About the ACE-UP
Community of Practice
What is ACE-UP?
Corporation for a Skilled Workforce (CSW), with support from Lumina Foundation, is convening 20-25 community colleges and their industry partners in a first-of-its-kind community of practice, Advancing Community Equity and Upward Mobility (ACE-UP). The purpose of ACE-UP is to design and uplift strategies colleges can employ to help their industry partners create more inclusive workplace environments leading to worker retention, advancement, and economic success. ACE-UP is targeting grantees participating in the U.S. Department of Labor’s Strengthening Community College initiative and other institutions seeking to increase employment equity through educational and economic opportunity with a particular focus on Black, Hispanic, and Native American populations.
Five themes underpin the ACE-UP learning experience: advancing and institutionalizing equity, aligning policies and practices, enhancing student services, increasing employer engagement, and using data to drive decision-making. Drawing on a spiraling curriculum design, these themes will emerge and re-emerge over the course of the community of practice, guiding discussion, lessons, and resources.
The ACE-UP Community of Practice–supported by a two-year, $500,000 grant to CSW from Lumina, with companion research and documentation by the Urban Institute–is led by Director of Competencies and Credentials, Melissa Goldberg. Of the project, Melissa states, “We believe the ACE-UP CoP will provide community colleges and their industry partners with important tools, resources and opportunities for peer networking to create more equitable solutions for workforce credentialing and quality employment opportunities for individuals seeking career success.”
As a result of participation in ACE-UP, colleges and industry partners will:
- Deepen skills and competencies to identify the drivers of outcome disparities and incubate and apply proven solutions
- Access a peer forum to work collaboratively to identify systemic challenges and create shared solutions.
- Build capacity to collaborate and problem-solve more deeply with industry while addressing underlying equity issues.
- Be part of a larger, more diverse pipeline of college and industry leaders developing policies that advance economic opportunity for students from marginalized groups and meet the talent development needs required for long-term economic competitiveness.
Meet the Team
Melissa Goldberg
CoP Project Lead
Director of Competencies & Credentials
Corporation for a Skilled Workforce
Taylor McDonald
Communications
Communications & Digital Content Manager
Corporation for a Skilled Workforce
Kysha Wright Frazier
CoP Strategic Leadership
President & CEO
Corporation for a Skilled Workforce
Jenny Poole
CoP Technical Assistance
Senior Policy Associate
Corporation for a Skilled Workforce
Diamond Dickerson
CoP Technical Assistance
Senior Policy Associate
Corporation for a Skilled Workforce
Jason Render
CoP Project Management
Policy Associate
Corporation for a Skilled Workforce
CoP Leadership
Lumina Foundation is an independent, private foundation in Indianapolis that is committed to making opportunities for learning beyond high school available to all. We envision a system that is easy to navigate, delivers fair results, and meets the nation’s need for talent through a broad range of credentials.
Register for More Information
Interested in joining the ACE-UP Community of Practice or just learning more about the project? Register for more information and we’ll be in touch.
ACE-UP is a creation of Corporation for a Skilled Workforce (CSW). To learn more about CSW and their role in catalyzing change in educational and labor market systems to increase economic mobility, particularly for people of color and others historically excluded from success, visit their website at www.skilledwork.org