Julian L. Alssid is a nationally recognized expert in workforce development strategy and policy. He has over fifteen years experience bringing together employers, workforce agencies, community colleges and clients to help move low-income people into high-wage jobs in key industries such as biotechnology, new manufacturing and information technology. Since founding Workforce Strategy Center in 1998, Mr. Alssid has advised 20 states on workforce policy and has been a national leader in promoting effective, practical solutions for implementing Career Pathways initiatives and sectoral employment strategies.

Mr. Alssid has authored two major studies on workforce strategy: Building a Career Pathways System: Promising Practices in Community College-Centered Workforce Development and Building Bridges to College and Careers: Contextualized Basic Skills Programs at Community Colleges. His views on engaging employers and creating effective workforce development systems have received extensive attention in national and local media, and he speaks regularly on the need for policy and educational reform in the field. Prior to directing Workforce Strategy Center, Mr. Alssid held senior positions in workforce development at the New York City Partnership and Chamber of Commerce, LaGuardia Community College and the Office of the Mayor of New York City. To reach Julian, email him at jalssid@workforcestrategy.org.

Davis Jenkins is a senior researcher at the Community College Research Center at Teachers College, Columbia University. A key focus of his work is finding ways to strengthen the capacity of public postsecondary institutions, particularly community colleges, to educate economically and educationally disadvantaged individuals for gainful employment in a knowledge economy. Among his current projects, Davis is directing a series of studies that use longitudinal student unit record data collected by state agencies to chart the paths of community college students within and across educational systems and identify determinants of educational and labor market success. His recent publications include: Institutional Effectiveness and Student Success: A Study of High- and Low-Impact Community Colleges, and Using Longitudinal Data to Increase Community College Student Success: A Guide to Measuring Milestone and Momentum Point Attainment (with Tim Leinbach).

Davis is one of the originators of the "career pathways" concept, and advises states, colleges, and regional groups on aligning public resources for education, workforce and economic development to support educational and economic advancement for individuals and better address regional labor force needs. Davis has over 25 years of experience as a researcher, evaluator, consultant and program manager on projects related to education for employment in the U.S. and abroad. He has a bachelor's degree in Religion from Princeton University and a Ph.D. in Public Policy Analysis from Carnegie Mellon University.