The Future of Work in the Mesilla Valley

Seismic shifts in the workforce post-pandemic are fueling critical challenges to employers to adapt and innovate the workplace in response.  To equip Doña Ana County’s critical industries and employers with the latest information and emerging best practices, the Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce and The Bridge of Southern New Mexico teamed up with Deloitte […]

What Do Employers Need? Well-Qualified Talent

Originally published in the Las Cruces Sun-News on Monday, March 2, 2020 The gap between education and employment continues to widen and at lightning speed.  But coming up in our schools and colleges is a flood of future talent. They have unique gifts, talents, and skills. They are digital natives who have never known a […]

Connecting Education, Employment, and Economic Development

Originally published in the Las Cruces Bulletin on Friday, February 21, 2019 A wave of change is taking place in New Mexico. This one actually begins after the legislative session.  In regions across our state, business community members and economic developers are going to come alongside educators and other local stakeholders to discuss how to use investments […]

Generating the Greatest Impact with the Money We Do Have

Originally published in the Las Cruces Bulletin on Friday, December 20, 2019 “We don’t have enough money to do _________________.” That seems to be a foundational premise when thinking about how to improve outcomes for our children, our families, our community, and our state.  I don’t disagree that, in many cases, it is true. However, […]

Debating the idea of “Free College”

Originally published in the Las Cruces Bulletin on Friday, October 18, 2019 When Governor Lujan-Grisham announced her Opportunity Scholarship proposal to help more New Mexicans complete college, it sparked dialogue not just in New Mexico, but across the country. Currently 24 states offer some variation of “free college” in different forms, most focusing on two-year […]

Maximizing Our “Ecosystem of Opportunity” through Workforce Development

As published in The Bottom Line of the Las Cruces Bulletin It’s always great to come home to the Chamber…it truly is the birthplace of The Bridge of Southern New Mexico! In 2007, legendary Las Cruces leader Patsy Duran began a conversation in the Chamber’s Education Committee about high school graduation rates, which lagged around […]

Listening for Change

Las Cruces Bulletin Column – August 17, 2018 Change happens when we listen. That’s the profound lesson learned in July when a group of parents with young children were willing to sit across the table from Workforce Connections staff members and share their real-life experiences with employment and education. The event took place as a […]

It’s the Workforce, Stupid!

Las Cruces Sun-News, Learn & Earn Column – August 5, 2018 Yes, James Carville, an adviser to then-President Bill Clinton, famously used a version of this statement to stress the importance of improving the economy to meet the needs of the American people during the time of Clinton’s presidency. However, today the economy is actually […]

Let Business Lead

Las Cruces Sun-News – Learn & Earn Column, July 1, 2018 Workforce is the place where education and ability meet opportunity and employer demand. Across the country, states and communities just like ours are wrestling with the workforce conundrum: We have people. We have jobs. But the people we have are not equipped with the […]

Finish Lines Have Financial Rewards

Las Cruces Bulletin – June 22, 2018 We celebrated a lot of finish lines in May, as thousands of people, young and old, crossed a finish line at one of our county’s high schools, Doña Ana Community College, and New Mexico State University. Every person who earned their diploma, certification, or degree increased their earning […]