Educational Leadership.
She is also an accomplished researcher and widely respected for her role in championing policy changes to bring equitable access to higher education, having provided guidance to large state entities such as the California Community College Chancellor’s Office, the California State University system, and California’s Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education. She was also instrumental in the launch of a traditional public school in the West Contra Costa Unified School District that is in its fifth year of running and currently holds a waitlist.
As a researcher, Dr. Jez understands the importance of having comprehensive, reliable data to understand the current landscape and to make data-driven decisions for improvement. “It is a tremendous privilege to be part of such an important initiative,” says Dr. Jez. “This is a system that will impact many stakeholders across the education-to-workforce continuum and will make lasting impacts on our state’s education system, workforce, and economy.”
As a daughter of an immigrant parent and a woman of color who has been through California’s school system from K-12 all the way through her postsecondary education, she has seen and experienced the disparities that many Californians face firsthand. “Her personal experience, passion, and expertise in providing pragmatic policy recommendations will help ensure the direction of the Cradle-to-Career Data System goes towards one that truly serves the needs of all institutions, students, and residents,” says Jack Scott, California Competes Leadership Councilmember and former state legislator and chancellor of the California Community Colleges.
“A comprehensive data system that connects all information from K-12 and thereafter has been a long-standing priority at California Competes. We are incredibly pleased to hear Dr. Jez was selected for the governing board to support the next phase of the integrated data system,” Scott adds.
