Digital US: Envisioning an Ecosystem that Supports Digital Skills and Lifelong Learning for Adults
Tuesday, November 12, 2019
11:30 AM – 1:15 PM
Join our expert panelists in a discussion on how technology is enabling the development of a new “learn and work” ecosystem to prepare adults for college and career readiness and help them become lifelong learners in an increasingly digital world. How can we uplift and support the institutions that serve adult learner-workers — especially those learners who have basic skills gaps and low-incomes? How do we help these organizations keep up with the pace of change and leverage technology to increase outcomes? Members of Digital US, a consortium of national organizations aligned around digital equity, will spotlight promising work and invite collaboration. We will highlight promising practices and resources that help organizations build digital capacity and tech integration models to improve outcomes for adult learners.
Panelists
- Ana Negoescu, Manager of Integration Programs, National Immigration Forum
- Kathy Harris, Director, Literacy, Language, and Technology Research group, Teacher, Portland State University
- Wendi Copeland, International’s Chief Mission and Partnership Officer, Goodwill Industries
- Jamie Harris, Second Vice President, Maryland TESOL, Adult Education Program Specialist, Maryland Department of Labor (LABOR)
Ana Negoescu is the manager of integration programs for the National Immigration Forum, Ana focuses on expanding English initiatives within the New American Workforce program, which engages with businesses and local governments to bring combined citizenship services and English instruction to the workplace. Since joining the Forum, she has managed Skills and Opportunity for the New American Workforce, a unique, industry-contextualized English-language learning program for frontline limited-English-proficient workers across the country.
Before joining the Forum in 2015, Ana led the citizenship and civic engagement program at the Central American Resource Center (CARECEN) and served in various regional and national immigration advocacy networks and coalitions. She authored several reports on language access, citizenship and services for newcomer immigrant youth in the District of Columbia.
Originally from Bucharest, Romania, she earned her master’s in Public Policy from American University in Washington, DC.
Dr. Kathy Harris teaches teacher education courses in the Department of Applied Linguistics at Portland State University, and is the director of the Literacy, Language, and Technology Research group and Learner Web. The research group focuses on adult digital literacy acquisition in vulnerable populations, with a recent focus is on digital literacy acquisition in the context of health and work. Dr. Harris conducts research and creates professional development materials for adult ESL teachers in national projects, including ELL-U and ESL Pro, and also teaches adult ESL, including digital literacy and ESL to adult learners with limited or interrupted formal education.
Wendi Copeland has invested her people and business systems skills in developing nonprofit strategy to sustainably respond to community needs for more than a quarter of a century. As Goodwill Industries International’s Chief Mission and Partnership Officer, she leads professionals who support local Goodwill organizations by leveraging relationships and resources to advance Goodwill’s life changing mission and social enterprise. Her team’s portfolio includes partner engagement, government relations, resource development, philanthropy and mission advancement. During her tenure, resources have expanded to help build Goodwill organizations’ capacity to equip people via career navigation and financial wellness for economic mobility and equity. Copeland has led strategic rapid-growth of business and mission lines in three non-profits. She has a B.S. in Sociology and M.S. in Counseling Psychology. She serves on numerous national advisory and work groups that focus on credentialing, career advancement, incumbent worker training, equity and economic mobility.
Goodwill® works to enhance the dignity and quality of life of individuals and families by strengthening communities, eliminating barriers to opportunity, and helping people in need reach their full potential through learning and the power of work. Goodwill Industries International (GII) is a network of 157 community-based autonomous organizations in the U.S. and Canada with a presence in 12 other countries. Eighty-two percent of the U.S. population resides within ten miles of one of Goodwill’s more than 3,300 locations. One out of every 275 people who earned jobs in the U.S. did so with the help of Goodwill.
