Shining a Spotlight on our Board

Dr. Sarah Heath on elevating learner voice and expanding early access to careers

The Attainment Network is fortunate to have a Board made up of dedicated leaders who bring passion, insight, and lived experience to our mission. In this edition of our Board Spotlight series, we’re proud to feature Dr. Sarah Heath, Vice Chancellor for Academic & Student Affairs at the Colorado Community College System and a long-time advocate for career-connected learning.

Q: What inspired you to get involved with The Attainment Network, and why is expanding education and career opportunities for learners and earners so important to you?
So much of our work in Colorado centers on connections: connections to people, to resources, across levels of education, and from jobs to careers. The Attainment Network plays a vital role in helping people harness those connections and clarify their plans for moving programming and action forward for learners and earners. This matters to me because access is key to expanding opportunities across the state. Learners and their voices are essential to Colorado’s economy and the future of work. Without support and focus on elevating learners and their role in the ecosystem, we won’t move Colorado as far as we could. I truly appreciate The Attainment Network’s commitment to elevating learner voice.

Q: How have your personal or professional experiences shaped your understanding of the shifts needed in our education-to-workforce systems to better support learners and meet industry needs?

Unbiased early exposure is absolutely critical. My son, who is now heading into first grade, has already had the chance to explore so many aspects of industry, and it blows most adults away. He has welded with students at FutureForward at Washington Square, operated backhoes and excavators with professionals from Sun States, participated in mining simulations with Colorado School of Mines sophomores, met authors, and learned key financial literacy skills from FBLA members. The list goes on. He understands more than just what I do for a living or what our family members do. He is seeing careers in action. And it should not only be learners with privilege who get those kinds of experiences. It is my life mission to ensure more learners get that early exposure, so they can see that choosing a program at one of our incredible community or technical colleges, while still in high school, can be the key to connecting with industry and having real choices.

Q: What’s a piece of career advice you’ve received that still sticks with you, and who offered you that advice?
“The work will be here tomorrow.” I was a high school teacher, working late one evening to email all the business teachers in my district about our upcoming FBLA Regional Conference. One of our most seasoned teachers responded right away and told me to go home because the work would still be there tomorrow, but time with family and friends might not.

Q: Looking ahead, what excites you most about the future of The Attainment Network and its impact on learners, earners, and entire communities across the state?
I am excited about connecting learners to the future of work and about how The Attainment Network can help amplify those connections statewide.

Q: What book is on your bedside table? Would you recommend it? Why or why not?
Answering Why by my friend Mark Perna. It is all about bridging generations to help answer that essential “why” question, and helping learners see the relevance of education by connecting it to their passions. I would absolutely recommend it.

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