Kick-Start the Future at “Crossing the Cactus” in Santa Fe, May 1-4.

By Gordon Freedman

www.crossingthecactus.com brings together workforce agencies, employers, HR and Ed Tech funders in one unique and accessible summit. It’s not too late to attend in person or virtually. As the new president of www.GoEducate.com, we are attending to demonstrate our education-to-employment “connection engine” technology with our inaugural college, Northern New Mexico College, www.NLET.org, and the employers that GoEducate technology connects the college with, the Los Alamos National Laboratory, www.LANL.gov, and contractor Compa Industries, www.compa.com.

The ”Crossing the Cactus” summit is the brainchild of endlessly creative and pragmatic Jamai Blivin who founded www.Innovate-Educate.org in 2009, on whose board I served.

Watching Jamai since then has been a blur of activity connecting players in the ecosystem who tend to keep within the rails of their established relationships. “My whole effort is to mix it up and get the intersecting components of the education to work continuum to work together,” says Blivin.

Asking her how she chose the name Crossing the Cactus for the Summit, Blivin points out that it “combines two metaphors for growth: the resilient desert cactus and crossing the chasm business strategy.” Blivin contends that it is a thorny issue to get people and organizations to communicate in earnest.?‘The future must harness resilience, risk and innovation to create jobs and flourish inside the greater economic ecosystem.”

The speakers and sessions are wide-ranging and the collection of attendees is not what you would see at any other such conference.?

Curious about this, I asked Jamai how it all came together.

Q.?You have been putting on conferences that bring education institutions and employers together for some time, how is Crossing the Cactus different??

Blivin: This year marks a full decade.?In 2012, I hosted the first US STEM Conference with U.S. News & World Report in Dallas.?The following year we launched the Close It Summit, as I felt STEM was too narrow, and we were working on workforce issues, specifically skills-based hiring.?Thus, a new summit launched in DC in October 2013 and ran for eight years.?It has been such a fun ride adjusting these summits for the changing times and an honor to meet so many amazing leaders across the Globe!

Q.???Who is going to be attending "the Cactus" and what are the various agendas for the conference, both closed and open to the public??

Blivin: This year brings the most C-Suite attendees we have ever had.?As well as corporate leaders.?I have always dreamt of having more corporate leaders from HR and Learning, and it is finally happening, thanks to our collaboration with some lead partners.?In fact, corporate attendance is the highest percentage, followed by Workforce Development leaders.?

Q.???It looks like funders are showing up as well?

Blivin: The other unique piece is the partnership for the Summit with the Cottonwood Venture Fund, bringing leading venture investment and innovation to the summit.?I am excited about so many of the keynotes on the main stage, as well as the presentations throughout the two days.?The full agenda and speaker/sponsor lineup can be found at?https://www.crossingthecactus.com/

Q.???How do you think Crossing the Cactus will move the needle on employers who are having a hard time sourcing new talent and institutions and training organizations not sure how to place their bets and attract?learners, jobseekers and job switchers????

Blivin: We have been doing some pre-work with corporations on that leading up to the event, and we do plan on working on this post-event as well.?The key will be getting a strong group of employers to work on internal shifts to their processes, including their use of HR and Learning technologies that will identify unique candidates (other than just degrees or years of experience).?I am hopeful that this can happen post-event.

Q.???The conference starts May 1, is it too late to attend? What about?virtually???

Blivin: It is not too late to attend.?Registration closes on April 28.?We do plan on streaming some of the main stage, but there is nothing like good ole' face to face.?The biggest complement we always get on our events is the extreme networking, collaboration, and deal-making that occurs from our event.??

?Q.???Will you have an event next year and, if so, where do you think we will be on employability and education and job matches??

Blivin: I am making no commitment to the event after a decade of holding summits.?My hope is that this ignites these kinds of conversations to keep going on their own. At this point, I want to focus on my own community as we move ahead in Santa Fe.??I believe employability, education and job matches are regional, and the best way to finish my career is “grasstops” and grassroots.?My goal is to work with my team to consult with national employers (grasstops) to shift their strategies, which requires a lot of flexible knowledge-consulting. And to work in my own community (grassroots) to employ those in need (poverty, previously incarcerated, and non-degreed individuals).

Gordon Freedman