Newsom and First Partner to Support Farm to School Programs
Governor Newsom has proposed a $600 million dollar budget that includes funding support for initiatives that will enhance student nutrition and school meal programs.
First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, who has been engaged in supporting Farm to School programs, will be championing these efforts. Most recently, Ms. Siebel Newsom, with coordination from CDFA, Valley Vision, Woodland Community College, and other partners, toured Farm to School Programs in Yolo County and Career programs hosted at Woodland Community College. The purpose of the visit to Woodland Community College was intended to show the connection between eating locally grown healthy foods at school and the potential for opportunities in food and ag career pathways
Late last year, Mrs. Siebel Newsom toured Yolo County and other areas to learn more about the thriving Farm to School programs led by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) and Secretary Karen Ross, and food and ag career education programs. Nick Anicich, Farm to School Program Lead, CDFA Office of Farm to Fork, Valley Vision’s Managing Director Trish Kelly, and Carrie Peterson, Regional Director, Agriculture, Water, and Environmental Technology, coordinated the First Partner’s visit to Woodland Community College. This was an opportunity to showcase how food and ag career education programs are providing pathways for local students in this important regional industry, building on Farm to School programs in K-2. Faculty, Students, and College District Leaders hosted the First Partner as she toured the Greenhouse and other facilities, discussing programs and topics like Ag-tech, regenerative agriculture, and growing healthy foods. Valley Vision supports these career pathway efforts as part of the Community College’s Strong Workforce Programs.
Photo top: Jennifer Siebel Newsom tours Greenhouse at Woodland Community College (WCC)
Photo above: Yuba Community College District Chancellor and Board of Trustees, Woodland Community College President, and Faculty, Valley Vision, and California Department of Food and Agriculture, with First Partner.
Regional Broadband Consortia Powers up for Three More Years
In November 2019, Valley Vision was awarded funding to manage the Connected Capital Area Broadband Consortia (CCABC) for the next three years, working alongside other regional consortia to achieve 98% broadband access within each region – its third grant from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) since 2012.
The CCABC is tasked to facilitate the deployment of broadband infrastructure throughout the four-county CCABC region (Sacramento, Sutter, Yolo, and Yuba counties), working with local municipalities, Internet service providers (ISPs), anchor institutions, community partners, and the State, among others to close the Digital Divide and improve access for the next three years. In this new phase of funding, the CCABC plans to use a reverse RFP approach, which will place a thorough case for investment in the hands of providers. The intent is to generate a more active response from providers by fulfilling as much of the planning work as possible and promoting competition.
Although there was a hiatus in CPUC funding in 2019 for most regional consortia, the CCABC was able to engage multiple stakeholders through several initiatives to improve broadband access, adoption and deployment. In February 2019, Valley Vision helped host a Digital Inclusion Summit, alongside the Sacramento Public Library and the City of Sacramento’s Office of Innovation and Economic Development, bringing together more than 100 participants, to facilitate collaboration among organizations and initiatives working to bridge the digital divide. This summit led to the development of the Sacramento Coalition for Digital Inclusion and the Digital Inclusion Week resolution passed in the City of Sacramento. In March 2019, Valley Vision hosted FCC Chairman, Ajit Pai, to discuss rural broadband infrastructure and connectivity issues related to lack of eligibility for federal funding due to rural definitions, among other challenges. Chairman Pai visited two farms which are piloting ag technologies and the AgStart incubator in Woodland, and met with local and state policy leaders. The CCABC continues to work with the Chairman’s office and other Commissioners to address funding, mapping and other infrastructure challenges, along with federal agencies including NTIA, EDA and USDA and congressional representatives to advance regional broadband priorities. This work will continue as part of the 2020 Cap-to-Cap trip in April.
Through funding from the Delta Protection Commission, Valley Vision developed a broadband action plan for five legacy communities along the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta, all facing rural broadband infrastructure and funding challenges. As a lead partner in developing the Capital Region Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS), with support from the U.S. Economic Development Administration, Valley Vision incorporated broadband infrastructure and access priorities into both the infrastructure and workforce/digital skills strategies. Additionally, with support from the California Emerging Technology Fund (CETF), Valley Vision manages the Strategic Broadband Corridors Project, a statewide effort to coordinate the network of broadband consortia with CalTrans to conduct joint use/dig once projects along priority corridors/highways.
To get updates on the Connected Capital Area Broadband Consortium and the Sacramento Coalition for Digital Inclusion, subscribe to our broadband newsletter today!
Yzabelle Dela Cruz is a Valley Vision Project Associate contributing to the Innovation & Infrastructure and 21st Century Workforce impact areas.
Valley Vision’s Trish Kelly also contributed to the writing of this blog.
The Three Truths of Change
I’m not really sure how fifteen years went by so quickly. That’s a lot of years spent listening to people in our communities, learning and becoming more familiar with how we humans and our institutions cope with the forces of change, much of it outside our control, and either resist or embrace it.
A number of people have asked me if I could pass along any important lessons I’ve learned during my time as Valley Vision’s CEO. My answer comes with a big smile and the words: yes, about a million lessons! Change work is often challenging but always humbling. If you are truly open to hearing from the people who are most directly affected, unfiltered, it is absolutely the best education you could ever hope for in your life. So, as space constraints will prevent passing on a million different lessons, I would like to tell you instead about three big patterns or “truths about change,” that I have uncovered over my many years.
The first is simply that change takes time. It’s a hard truth. When we see a celebrated announcement about a new downtown renaissance, a school system back on track, or a politician pat themselves on the back for a major win, it almost never happens overnight, nor by those actually celebrating. In truth and real practice, the conditions for change take many years, not days, and are built on the back of efforts from people who came before us. This heritage is important to recognize, and to respect.
One of my many mentors Jane Hagedorn noticed in her highly effective 30-year nonprofit career that major change efforts took seven years, and there’s much truth in it. That is, several years to get all the stakeholders on board, recognizing that there’s a real issue that deserves their attention and then building a warrant for change. Then, there are still a couple more years with data and hard-nosed meetings to get clear on how to address the issue effectively and to assemble the team and investments necessary to make new things happen. Then, finally, a few more years to pilot, test, fail, adjust, and make the change permanent. Change takes time, and we must embrace it rather than hide it, even though our hurry-up, fix-it-fast culture encourages otherwise. Plan for it. When things look bleak or seem to be taking “too long,” keep the faith; be unwavering. With dedication, time is on your side.
Second is the insight that regions of a million plus people each have distinct leadership models or approaches for how change happens in their communities, but that we do best when political, business, and civic sectors are working together. It’s important to recognize this. For me this truth was brought to light by the many study mission trips I have attended, organized by the Sacramento Metro Chamber and also by the El Dorado County and Folsom Chambers. On these multi-day learning exchanges leaders in Seattle, Austin, Charlotte, Vancouver, Brooklyn, Nashville, Portland, Atlanta, and Indianapolis told us their success stories. After six or seven trips, I came to recognize that leadership could spring from multiple sources to achieve the goals of a city or region.
- Most often, leadership sprang from government when a dynamic mayor (or mayors) held sway over their entire region with a uniting vision and the power and respect to convene and direct regional action and investment.
- Next most seen was a business-led leadership model, where a community with dense corporate headquarters had a few wise leaders who banded together to drive change because they understood the importance of community health to their overall bottom line. Leadership came from the private sector, working with elected officials, with an emphasis on measurable results and a clear return on investment.
- Last was a philanthropic or nonprofit leadership model, where regional leadership emanated from a major foundation or nonprofit CEO or group of CEOs who helped set the regional agenda and the focus of change.
In my 30 years in the Capital Region and now 15 at Valley Vision, I have witnessed the source of leadership in the Capital Region shift from sector to sector and evolve over time, largely reflecting the leader and their skills and whether their vision was large and inclusive enough. Secondary factors have to do with whether our region is on an up or down cycle of the economy, and therefore the presenting challenges that must be confronted, but also the availability of leadership. The lesson I draw from this is that, without question we are at our best and accomplish the most good when political, business, and civic sectors are teamed up. This seems to be happening more and more, which is a good sign.
Third, there is a big new cadre of leaders in top positions across our public, private, and civic institutions in the region just in the past few years, right as our region is coming into its own. There’s always some degree of turn over, but in the last five years we’ve seen virtually a wholesale change of who’s in charge. At Valley Vision we counted more than 30 top positions that had changed hands from one long-serving leader to the next — core business groups, leaders of our top universities, as well as vital government institutions. That’s a lot of institutional knowledge walking out the door. But importantly, we have a big new set of leaders at the helm of our region and its institutions with fresh ideas and emboldened by fresh mandates for change. I am part of this outgoing class. I am leaving the CEO seat in order for the next leader to bring the energy and fresh ideas we need to make a more prosperous, just, and sustainable region, adding their contribution to the groundwork laid by others.
I leave Valley Vision deeply optimistic about our future, and can’t wait to see what happens next.
Bill Mueller was Valley Vision’s Chief Executive through January 31st, 2020.
A Strategic Approach to Connecting the Region
Valley Vision has led regional broadband access and deployment efforts in Sacramento, Sutter, Yolo, and Yuba Counties for several years now, but our involvement in a new and innovative statewide partnership is helping rural regions across California get connected, one transportation project at a time.
On October 17, the California Broadband Council (CBC) held its final meeting of 2019. Valley Vision’s Trish Kelly addressed the CBC on behalf of its Strategic Broadband Corridors (SBC) Task Force, to provide an update on the SBC Project, including its status, issues for consideration moving forward, and next steps.
The SBC Project was initiated in the Fall of 2018, at a Stakeholders Meeting on Strategic Corridors hosted by the California Department of Technology (CDT). At that meeting, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) highlighted its next steps in “Dig-Once” policy implementation, including the need to identify so-called “corridor gaps” — strategic corridors where no Internet service provider or public agency is prepared for installation of broadband infrastructure in alignment with construction of a transportation project. In response, Tom West — the Manager of the North Bay North Coast Broadband Consortium — volunteered for the 16-member Regional Broadband Consortia, funded by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), to develop a list of regional priorities and a statewide map for Caltrans and the California Transportation Commission (CTC). Thus, the Strategic Broadband Corridors Project was born, with the ultimate goal of engaging the Consortia to coordinate planning and development of broadband and transportation projects with Caltrans and the CTC.
As a follow-up to the initial Fall 2018 Stakeholders Meeting, the Consortia — including Valley Vision, which manages the Connected Capital Broadband Consortium — identified the SBCs in an initial draft report. While this was a promising first step, the report was overly broad, listing almost every major transportation corridor in California. Caltrans’ Chris Schmidt suggested that the Consortia further narrow the list by choosing three “priority” corridors per region. Valley Vision agreed to help coordinate these next steps, together with its partners — the California Emerging Technology Fund (CETF), the California Association of Councils of Government (CalCOG), California Forward (CaFWD), and CSU Chico. The CBC, the CPUC, other state agencies, and our congressional delegation – especially Congressman Garamendi and Congresswoman Matsui – all have been consistent champions for broadband infrastructure and very engaged since Fall 2018.
At the October 17 CBC meeting, Kelly provided updates on the delivery to Caltrans of the updated SBC report and maps with three “priority corridors” per region; results of the stakeholder meeting that took place in September, in which the Regional Consortia, CalCOG, the state agencies, and the internet service providers discussed issues and challenges in transportation policy and funding; and coordination with the Rural Transportation Planning Agencies (RTPAs). Kelly also highlighted the need for continued conversation around issues such as the regions’ eligibility for transportation funding to be used for broadband infrastructure deployment; the adoption of “Dig Once/Joint-Use” policies and planning; permitting challenges and variations across Caltrans districts; and overall funding availability/constraints with the CPUC.
After the meeting, partners, stakeholders, and representatives from state agencies gathered at The Gualco Group, Inc. to break bread and engage in dialogue on next steps towards digital equity. Bob Gore of the Gualco Group, Inc. spoke to the group about the importance of broadband to the Agriculture and Technology Development Roundtable; Bill Higgins of CalCOG gave a brief update of their work and expressed enthusiasm in further collaborating with partners; Susan Lovenburg of CaFWD spoke about the upcoming California Economic Summit in November and affirmed support for the draft Digital Equity for All document; and Sunne Wright McPeak of CETF expressed gratitude to all those present for their work in keeping the conversation going and pushing for continued progress, and to Stephanie Tom especially of the CBC for cultivating strong broadband partnerships and policy support. The event ended at sunset, against the beautiful backdrop of the State Capitol and Downtown Sacramento. It was a fitting conclusion to an afternoon spent recognizing the progress that had been made and, more importantly, gearing up for action in 2020.
SBC Project Next Steps and Issues for Consideration:
Caltrans committed to continue the process of updating and refining the list of strategic corridors, using input from CalCOG on transportation projects, and information from the CPUC on where fiber does or does not exist. Valley Vision will continue to work with CalCOG to facilitate coordination between Consortia across the state and the Rural Transportation Planning Agencies, with the goal of incorporating broadband infrastructure projects into forthcoming transportation projects and fostering “Dig-Once” and “Joint-Use” planning. SBC Project partners will be presenting their work to the California Economic Summit on November 7-8, 2019 to drive the agenda forward.
Issues that need to be elevated with the state by stakeholders include the role of broadband to achieve innovative mobility solutions for California’s regions; the challenges that Internet service providers face in the variable permitting processes across the Caltrans district offices; and the lack of federal funding for broadband infrastructure projects; among others. Persistent dialogue around these issues is critical, because better broadband infrastructure is indispensable for greater information and access to resources; improving the efficiency of the transportation system; and helping to meet the region’s greenhouse gas emission targets, through reductions in vehicle miles traveled.
Valley Vision’s Continued Work in Broadband:
Valley Vision recognizes that, notwithstanding California’s standing as the fifth largest economy in the world, poor connectivity persists throughout the Capital Region. In addition to its leadership role in the SBC Project, Valley Vision continues to advocate for the region’s connectivity through the management of other endeavors, such as the AgTech Pilot; the School-to-Home project; its policy work with numerous regional partners; and, most recently, working with the CPUC, the Federal Communications Commission, and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) on the challenges that the state and the Regions face concerning eligibility for federal funding programs such as the new USDA ReConnect Program.
To keep up with Valley Vision’s work to advance livability in the Sacramento region, subscribe to our Vantage Point email newsletter!
Isa Avanceña is a Valley Vision Project Associate supporting the Board of Directors, and the Innovation & Infrastructure and Leadership and Civic Engagement impact areas.
Building a Future-Ready Education System
People in our region are eager to learn new job skills – how will our region create the right opportunities?
Valley Vision, partnered with the Institute for Social Research at Sacramento State, recently had a new poll in the field – this time on education and workforce. This demographically representative poll across the six county region (Sacramento, Yolo, El Dorado, Placer, Yuba, and Sutter) surveyed residents on the future of work, the future of education, perceptions of and experiences with current education and workforce systems, and priorities for investments. We found that 58% of respondents said that they are ready to learn new skills to remain employable in the future and 57% would like more education and training. How will we, as a region, engage residents who are eager to gain skills and training to prepare for a changing world?
According to a recent article from the Brookings Institution, “Free college won’t be enough to prepare Americans for the future of work,” we will need a multi-pronged approach to be able to meet the needs of our future workforce. Pathway programs, career technical education, workplace training and more will be needed in addition to four-year college to create equitable opportunity and support a talented workforce in a changing world.
What are some of the challenges within the educational system?
Four-year college doesn’t work for everyone. Tuition costs, the high opportunity cost of not working, high housing costs, and other expenses make college a difficult proposition for many. Here in Sacramento, students are struggling to afford housing and dropping out or, in some cases, attending school while homeless according to an October 3rd Sacramento Bee article, “The new face of California’s housing crisis: College students forced to drop out.”
In a society that is focused on a four-year degree, a lack of a college degree, including those who start a degree but don’t finish, is a challenge for many. Uncompleted degrees contribute to social disparities, limited ability to access opportunity, and economic hardship. In California, 60% of adults aged 25-64 do not have a college degree. Of these, 33% have college credits without a degree and about half of them are people of color. These incompletions have serious financial consequences – an average 45-year-old who has started but not completed college has lost up to $450,000 in wages. (Back to College, Part One: California’s Imperative to Re-Engage Adults)
What are some approaches that can help?
The pace of technology and the changing needs of industry will require adult re-skilling, flexible entry- and exit- points, and more agile education and workplace systems for learning. Not all skills can be taught in the classroom. Utilizing a blend of on-the-job training, certificate programs, apprenticeships, academic classroom time, and other models creates an effective ecosystem of educational systems ready to educate and train all.
Career Technical Education (CTE) and the blended pathway approach: regional educational systems in K-12, community college, and four-year college have created pathway systems that creates a flexible learning environment with entry and exit points throughout a connected system. Valley Vision is supported by the Los Rios Community College District to connect these programs to employers in the region to ensure that educational systems are aligned with the industry needs – including job skills and anticipating emerging trends. The CTE and blended pathway approach needs to be amplified by increasing awareness and communicating its value.
Helping people complete their degree at any level: Degree or educational program completion is a critical need. Degree completion is needed in various settings, including high school, community college, accreditation or certification, or four-year college. According to Project Attain!, a program dedicated to reaching 60% degree attainment by 2025 in the Sacramento region, 62,000 people in our region are within 15 units of degree completion. Helping create and communicate a flexible educational environment helps get people who have left back on track for degrees across a spectrum of educational programming. Adult learning and retraining needs to be a strong focus in our workforce education ecosystem.
Leaders both at the local and national level must acknowledge that the changing nature of work will necessitate a sophisticated vision for creating an equitable and flexible talent ecosystem that supports learning across a lifetime. This will require new thinking and system changes to become more adaptable and relevant to today’s workers. In our region, people are eager and ready to learn – let’s make sure we have systems and programs in place to provide that opportunity.
Stay tuned…Valley Vision will be releasing our first installment of the Education and Workforce poll early next year – learn more about what our region has to say about the future of work, the future of our education systems, and perceptions on our current education and talent systems.
Evan Schmidt is Valley Vision’s Senior Director working on the Public Opinion Surveying initiative and projects in the Healthy Communities and 21st Century Workforce impact areas.
Departing After 15 Years
“The secret of change is to focus all your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” – Socrates
Dear friends,
As you may have heard, after 15 years at Valley Vision, I am handing the reins over to the next CEO. My last day will be January 31st. It’s been a true privilege to have led this organization for so many years, and to see it evolve and grow to prominence, like this region.
I believe any leader long in their position looks for signs of a “good exit.” Valley Vision today has an A-list board of directors, a top-flight staff team of 16, a strong and growing client base, money in reserves, and a long list of results – air that is getting cleaner, students who are better fed and taught, communities that are getting healthier, more mobile and connected, and people better prepared for jobs of the future. This work is never done, but it’s comforting to know Valley Vision is stronger and more resilient today than the organization I inherited as “employee number four.” I know Valley Vision’s next leader will do the same.
The work of Valley Vision is the work of inclusion and collaboration. It is about overcoming perceived and real differences between us. It is about imaginative problem solving that puts our people and our communities first. It is about bringing everyone together. This is not the stuff that lends itself to glittering news announcements. Far from it. It is instead mostly quiet, persistent, and very patient efforts carried out over many years by many people. Yet it is, without a doubt, the vital “connective tissue” that pulls us all together that makes all the rest possible.
I have the highest hopes for Valley Vision’s next leader. This organization and our region have come so far, and have so much promise ahead. As for me, I will return to the private sector February 1st as a consultant, supporting and advising business and government clients here in Sacramento and throughout California. It’s time for change. Time to build the new. My sincerest thanks to each of you for your advice, your support, and your friendship over the years. It has been a life-changing journey.
In gratitude,
Bill Mueller
Bill Mueller was Valley Vision’s Chief Executive.
Valley Vision CEO Bill Mueller Announces He Is Handing Over the Reins January 31
SACRAMENTO (September 27, 2019) – Bill Mueller, the long-standing CEO of the civic leadership group Valley Vision based in Sacramento, announced that he will be leaving Valley Vision after Jan. 31, 2020, following 15 years of service. A CEO search will be conducted starting in October. Consultant Meg Arnold will serve as interim CEO starting February 1 until a permanent replacement is found.
“Bill has been a great leader for Valley Vision. He took a young organization and helped transform it into a relevant force throughout our region and beyond,” said Scott Shapiro, Chairman of the Board and Managing Partner of Downey Brand, a leading area law firm. “He has led the organization to have a big impact on people’s lives and it is because of his thoughtful work and the work of many others over the years that our community is poised for great things.”
“I am really proud of the work we’ve done together making our region more prosperous, just, and sustainable,” said Mueller, echoing the triple-bottom-line goal of Valley Vision. “Our community-building work is always a work in progress, but I feel Valley Vision and our partners have demonstrated now for a couple decades that when we come together as one community, especially when the pressure is on, we can accomplish amazing things.”
Asked about what he will do next, Mueller said he is launching a consulting business and is in active talks with potential partners about teaming up.
Valley Vision plays a vital role in the region as a trusted convener, independent research organization, and leadership network designed to solve complex economic, social and environmental issues that no single leader or group can address alone. The 25-year-old organization has a CEO-level board of directors, 17 staff and consultants, and works closely with government, business, foundations, nonprofits, and community groups to achieve its nonprofit mission of making the Sacramento Region the most livable in the nation.
The Board is launching the CEO search process in the coming days and plans to hire a permanent replacement in the first half of 2020. Meg Arnold will serve in the Interim CEO role effective February 1st until the permanent replacement is named.
“These are big shoes to fill, but this is a strong organization under great volunteer leadership,” Arnold said. “I’m excited about the opportunity to assist Valley Vision until the next CEO is named early next year.”
Announcing a Major Effort to Empower At-Risk Communities
It is no secret that Californians have suffered mightily at the hands of natural disasters. In one year – 2017 – over 15,625 square miles of California burned due to wildfires. That’s roughly 10% of the land mass of the entire state. The equivalent of five Los Angeles Counties were incinerated. Far too many lost their homes, their entire communities, and their lives.
What the Camp, Carr, Tubbs, and Woolsey Fires are still teaching all of us is that the havoc of these disasters inevitably falls heaviest upon people who are socially isolated or live in poverty, have language barriers, or other access or functional needs challenges. The difference between life and death during these disasters often comes down to having access to timely information in a way that can be practically understood and then acted upon. To engage these more vulnerable populations, the State legislature and the Governor agreed this year to set aside $50 million for not-for-profit groups embedded in these higher risk areas to reach out and engage their harder-to-reach community members with information, training, and support to help them be ready when the next disaster strikes.
Community resilience has long been part of Valley Vision’s mission. A high quality of life depends upon it. So when leaders at the state invited Valley Vision to apply for a grant to help other not-for-profits in California collaborate to save lives in times of disaster – especially people often left out – we jumped at the chance. After a competitive process, Valley Vision’s proposal was judged best, and we immediately began working closely with the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) and California Volunteers this summer in a support team role to start organizing and aligning the efforts of hundreds of government and nonprofit agencies from Siskiyou to San Diego Counties.
The new initiative is called “Listos (Ready) California,” and was unveiled on Tuesday, August 20th at a news conference we organized with the Governor’s office. The work will continue into 2020 and beyond and will be responsible for reaching over one million disadvantaged and socially isolated Californians so that they, their families, and their communities are better prepared. This work will happen through hundreds of local nonprofits, community foundations, and emergency preparedness groups like Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT), Listos, Firesafe Councils, and AmeriCorps, not to mention a bevy of government agencies.
This new, high-intensity statewide project has required us to staff up further at Valley Vision, adding three new team members. We’re excited to announce that Houa Vang has joined Valley Vision as an executive assistant and project associate responsible for the many administrative and support requirements we are delivering to our nonprofit partners. We will soon formally announce our newest senior team member who joins us as Valley Vision’s Executive Director of Emergency Preparedness. She will drive the project overall with co-chairs Karen Baker and Justin Knighten and the rest of our Valley Vision / Cal OES and California Volunteers team. We expect to name a new project manager to help support Listos California in September.
We strongly agree with Governor Newsom that California is at its best when we look out for each other and focus on solutions that come from the bottom up, not the top down. Empowering not-for-profit organizations and emergency responders to work together to prepare for emergencies will make community resiliency possible for those who need it most. I’m proud to say that, once more, Valley Vision is doing our part to help others do what they do best.
To keep up with Valley Vision’s work to advance livability in the Sacramento region, subscribe to our Vantage Point email newsletter!
Bill Mueller was Valley Vision’s Chief Executive.