Welcoming Our New CEO: A Commitment to Learners and Collaboration

This week, The Attainment Network celebrates Rana Tarkenton as she steps into the role of Chief Executive Officer.

After serving as our Chief Operating Officer for the last five years, Rana brings both continuity and a clear vision for strengthening partnerships and designing education-to-career systems that meet the needs of today’s workforce and increase opportunities for learners.

"As I step into the role of CEO at The Attainment Network, I feel honored and deeply grateful for the privilege of serving this team, our partners, and our communities," said Tarkenton. "These are challenging times for many in education and workforce development. Economic shifts, policy changes, and evolving career pathways require us to double down on collaboration and think creatively about how to support learners and earners while meeting the needs of employers. Even in uncertainty, one thing remains clear: partnership and intentional collaboration are required to create lasting opportunities."

Under Rana’s leadership, The Attainment Network will continue working alongside partners to:
✅ Amplify learner and earner voices through meaningful engagement
✅ Foster meaningful collaboration among education, workforce, community leaders, and state-level policymakers
✅ Advance best practices and policies that break down barriers and expand access to meaningful careers

“By working together, we are driving lasting change that ensures every learner—regardless of background—can step confidently into a high-value career,” Tarkenton emphasized.

Later this month, we will celebrate the incredible impact our departing CEO has had on this organization. Today, we celebrate Rana, and we invite our partners and community members to connect with Rana and join us in this important work. If you'd like to collaborate or share insights, reach out to us at admin@attainmentnetwork.org

< Older Post

Newer Post >

RECENT ARTICLES

Colorado Now Has a Clearer Picture of What Happens to Learners After High School

By Stefan Richarz • October 5, 2026

Colorado’s new Education and Workforce Pathways Dashboard is the first public look at COdata — and the beginning of a bigger shift toward better decisions for learners, employers, and communities.

The Attainment Network is hiring

October 2, 2026

SENIOR MANAGER, STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS

October Brings Opportunities for Leadership, Connection, and Learning

October 1, 2026

We are so excited about the month ahead! We have so many opportunities to connect with our brilliant partners here in Colorado and beyond to learn, explore, and design what’s next for preparing learners and earners for in-demand careers. And the biggest opportunity of all is our Career-Connected L/Earning Conference, Oct. 29-30 in Colorado Springs. We’ve been working on this conference all year, and we can’t wait to see you there! Here’s where you can find us this October: 🗓️ October 7 🔹 Boettcher State of Leadership: San Luis Valley Convening — Fort Garland Who will be the “Next Ten” leaders stepping up in the San Luis Valley? Ashley and Wes will join current and emerging community leaders for a conversation about strengthening the region’s leadership pipeline, building new connections and addressing the “Same Ten People” challenge identified through the Boettcher Foundation’s State of Leadership initiative. 🗓️ October 8 🔹 Postsecondary Talent Development System Transition Advisory Committee — Edwards Michelle Camacho Liu will reconvene with fellow committee members to continue developing recommendations that will guide Colorado’s new unified postsecondary talent development system. If you'd like to join sign up through the RSVP link . 🗓️ October 12-14 🔹 CFO Leadership Conference — Westminster Finance executives from across the country, including our own Michelle Payne, will explore emerging trends in leadership, AI and technology, economic conditions, and strategies for strengthening organizational performance. 🗓️ October 13 🔹 Superintendent Meeting — Monte Vista Ashley and Wes will connect with San Luis Valley superintendents to continue strengthening regional collaboration needed for pathways that lead to in-demand careers and economic mobility. 🗓️ October 14-16 🔹 Leading with Value, Building Trust: Lumina State Policy Retreat — Philadelphia Rana will join state teams from across the country for this invite-only convening focused on value-centered postsecondary attainment goals, better alignment between higher education and workforce needs, and how states define and measure credentials of value. 🗓️ October 20 🔹 Human Capital Summit — Arvada As AI and emerging technologies reshape the workplace, what human skills will matter most? Katherine will join employers, executives, HR professionals and community leaders for this Greater Arvada Chamber and Colorado Inclusive Economy event exploring how organizations are staying competitive by investing in people, culture, and innovation. 🔹 Making Pathways Data Useful: Pathways Impact Community Workshop — Virtual Michelle will join partners for a working session focused on making pathways data more useful and actionable. 🔹 CDE Technical Advisory Panel for PWR Accountability Metrics — Virtual Stefan will join his fellow TAP member to work on designing Colorado’s Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness accountability metrics. 🗓️ October 21 🔹 Postsecondary Talent Development System Transition Advisory Committee — Virtual The Transition Advisory Committee reconvenes. 🗓️ October 29-30 🔹 Career-Connected L/Earning Conference — Colorado Springs It’s the event we’ve been looking forward to all year! The entire Attainment Network team will join hundreds of leaders from education, workforce, industry, government, philanthropy and community organizations for two days of learning, connection and collaboration focused on building stronger education-to-career pathways. We hope you’ll join us!