In the latest episode of Degrees of Change, we explore the role local and regional leaders play in strengthening higher education through cross-sector collaboration.
In a state as large and diverse as California, student needs and regional conditions vary widely within and across communities. Many of the forces that shape student success, from workforce opportunities to housing affordability, are deeply local.
The conversation features Libby Schaaf, president and CEO of the Bay Area Council, a policy organization representing employers and focused on strengthening the region’s economic competitiveness and long-term prosperity.
With decades of public service and executive leadership experience, Libby is a fierce advocate for education with a strong track record of building public-private partnerships and driving economic transformation. As Oakland’s 50th mayor, she helped establish the Oakland Promise, a cradle-to-career initiative to increase the number of Oakland students graduating from college. She is also a long-term member of California Competes’s board of directors and has continued to shape conversations on leadership, equity, and economic development through fellowships and teaching roles at UC Berkeley, Stanford, and Harvard University.
This episode is part of Crystal Clear: A Vision for the Future of California Higher Ed, a Degrees of Change podcast season marking our organization’s 15th anniversary—our crystal anniversary. Through conversations with leaders across sectors, the season reflects on where we’ve been, where we are now, and, most importantly, what’s needed for California’s next chapter.
The following includes excerpts from a conversation recorded on June 8, 2026. To hear the full discussion, listen to the podcast on your preferred platform.
Su Jin: You’ve worn many hats: Mayor of Oakland, a commissioner guiding regional transportation and housing efforts, and now president and CEO of the Bay Area Council. What has this journey taught you about the relationship between local and regional leadership and higher education?
Libby: I’ve loved local government because I always say you fly at the perfect altitude where you can change the world, but you’re very connected to your community. That is a unique role that local and regional leaders can play, because they have the wisdom of place-based knowledge and that connection to the real people in their communities.
And, I have to say, as a “recovering” mayor: education is not just the responsibility of educators; it is everyone’s responsibility.
When I became mayor, I was tempted to say, “This is not my job. This is not my lane.” There’s a whole elected board, a whole separate governmental entity in charge of education. But what I found was that it is my responsibility. If we want a thriving community, we need to have thriving children who have the education, the skills, the aspirations, and the social capital to be successful in life, career, and community. And that’s everybody’s job.
Education is not just the responsibility of educators. It is everyone’s responsibility.
Su Jin: Where do you see local and regional leaders having the greatest opportunity to advance student success and economic mobility through education?
Libby: First of all, we have to remember that a child is in school only 20% of their waking hours. Between afterschool hours and summer, schools have a very limited amount of time to impact a child’s well-being. The community has several opportunities to step in.
I was so proud to be part of creating the Oakland Promise. It started with setting up college savings accounts for babies born to Medi-Cal–eligible parents and giving those parents financial coaching and support during the earliest years when brain development is happening. We already have RCT studies showing profound impacts on social and emotional developmental skills, on reduced parent stress and a greater sense of agency. And those impacts are all happening in the years before a child sets foot in a school. That’s something the community can do—and did do—in Oakland.
The Oakland Promise starts at birth but follows kids all the way to and through college—whether that’s a four-year or two-year college or a trade certificate or apprenticeship. That’s where we filled in the gaps that an educator just can’t fill, particularly around support and the cost of continuing education after high school.
The Oakland Promise and San Francisco’s K2C program were among the early, locally driven college savings initiatives. California now has the largest college savings program in the country: Cal Kids. And even in today’s political atmosphere, we recently had a bipartisan event to launch the Trump Accounts, a federally funded college savings program for children. It’s not perfect, but it is a really important start. I see this momentum, having come out of local places like Oakland and San Francisco, serving as proof of concept for a movement that is now touching so many kids.
Su Jin: You mentioned that the Oakland Promise seed accounts were available to children of parents who were Medi-Cal recipients. I love how that leverages an existing support in one part of government to streamline access to other supports. Can you talk about that process or decision?
Libby: One theme I hope your listeners hear in my comments is the idea of continuum thinking and systems thinking. So often we look only at our particular issue area instead of looking at the totality of the system and how very small adjustments can have huge outcomes.
While I was fundraising as mayor to create these child savings accounts, we partnered with Children’s Hospital. The offer, that your child can have a $500 savings account for their future, for college, and you’ll get your own personal financial coach, was made to new parents by Children’s Hospital, a trusted medical professional, not an educator and not a politician. When we ask, “What is the unique role I can play?” and “What is something better left to someone else who’s already in that space?” That’s when magic can happen.
We also utilized an existing eligibility standard. Children’s Hospital already knew who was Medi-Cal eligible, so we didn’t have to build a separate verification system. We’ve made being poor a full-time, onerous job in the United States. We cannot continue to disrespect the time of low-income families; it is the most valuable time of all. To the extent that we can create systems that maximize people’s time and make things as stress-free as possible for new parents, we’re doing our jobs.
When we ask, “What is the unique role I can play?” and “What is something better left to someone else?” That’s when magic can happen.
Su Jin: Shifting gears to your current role at the Bay Area Council: from your vantage point as the leader of an organization that counts more than 375 of the Bay Area’s largest employers among its members, what’s the key to building a higher education system that meets our economy’s workforce demand?
Libby: The employers in this region are not only the largest employers in our community, they are among the most consequential employers in the world. We are writing the next chapter of our economy right here in the Bay Area.
The number one message I have, particularly to the higher education community, is: get over the idea that education ends in your 20s. That idea is simply not viable in today’s economy as skills and knowledge evolve so rapidly. And second: listen. Listen to what employers need, and listen frequently, because it is changing in real time.
The Bay Area Council is proud to be the home of the Northern California Apprenticeship Network. We are seeing more and more higher education members (community colleges, UCs, and others) join this network. Degreed apprenticeships are no longer a thing of the past or limited to the traditional concept of construction trades; they are a proven path to future employment opportunities and, in partnership with higher education, they are a great entry point for students who are already parents, or for those who are trying to upskill because they haven’t been earning what they know they should.
The idea that education is not just one-and-done after high school is the systems change we all have to be a part of. Employers are really excited to tell educators what is needed right now to be employable in the amazing opportunities the Bay Area economy has to offer.
Get over the idea that education ends in your 20s. That idea is simply not viable in today’s economy.
Su Jin: The Bay Area is known as the tech headquarters of the world, home to one of the world’s greatest innovation hubs. It’s also a region shaped by deep and persistent inequities. What opportunities do you see for business, government, and higher education to turn the Bay Area’s economic power into opportunity for all?
Libby: When we look at places like Switzerland and at the research more broadly, apprenticeships have been one of the most proven successful models we know. Whether in partnership with community colleges, CSUs, or placed at a work site, it is a very proven and successful path.
And when you talk to our members, you see how wide the range really is. They are leading apprenticeships from shipbuilding to quantum technology. One of the most critical new apprenticeships we are facilitating is in childcare, a huge area of demand and need right now. Apprenticeships are not a thing of the past. They are part of our future and essential to building a future-ready workforce.
Apprenticeships are not a thing of the past. They are part of our future and essential to building a future-ready workforce.
Su Jin: This season is called Crystal Clear because we’re trying to cut through complexity to reveal what’s really needed to strengthen California’s future. What’s the biggest misconception about the role local and regional leaders can play in higher education?
Libby: As a mayor, you are always focused on police, parks, and potholes; on balancing your budget. But as I said before, we have to be part of a continuum that creates thriving communities and successful children who grow into incredibly productive adults. The connection between education and workforce needs is more important than ever.
I hope leaders are seeing their role within systems, within the continuum of a child’s journey, and are stepping into their responsibility to lead in that area even if it’s technically not their lane.
We have to be part of a continuum that creates thriving communities and successful children who grow into productive adults.
I also really want to encourage leaders to use their bully pulpits. There are so many great programs and opportunities that children and families in our communities simply don’t know about. Fewer than 10% of the children and families who already have a Cal Kids account know that it exists. Go to calkids.org and see if a child you know has an account. Chances are the state of California has already opened one for them, and it’s earning interest. That account can fuel a child’s hope, confidence, and identity as a future college student because they know that the opportunity is there and that they can go to college and graduate with a degree. Those accounts are available until age 26. Spreading that information is something every leader can do.
Su Jin: So many of our listeners are higher education leaders and state policymakers. What do you wish they understood about how local governments and businesses work that would help make partnerships with them more effective?
Libby: We’re all busy and overwhelmed. The political will, the desire, and the belief in the power of education are there. But often it’s hard to know how to form a relationship or where to plug in. I encourage people to find existing partnerships. Most counties and big cities have a local workforce board. Joining a coalition that is working toward a comprehensive vision of what an educated citizenry and a thriving community look like is a good place to start.
As the Bay Area Council has committed itself to apprenticeship work and to leading the connection between workforce efforts and the Bay Area’s employers, we have seen more higher education institutions join our organization. We are primarily the civic voice of the business community, but we were founded as a civic leadership organization, so we do have civic leaders as members, and we do invite higher education institutions (for example, UC Berkeley and the Office of the President have long been members). It is a place where you can come and hear the real needs of businesses in real time: what hiring decisions are being made, what skills are coming up, what positions need to be filled. It’s a good way to stop guessing and start hearing the real story about what companies are looking for in their upcoming workforce.
Joining a coalition that is working toward a comprehensive vision of what an educated citizenry and a thriving community look like—that is a good place to start.
Su Jin: As we look ahead, what gives you the most optimism? What feels different now about the conditions for unlocking higher education’s potential to drive an innovative and inclusive economy in the Bay Area and across California?
Libby: What makes me optimistic is a growing awareness of systems thinking and a move away from silos. Whether it’s the work of the Harvard EdRedesign Lab, where I was a mayor and not an educator, yet still part of their very first class of senior fellows; or the spread of the Harlem Children’s Zone model; or the momentum behind Promise Neighborhoods, these are all cradle-to-career, place-based, locally informed approaches. They are systemic changes that see a continuum and believe we all have a role to play in making sure our kids are educated and that adults continue to have the skills they need for a thriving, productive life.
I’m also optimistic about the abundance movement, which is focused on results and on user experience, on harnessing new technologies to really customize the services we deliver to our residents. We’ve moved beyond the conveyor belt of one-size-fits-all in how government serves its people, and that includes higher education. We have to be customized. We have to be nimble. We have to move with these very rapidly evolving times.
We’ve moved beyond the conveyor belt of one-size-fits-all. Higher education has to be customized, nimble, and ready to move with rapidly evolving times.
