We’re Connectors

Our Statewide Initiatives are:

 

CALIFORNIA EDUCATION POLICY FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM (CA EPFP):

We believe that connecting people across education roles and systems is critical to advancing equitable and racially just opportunities and outcomes for students. Each year, California EPFP brings together a diverse cohort of leaders from K-12 and higher education, state government, research organizations, and the non-profit sector to deepen their knowledge across policy, practice, and research; broaden their professional relationships; and strengthen their leadership skills and opportunities. We support them in focusing on students’ needs within and across education systems, with an emphasis on students of color and others experiencing marginalization.

Our activities include:

  • Three intensive, multi-day seminars in October, February, and May
  • Collaborative group projects that connect policy and practice
  • The annual Washington Policy Seminar in Washington, D.C., to explore federal policy and to network nationally
  • Alumni events and resources to keep cohorts connected

California EPFP is supported by the State of California and generous grants from The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and the College Futures Foundation.

Visit our website to learn more about California EPFP and how to be part of the next cohort.

CSU STUDENT SUCCESS NETWORK:

We believe that all of us in the CSU have power to create more equitable opportunities for student learning, engagement, progression, and success. The Network brings people together from across the CSU system to build knowledge, develop relationships, and take action to advance opportunities and outcomes for students. We place students, their educational journeys, and their goals for education and career at the center of our work.

We create spaces for middle leaders in the CSU—that is, faculty, staff, and administrators who work with students, often without a formal leadership title—to collaborate, experiment, and share evidence with each other. The Network’s activities include:

  • Middle Leadership Academy, a year-long, project-based experience that supports teams of faculty, staff, and administrators as they explore and apply strategies to close opportunity and outcomes gaps.
  • LGBTQIA2S+ Communities of Practice, building on conversations from the Network’s inaugural LGBTQIA2S+ Student Success Symposium and a shared commitment to continue learning how to better support equitable LGBTQIA2S+ student success in the CSU, the Network launched new Communities of Practice (ComPs) in September 2024. These ComPs provide a space to continue learning with a focus on improving basic needs, advocating for gender centers, and creating gender-affirming campuses for LGBTQIA2S+ students across the CSU.
  • Equity in Action Grant Program, the Network’s Equity in Action Grant Program seeks to invest resources back into the system to identify, understand, and disrupt inequities, as well as focusing on opportunities for students to learn, engage, progress, and complete courses on time.