How Education is Adapting to the Pandemic

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Tech-Labs and X-CAL have partnered together to present this webinar, How Education is Adapting to the Pandemic.

Panelists will discuss how their colleges have been impacted by and how they are responding to the pandemic. They will provide insight concerning changes implemented after stay-in-place orders are lifted and colleges reopen. The panelists will share their vision of how community and technical colleges will help to upskill the tens of millions of Americans who are either unemployed or underemployed due to the pandemic.

The conversation will be moderated by Dr. Garry Tomerlin, the former Deputy Assistant Commissioner of Workforce for the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

Topics Covered:

  • Impacts of pandemic on education
  • Changes implemented for summer and fall terms
  • Online learning options available
  • What programs, certifications, and credentials will be demanded
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The Panelists

Linda Head

Linda Head oversees the Division of External and Employer Relations at Lone Star College (LSC), serving as Senior Associate Vice Chancellor. Her responsibilities in Houston cover related activities at the six LSC campuses and in partnership with 100’s of corporate and healthcare business partners. Lone Star College serves over 90,000 students, 7,000 employees, and 5,500,000 square feet of physical space. Linda has spent her community college career developing a trained workforce for businesses and industry by developing a highly trained talent pool. LSC delivers the associate degrees and certificate programs that prepare citizens in the Houston area for today’s careers providing the opportunity for a career pathway from entry-level to leadership roles in healthcare, emergency services, oil and gas, manufacturing, IT, and others.

Linda is a current or past member of numerous organizations and civic groups in the greater Houston area, across the state of Texas, and nationally.

Joyce Williams

Joyce Williams serves as Associate Vice Chancellor of Workforce and Community Initiatives for the Dallas County Community College District (DCCCD). The DCCCD is one of the largest undergraduate institutions of higher education in Texas. She is responsible for initiatives involving workforce development, community development, and business strategies. Her 20 plus years of experience in education includes several senior leadership positions at the post-secondary level. Ms. Williams’ latest workforce accomplishments include the development of a strategic implementation of the Amazon Veteran Apprenticeship program (Cloud Support Technician); development and management of 9-12 apprenticeship programs serving over 2000 apprentices.

Joyce Williams' professional accomplishments include President of the Texas Association of Community and Technical Educators (TACTE); Chair WECM State Leadership Committee. .

Ms. Williams is actively involved in the community. Joyce is the past Board Chair of The Boys and Girls Club of Greater Dallas. She has an extensive record of service with a vast array of organizations.

Andrea L’Heureux

Andrea L’Heureux serves as the Dean of Workforce Development and CTE Programs for Morgan Community College which is one of 13 community colleges within the Colorado Community College System. Morgan Community College serves approximately 1500 students within an 11,500 square mile area.

Andrea began her community college career at Morgan Community College in 2015 as the Manufacturing Pathways Coordinator. Due to the current skills gap, her role in this capacity was to build a talent pipeline for the advanced manufacturing sector. Much of this effort included partnering with local industry leaders to create pathways that match the needs of regional industry. In October 2017, Andrea’s role shifted to that of a dean. She is responsible for continuing partnerships with local industries while building programs to meet their employment needs. She has helped build the Computer Support Technician, Electromechanical Technology, and Precision Agriculture Technology programs. The Industrial Controls Technician and Viticulture/Enology programs are currently in progress.

Her accomplishments include convening the Northeast Colorado Manufacturers (NECOM) sector partnership, the creation of Girls Only! Women in Manufacturing Event, and being the Principal Investigator for their first NSF ATE project: Industrial Controls and Telematics Across Disciplines. This project will lead to the creation of an Industrial Controls Technician (ICT) Certificate program which bridges the Electromechanical Technology and Precision Agriculture Technology programs.