Collaboration as a P2o Council
In Fall 2021, the Land of Sky Educational Attainment & Workforce Collaborative’s Steering Committee established the P20 Council to move this collaborative work forward. The P20 Council is composed of key stakeholders that foster educational attainment that leads to gainful employment. The idea and structure developed were based on the efforts of workgroups set up by the Steering Committee in 2019, which continued into 2020.
The P2o Mission & Vision
The P20 Council will be the governing body that is responsible for overall implementation, compliance, and reporting to accomplish the project’s goals. The P20 Council, working in conjunction with the Executive Director, makes all decisions related to direction, management, and operations.
The P20 Council’s vision is to implement an educational attainment and workforce collaborative model that is sustainable, and which can be duplicated throughout other counties and states that provide long-term talent management solutions for local employers as they align educational objectives and outcomes to employment competencies.
What is a P20 Council?
“A P20 Council is a vertical “pipeline” for student advising, counseling, guidance, and information. P-20 Councils promote communication, agreements, and opportunities between school districts, colleges, universities and industries, to facilitate student advancement and certificate and degree program progress from preschool through graduate school and into the workforce.”
– Psychology Today
The P2o Goals
Initiatives
Implement initiatives that lead to educational attainment and gainful employment based on networking opportunities identified utilizing the inventory of local and national resources/asset mapping.
Best Practices
Implement “Best Practices” and strategies as identified by workgroups that will facilitate connecting the dots along the attainment “pipeline.”
Policy
Establish policy recommendations to assist stakeholders at various points along the attainment “pipeline” to align strategies from Pre-K to gainful employment.
Impact Model
Develop a collective impact model of educational attainment that leads to gainful employment that is sustainable beyond 2030, is financially secure, and has an established governing structure.
Emily Nicholson
Meet our Executive Director
Emily Nicholson is a native of Northeastern NC and was raised by two tireless community advocates. She graduated as Valedictorian from the Political Science department at NC State University and obtained a graduate degree from East Carolina University.
Emily previously served as the Assistant Director for the Northeastern Workforce Development Board where she helped enhance the skills and preparedness of the emerging and existing labor pool in a 10-county region to meet the immediate and future demands of employers of the region.
As a former high school and community college educator and mom of three young daughters, Emily understands the important intersections between education and workforce development and is passionate about applying an equity lens towards the Collaborative’s efforts.
P20 Council Members
- Tony Baldwin, Superintendent, Buncombe County Schools
- Amy Barry, Executive Director, Buncombe Partnership for Children
- Brittany Brady, President, Henderson County Partnership for Economic Development
- Kelli Brown, Chancellor, Western Carolina
- John Bryant, Superintendent, Henderson County Public Schools
- Nancy Cable, Chancellor, UNC Asheville
- Jack Cecil, President, Biltmore Farms
- Kit Cramer, President & CEO, Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce
- Mark Dickerson, Assistant Superintendent, Asheville City Schools
- Tony Floyd, President, Mars Hill University
- Reginald Gaither, Senior Manager, Human Resources, Meritor
- Norris Gentry, Interim County Manager, Madison County
- John Gossett, President, A-B Tech CC
- Chip Gould, President, Cason Companies
- Mike Hawkins, President, Pisgah Enterprises
- Will Hoffman, Superintendent, Madison County Schools
- Jaime Laughter, Manager, Transylvania County
- Laura Leatherwood, President, Blue Ridge CC
- Greg Lowe, President, HCA North Carolina Division
- Paul Maurer, President, Montreat College
- Jeff McDaris, Superintendent, Transylvania County Schools
- Michael Meguiar, Vice President of Global Operations, ThermoFisher Scientific
- John Mitchell, County Manager, Henderson County
- Nathan Ramsey, Executive Director, Land of Sky Regional Council
- Carol Steen, President, WNC Human Resources Association
Our History
2018
myFutureNC
In 2018, North Carolina’s thought leaders in education, business, faith-based and nonprofit communities, representatives from the North Carolina General Assembly, and the Governor’s Office established the myFutureNC Commission. After conducting a statewide conversation about economic competitiveness, workforce development, and educational attainment, the Commission set goals, and the initiative was later signed into law by Governor Roy Cooper.
Mid 2019
Land of Sky Educational Attainment and Workforce Development is established.
The Land of Sky Educational Attainment and Workforce Collaborative, the “Collaborative,” was established in mid-2019 as a pilot program to lead a four-county region toward fulfilling its portion of the state’s overall myFutureNC goal of 2 million credentialed state residents by 2030.
Nov 2019
Developed Steering Committee
The Collaborative assembled educational and business thought leaders, including representatives from public and private four-year universities, community colleges, K-12 public school systems, economic development coalitions, and businesses. These thought leaders met in November 2019 to begin the process of moving the Collaborative forward. In addition, a Steering Committee was developed to continue the work.
2021
LOS Educational Attainment and Workfoce Collaborative’s Steering Committee established the P20 Council.
In Fall 2021, the Land of Sky Educational Attainment & Workforce Collaborative’s Steering Committee established the P20 Council to move this collaborative work forward. The P20 Council is composed of key stakeholders that foster educational attainment that leads to gainful employment. The idea and structure developed were based on the efforts of workgroups set up by the Steering Committee in 2019, which continued into 2020.