About New Skills Nashville

OUR VISION

With cross-sector stakeholder leadership, New Skills Ready-Nashville will build high-quality career pathways with a focus on students who are underserved and under-resourced. Students will be supported to and through postsecondary education and into high-growth, high-wage careers in the local economy. Systemic inequities, barriers to postsecondary access, persistence, and success will be addressed. 

OUR PRIORITIES

PROJECT PARTNERS

GUIDING TEAM

Amy Aldridge Sanford | Vice Provost, Academic Programs, Middle Tennessee State University

Sarah Chin | Chief Strategy Officer, Metro Nashville Public Schools

Stephanie Coleman | Chief Talent Development Officer, Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce

Daryl Curry | Director of Education and Workforce Partnerships, Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce

Russ Deaton | Executive Vice Chancellor for Policy and Strategy Tennessee Board of Regents

Nathan Garrett | President, Tennessee College of Applied Technology - Nashville

Victoria Harpool | Senior Director of Academic Affairs and Strategic Alignment, Tennessee Higher Education Commission

Katie Hazelwood | Program Officer, Scarlett Family Foundation

Laura Herrell | Project Manager for New Skills Ready, Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce

Karey Lowdermilk | Manager of College and Career Readiness, Tennessee Department of Education

Jenny McFerron | Vice President of Education and Talent Development, Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce

Matt Nelson | Executive Director, College and Career Readiness, Metro Nashville Public Schools

Bob Obrohta | Executive Director, Tennessee College Access and Success Network

Kim Silverman | Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs for Extended Campuses, Nashville State Community College

Johannah Williams | Dean of STEM, Nashville State Community College

THE NEW SKILLS READY NETWORK

New Skills ready network, launched by JPMorgan Chase & Co. in 2020, bolsters the firm’s efforts to support an inclusive economic recovery, as part of both their $350 million, five-year New Skills at Work initiative to prepare people for the future of work and their new $30 billion commitment to advance racial equity. Advance CTE and Education Strategy Group are working with sites to improve student completion of high-quality career pathways in six US communities. The six New Skills ready network sites are: 



These sites are formulating new partnerships between local school systems, higher education, employers, and government entities to develop pathways and policy recommendations that give underserved students access to higher education and real-world work experiences that lead to high-wage, in-demand jobs.

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