REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Appoint Lee Lambert to the NOVA Workforce Board
Report
BACKGROUND
The federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) stipulates the composition, roles and responsibilities of the local workforce board. The local chief elected official appoints the local workforce board. The Sunnyvale City Council serves as the Local Chief Elected Official for the NOVA consortium. The local workforce board (NOVA Board) determines how many seats are on the board. The NOVA Board is required to have a majority of representatives from business and representation from at least the following stakeholders:
• Business Executives (majority and chair).
• Education providers from adult education and higher education.
• Labor and community-based organizations representing the workforce.
• Economic and community development agencies.
• State agencies representing employment development and vocational rehabilitation programs.
The roles and responsibilities of NOVA Board members include (but are not limited to):
• Taking a leadership role in forging a strong and vital partnership between businesses and the workforce development community, resulting in an entrepreneurial, market-driven, accountable, and exceptional workforce development system.
• Contributing specific expertise from key industries and articulating evolving industries’ needs, critical to aligning the workforce with the jobs of the 21st Century.
• Developing and approving policy for workforce initiatives in NOVA service-delivery area.
• Helping create and providing oversight of a local strategic plan and participating in the development of a regional plan.
• Evaluating and monitoring program performance according to specified outcomes and measures.
• Promoting the NOVA Board and workforce through collaboration and relationship building with other businesses, local workforce boards, organizations, and groups.
EXISTING POLICY
Council Policy 5.1.1: Socio-Economic - Goals and Policies: Education and Training Goal 5.1F: Provide job training and employment services, within constraints of operative Federal regulations and available Federal funding, to address the locally-determined employment and training needs of economically disadvantaged residents and others with special needs.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The action being considered does not constitute a “project” within the meaning of the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15378(b)(5) in that it is a governmental, organizational, or administrative activity that will not result in direct or indirect changes in the environment.
DISCUSSION
The NOVA Board Nominating Committee is comprised of Councilmember Alysa Cisneros and NOVA Board Co-Chair Andy Switky and Vice Chair Rosanne Foust, and is charged with recommending NOVA Board candidates to the City Council. The Nominating Committee is recommending the appointment of Lee Lambert because of the individual strengths and assets he can bring to the NOVA Board. In addition, his appointment will fill the WIOA-mandated seat representing higher education.
About the Candidate:
Mr. Lee Lambert
Chancellor, Foothill-De Anza Community College District
The Foothill-De Anza Community College District provides affordable, quality educational programs that foster equity, integrity, inclusion, and sustainability. It is one of the largest community college districts in the United States, serving 50,000 students a year. As Chancellor, Mr. Lambert is the chief executive officer of the two-college district. He ensures that youth have the skills to succeed in advanced education and that adults are retrained for emerging industries. Mr. Lambert brings to the NOVA Workforce Board over 30 years of experience in higher education. He is committed to the power of education in bridging skills gaps, enhancing workforce diversity, and creating pathways to prosperity. Furthermore, he is responding to the important shift in education from traditional degrees and certificates to skills and competencies. Mr. Lambert's expertise will be invaluable as the Board seeks to expand work-based learning, linking skills-based education with sector-based employment.
This appointment complies with the requirements of the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.
FISCAL IMPACT
No fiscal impact.
PUBLIC CONTACT
Public contact was made by posting the Council meeting agenda on the City's official-notice bulletin board at City Hall, at the Sunnyvale Public Library and in the Department of Public Safety Lobby. In addition, the agenda and this report are available at the NOVA Workforce Services reception desk located on the first floor of City Hall at 456 W. Olive Avenue (during normal business hours), and on the City's website.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Appoint Lee Lambert to the NOVA Workforce Board.
Staff
Prepared by: Eileen Stanly, Administrative Analyst, NOVA Workforce Services
Reviewed by: Marléna Sessions, Director, NOVA Workforce Services
Reviewed by: Sarah Johnson-Rios, Assistant City Manager
Approved by: Kent Steffens, City Manager