CR's June 27, 2025 Times Standard Education Matters Article

Published on Jun 24 2025

No one can argue the fact that, as the economic landscape rapidly evolves and changes, the financial success of our region and community is dependent upon our ability to change with it—to develop and maintain a skilled and educated workforce that aligns with the needs of employers and fosters job creation. Only through collaboration can we bring economic prosperity to our region. College of the Redwoods, Cal Poly Humboldt, Tribal Partners, and several other community organizations have joined forces under the Redwood Region RISE (Resilient, Inclusive, Sustainable Economy) initiative to guide strategic investment into economic sectors that focus on sustainability, access to quality jobs, and economic competitiveness and resilience. 

According to the May 2025 Redwood Region RISE Regional Roadmap (rrrise_regional_plan_part_1_revised_may_2025-_0.pdf), our region must transition to regenerative natural resource management, address social determinants of health to enhance resilience, empower Tribal Nations, and unlock our region’s potential for an inclusive and sustainable future. RISE calls on regional private and public sector partners to assist businesses in finding and acquiring local talent in four key industry clusters: (1) Arts, Culture, and Tourism, (2) Health and Caregiving, (3) Renewable and Resilient Energy, and (4) Working Lands and Blue Economy, which includes wind energy, fishing and aquaculture, agriculture, and forestry. RISE also emphasizes the importance of educational institutions working with employers to develop local talent and ensure that these clusters are community driven. 

Our region is very fortunate that CR and Cal Poly Humboldt have a very well-established partnership that shares RISE’s vision and purpose and focuses on working together for the betterment of our students and communities. I know that Cal Poly Humboldt President Dr. Spagna wants to work with CR and the community to ensure that we continue to contribute to the economic prosperity of our region. I share that same commitment. 

Several years ago, College of the Redwoods recognized that changes in our local economy would shape our future. Our Education Master Plan, created in 2022, called on the College to prepare students for the emergence of new industries and the jobs the future will demand. I have publicly stated on numerous occasions that the key to that preparation is our willingness to invest our fiscal resources into critical economic areas including healthcare education, the construction and building trades, the blue economy, aquaculture, forestry, and adult and community education. I have also shared that our long-term success is dependent on our continued support for innovation and collaboration between our liberal arts, career technical education, and science faculty to renew and align our curriculum in a way that underscores the value of higher education to our students, communities, and partners. 

I believe that we have demonstrated that commitment by investing in a new aquaculture lab, hiring a full-time faculty to grow our Aquaculture Technology program—part of the regional Blue Economy –and by expanding our healthcare workforce pipeline with new full-time nursing and paramedic faculty. Adding full-time faculty hires in Fire Technology, Welding, Forestry/Natural Resources, Business/Accounting, and Environmental Science also reflects our responsiveness to the region’s workforce needs.

We know that to prepare students for the jobs of the future, CR must enhance its partnerships with industry, community groups, and Cal Poly Humboldt. I can point to the profoundly innovative work of Ken Hamik and Lisa Sunberg that brought CR together with Oregon State University’s Global Hemp Innovation Center, Danco Builders, Backman Builders, and the Indigenous Habitat Institute to enhance the economic diversity of our region through the development of hempcrete as an alternative material for building construction. This collaboration on the hempcrete initiative is an additional example of CR’s willingness to collaborate with educational, Tribal, and local business interests to help our region develop long-term economic sustainability. 

I want to thank Susan Seaman and Amanda Hickey for their leadership of Redwood Region RISE. Their work is a tremendous benefit to our region. I am proud that College of the Redwoods has not only agreed to participate in RISE but has also incorporated the four industry clusters in our education program decision making.

I look forward to working closely with RISE, Dr. Spagna, and our private sector partners to ensure that our region is visionary in its perspective and remains economically sustainable for years to come.