CEO Leadership Alliance Orange County
OUR STORY
Create an inclusive, premier innovation ecosystem in OC with a focus on talent and capital.
Mission Statement
Create an inclusive, premier innovation ecosystem in OC with a focus on talent and capital.
Background Statement
Building a Vibrant OC Innovation Ecosystem through Talent & Capital: We’re investing where we believe there will be the greatest impact.
Through initiatives focused on talent and capital, we will close critical skill and talent gaps and attract new investment – to connect more of our residents with well-paid jobs that provide a living wage here in OC and to fuel economic growth and greater prosperity for all OC residents for years to come.
Impact Statement
2023 Accomplishments
Career Exploration Experiences
* 180% growth in CLAOC’s CEE internships during the past 2 years, with 14 host organizations in 2023
* 400 high school and university students have completed CEEs since 2022, earning $160,000 in student stipends
OC Fellows
* 90+% of 120 current and past OC Fellows alumni are still employed in OC
* 4th and largest cohort of OC Fellows launched
AI Talent Lab
* 300 students and stakeholders completed NEW AI learning experiences and attended CLAOC AI events
* 1st community-based supercomputer for AI talent development, education, and research launched with NVIDIA, Chapman University, Trace3, and Run:ai
2023 Goals
* Deliver high quality Career Exploration Experiences for 150 high school participants
* Develop 5-7 University Capstone projects with 1-2 related to AI careers
* Have 5-7 CLAOC member companies participate in university level micro internship
* Develop templates for Parker Dewey to model across local universities, beginning with UCI (with 1-2 related to AI careers)
* Double student participation in Careers in AI to serve 80 students annually
2022 Accomplishments
* Career Exploration Experiences (micro-internships) - Significantly expanded on the pilot CEE programs from 2021 and doubled the number of students to 250, expanding from just high school to also include community college and university students and more than doubled the CLAOC host companies to 20.
* OC Fellows - The first cohort of 21 young professionals completed the 2 year program. The second cohort of 23 is beginning their second year and the third cohort of 37 began as of July 1. To date, 100% of talent retention in OC.
* Supercomputer - Announced its strategic partnership with NVIDIA, Chapman University, Trace3, and RunAI to acquire and operate an AI supercomputer (DGX-2) that provides unprecedented supercomputing power to local AI education training, professional development collaborations, and community-focused projects in Orange County. Began operations in Q4 2022.
Needs Statement
CLAOC requests support for programs to build the Orange County talent pipeline through the OC Fellows future leaders program, Career Exploration Experiences (micro-internships for high school, community college, and university students), or the AI Talent Lab (prepares talent for careers in emerging technologies).
Geographic Areas Served
Orange County, CA
Top Three Populations Served
- Households with limited English proficiency
- Latinos
Statement from the CEO/Executive Director
"We are very grateful to Doug for his service as CLAOC Board Chair," said CLAOC CEO and President Mark Percy. "Together with co-founder Dick Gochnauer they turned the big vision of this remarkable organization into action, strategy, momentum, and accomplishments. With Annette's leadership and the commitment of our members, staff, and community partners we are helping drive the transformation of OC into a thriving innovation talent hub."
Statement from the Board Chair/President
"In my 40 years of working in this community, no other organization has successfully rallied the executive leadership from across the county to collectively improve the lives and the opportunity of the people and organizations that live here."
– Annette Walker, President of City of Hope OC