Gladeo friends and partners, this quarter shaped up to be one of our busiest ever and we’ve got a ton of exciting updates to share. So without further ado, here’s our April 2024 Quarterly Roundup Report!
ANNOUNCEMENTS/PARTNERSHIP
Gladeo Featured in USA Today
USA Today recently showcased Gladeo for winning the Department of Education’s Future Finder Challenge.
“Gladeo is set to define the future of career navigation, helping adult learners obtain fulfilling and sustainable careers.” - USA Today
“[Gladeo] employs a multifaceted approach, offering branded, inclusive career navigation platforms and career-related e-courses tailored for various educational and vocational institutions,” the article writes. The win underscores the “importance of tools customized for adult learners and how these will aid individuals seeking career shifts, returning to education, or looking for alternative credentials, especially post-pandemic.” Read the full article here: Gladeo Wins Future Finder Challenge: Revolutionizing Career Navigation for Adult Learners.
UDIPP-Approved for Los Angeles Unified School District
It’s official! Gladeo is now ready and able to serve America’s 2nd largest school district, following the Los Angeles Unified School District’s (LAUSD) approval of our Unified Digital Instructional Procurement Plan (UDIPP) application. The LAUSD’s UDIPP application process is an exhaustive one, aimed at ensuring the protection of student personally identifiable information (PII) by requiring suppliers of digital content, software subscriptions, licenses, etc. to adhere to Information Technology security protocols for the safe transfer and sharing of student PII. Products are also selected based on the ability to fill a current need and provide educational value—so we’re delighted our platform meets those criteria!
Teaming Up with ActOneGroup
At Gladeo, we take a comprehensive approach to career navigation—which includes helping students land their dream jobs in today’s competitive job market!
That’s why we’ve teamed up with ActOneGroup to support our community college partners and their students with expert resume writing and recruiting services.
Our alliance with one of the world’s foremost recruiting agencies underscores our commitment to enhancing student career prospects. By leveraging ActOne's extensive expertise and resources, we’re cutting new pathways to employment and ensuring students can successfully navigate the challenges of job searching and career development.
Partnership with Cell-Ed
One of our long-standing priorities has been to empower a diverse range of adult learners, including refugees, immigrants, and English Language Learners around the nation. That’s why we’re thrilled to combine our regional career navigation tools with Cell-Ed, a renowned provider of English language and life skills tools.
This synergy has already borne fruit thanks to a significant project with the State of California’s Department of Health Care Access and Information—and that’s only the beginning, as we have numerous other initiatives underway. Together, Gladeo and Cell-Ed are expanding each other’s capabilities while amplifying our mutual commitment to providing comprehensive and inclusive educational solutions!
Exploring Central American Partnerships with the U.S. Commercial Service
This March, our co-founder/CEO Michelle Cho and our Director of Partnerships Wendy Dougherty attended a groundbreaking trade mission empowering female-owned businesses to explore export opportunities in Latin America.Traveling through Panama and Costa Rica (thanks to the International Trade Administration’s U.S. Commercial Service), they met with enthusiastic commercial officers from across Latin America to explore potential strategic partners. The warmth and expertise they received along the way helped reveal exciting new pathways for international collaboration and growth. Gladeo identified several partnership opportunities we’re optimistic will help to build more inclusive, equitable, and prepared workforces in the region. In the next 12-24 months, Gladeo will be expanding into the following countries: Panama, Uruguay, Guyana, Costa Rica and Canada. We’ll keep you posted throughout our journey!
PRESENTATIONS AND EVENT
At the Pathmakers: Linked Learning Alliance Conference
In partnership with the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation, Gladeo presented a session at the 2024 Pathmakers: Linked Learning Alliance conference on April 8-10, held at the InterContinental Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles, CA. During this session, we connected with districts and regional collaboratives interested to partner with Gladeo. They are interested in leveraging our digital tools and curriculum to better prepare their learners for the careers demanded by their regional workforce.
Presented Our FutureReady Curriculum at CALSA FIT Forum
We participated in the CALSA Focus on Innovation and Technology (FIT) Forum on Saturday, April 13 (just before the ASU+GSV Summit).
CALSA, the California Association of Latino Superintendents and Administrators, is a key organization, and we’re honored to share our innovative work with Latino superintendents across California
3 Sessions at the Coalition on Adult Basic Education Conference
Gladeo was honored to participate in the Coalition on Adult Basic Education 2024 National Conference this March. Held in Nashville, Tennessee, the “world’s largest adult education conference” gave unprecedented access to exciting new best practices and targeted training from national-level speakers via ~500 incredible break-out sessions! Gladeo CEO Michelle Cho co-presented at the Career Navigation Tools In Action panel session with Workbay’s Alice Hayes and Luminary Labs’ Monica Tinyo. Joined by LaToya Newson, Director of the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE) at the US Department of Education, the presentation allowed Michelle to explain how our award-winning digital career navigation tools benefit adult education providers and learners.
She also spoke during the follow-up discussion Digital Career Navigation For A Changing Workforce (alongside Priyanka Sharma, World Education; Mary Hayes, Workbay; and Amber Gallup, New Mexico Higher Education Department) and at the Creating a Scalable Ecosystem that Allows Our Majority Workforce to Thrive in a Digital World workshop (with our partners Cell-Ed and World Education)!
Presenting At the National Meeting for Adult Education State Directors
On May 17, Gladeo is presenting our FutureReady Career Development program for Adult Learners at the 2024 National Meeting for Adult Education State Directors in Virginia! The three-day event will include discussions on emerging needs for adult education students and stakeholders and will provide updates from OCTAE on policies related to the adult education program and implementation of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. This will be a unique opportunity for us to collaborate with state directors in charge of adult education programs and (hopefully) get plugged into their ecosystems!
Presenting at Workcon 2024, California Workforce Association!
Our collaborative efforts are making waves! On May 31, we’re giving a joint presentation with our esteemed partner, the LA Economic Development Corporation, at the California Workforce Association’s Workcon conference! The inclusion of our presentation, “Bridging Learners and Workforce Development through Regional Collaboration and Inclusive, Human-Centered Innovation,” is a testament to the resonance of our regional career navigation platform and our fruitful collaborations with ecosystem partners. Workcon will be held at the beautiful Omni Rancho Las Palmas retreat in Rancho Mirage, CA, from May 29-31. This is a fantastic opportunity to showcase our innovations, learn from peers, and further our mission of transforming career navigation.
NEW TEAM MEMBERS
Welcoming Joseph Fortuno, our Integrated Content and Partner Success Manager
This quarter we’re ecstatic to welcome Joseph Fortuno in as Gladeo's Integrated Content and Partner Success Manager! In this pivotal position, Joseph will focus on the successful implementation and management of our partner relationships, while contributing to product development and project management. For the past 5 years, Joseph served at Industrial Light & Magic as a VFX Production Coordinator working on films like "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever", "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”, “Jurassic World: Dominion” and many more.
Welcoming New Executive Advisor Jacob Kantor, Co-Founder of EDLIT
As Gladeo continues to expand our reach, we’re delighted to team up with seasoned K-12 edtech advisor and EDLIT co-founder Jacob Kantor. It’s truly a blessing to have access to his vast knowledge and experience with empowering school districts through innovative new technologies! So glad to have you on the team, Jacob!
