NORTH COAST, Calif. – Mendocino Lake Adult and Career Education, or MLACE, in collaboration with the Northern California Career Pathways Alliance, hosted the inaugural Curriculum to Career Summit at the Ukiah Valley Conference Center on Oct. 6.

The goal of the event was to bring together educators, workforce development specialists and other student support agencies to create pathways for adult students to transition from education or training programs to jobs.

The event focused on careers in three industry sectors, business, construction and trades, and health care.

Employers from each industry sector attended a Workforce Connection session, where they were able to talk about education and training needs for their companies. Event participants used information from employers to inform their afternoon work, which consisted of mapping all education, workforce and support services available to adults to prepare them for jobs. The participants then used the asset maps to identify gaps, priorities for future work and create action plans.

“This event is all about connecting the agencies and programs that exist in our community so that students can more easily navigate the system and get better jobs,” said Judy Harwood, Director of MLACE and event organizer. “Each of our agencies do excellent work in our individual areas of expertise,” she explained “our English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers are great at teaching English, our sustainable tech program at Mendocino College is good at training students to install solar panels and electrical systems. However, it would be to all of our advantage for all of these organizations to be connected to one another and to employers in order for students to move from that beginning ESL class through a College Certificate program and into a job that will provide a better life for their families and themselves.”

MLACE, the organization that co-planned the event is a consortium of adult education providers that includes Mendocino College, Lake County Office of Education, Mendocino County Office of Education, and Ukiah, Anderson Valley, Kelseyville, Round Valley, Ft. Bragg and Willits Unified School Districts. The consortium plans on using the asset maps and identified priorities to help guide their work going forward. “We hope that this is just a first step to start working together with our larger community towards common goals”, said Debra Polak, Interim Vice President of Academic Affairs at Mendocino College and MLACE member. “MLACE has been doing great work towards breaking down historical and institutional boundaries to create seamless pathways for our students, we are excited to bring more agencies into this effort and build on what we have started.”

For more information about MLACE or the Curriculum to Career Summit, please contact Judith Harwood Director of MLACE by calling 707-468-1015 or e-mailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..