n WOMEN IN chambers
What role do you play in local workforce development?
“The chamber is currently in the pro-
cess of colocating with Mother Lode Job
Training and Amador College Connect
to create the Amador [County] Econom-
ic Prosperity Center … a colocation of
resources and agencies [to] provide a one-
stop area for businesses, community
members, students, employees and vis-
itors. Oftentimes in rural counties, you
will find multiple agencies working on
the same mission, but they are working
on them individually, which makes it
hard to get leverage and resources. This
center will house a conference room,
classrooms, learning area, computer lab,
a drop-in office and visitor center.”
— Jamie Armstrong, Amador County Chamber
of Commerce
“The West Sacramento Chamber of Com-
merce has a board seat and is an active
participant on the Yolo County Workforce
Investment Board. We are also active
partners with the City, Washington Uni-
fied School District and Sac City College.
We work with West Sacramento Campus
with externships and career pathway
development for WUSD students through
the City of West Sacramento’s award-win-
ning Home Run program.”
— Denice Seals, West Sacramento Chamber
of Commerce
“The chamber offers programs like
the Business Education Alliance and
the Stockton Chamber Apprenticeship
Program. Both programs are de-
signed to improve on our local
workforce through a partner-
ship with our schools and
business community.”
— Deitra Kenoly, Greater
Stockton Chamber of
Commerce
“We are the lead organization
in Truckee Tomorrow, a public/
private economic development
initiative. … One of the programs
under this initiative is to work
closely with the Tahoe Truckee
Unified School District and the Si-
erra College Tahoe-Truckee Cam-
pus in enhancing the awareness,
access and engagement of the
business community with their
Career [and] Technical Education
and training programs. We will
be doing some benchmarking
of best practices for current
internship/apprenticeship
programs around the United
States.”
— Lynn Saunders, Truckee Chamber of
Commerce
Upcoming plans for 2019 that most people don’t know?
“Driving and implementing [our] 4-Point
Business Promise for an inclusive and re-
silient economy is what excites me most
for 2019.”
— Amanda Blackwood, Sacramento Metro
Chamber of Commerce
“Our committee focused on young
professionals, Ignite, will be focusing
their efforts and recruitment on a more
regional approach, attracting young
professionals through networking oppor-
tunities, professional development and
community service.”
— Wendy Gerig, Roseville Area Chamber of
Commerce
“We’re excited to be going into our second year of our newly formed or-
ganization called UCAN — United Chamber Advocacy Network. It’s a
regional voice [covering El Dorado, Placer and Sacramento counties]
dedicated to small and medium-size chambers of commerce, and is
comprised of mostly women.”
— Laurel Brent-Bumb, El Dorado County Chamber of Commerce
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“We are conducting a feasibility study
and planning for an entrepreneurial and
leadership program for our Latino small
businesses. We have some fantastic rising
stars in our community, and we are excit-
ed to be developing a program that will
impact their businesses and our region. ”
— Cathy Rodriguez, Sacramento Hispanic
Chamber of Commerce