Chamber Receives Stipend to Attend Building a Grad Nation Summit

Kelly Bass Seibel, director of workforce development, was chosen as one of eight business organizations nationwide to attend the Building a Grad Nation Summit. The Summit took place earlier last week and is the premier annual event of Grad Nation, the growing movement of dedicated organizations, individuals and communities working to end the high school dropout crisis and prepare young people for college and the 21st century workforce.

While at the summit, Bass Seibel was given the opportunity to learn best practices from other business organizations involved in workforce development around the country, as well as share information on the collaborative work happening in Sonoma County. In addition to attending breakout sessions, the Building a Grad Nation Summit featured speakers such as General and Mrs. Powell and Arne Duncan, Secretary, U.S. Department of Education.

"The Summit is unique because all sectors can come together under one roof to discuss progress and strategy in this united effort to raise graduation rates and support our children," said Bass Seibel. "The spirit of collaboration at the Summit is at the heart of all the work our community is doing and the Chamber is excited to be a part of it."

The Summit provides an important national platform to continue to build awareness about high school graduation and post-secondary success issues; help participants create valuable connections across networks; inspire and motivate by highlighting local, state and national successes; educate and engage participants through collaborative discussions; provide participants with the tools and knowledge they need to turn awareness into action, and to potentially replicate successes seen elsewhere; and report on our nation's progress on key indicators relevant to the Grad Nation goals.