Art Bilger speaks at GEAR UP Conference in San Francisco

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This story was originally published on 7/19/2017. We are adding video taken from the GEAR UP Conference.

Meeting the demands of the future workforce requires a continuous dialogue about solutions, WorkingNation Founder and CEO Art Bilger said at the National Council for Communities and Education Partnerships’ annual GEAR UP Conference in San Francisco.

Sharing success stories through modern storytelling across our platforms is our mission at WorkingNation and our animated short film “Slope of the Curve” kicked off the panel after a brief introduction by panel moderator and NCCEP President & CEO Ranjit Sidhu.

Sidhu also invited the audience to take our FutureProof quiz so they could test their readiness to adapt to changes in the workforce brought upon by automation.

Bilger noted that the effectiveness of WorkingNation’s storytelling in “Slope” serves as an example of how educators can amplify their message about the value of college preparedness. And Bilger’s point was echoed on the final day of the four-day conference in entertainer Nick Cannon’s speech on the power of positive storytelling.

An enthusiastic crowd of around 1800 attended GEAR UP’s Tuesday morning session, “The Future Demands College Readiness” which featured Bilger, community developer Alonzo Cantu, President of the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education Robert King, Anaheim Superintendent of Schools Michael Matsuda and President/CEO of Reybotics, Heriberto Reynoso.

GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) is a competitive grant program from the U.S. Department of Education which distributes funds to states for the purpose of guiding more low-income middle and high school students on a path to postsecondary graduation.

The theme of this year’s conference was “Becoming Future Proof” and the panel addressed the importance of continuing education after high school to benefit students by securing them employment in the new economy.

Achieving a college degree or technical certificate remains the best option for social and economic security and since the late 1990’s, GEAR UP programs across the country emphasize this message to students. Building upon their success in facilitating quality education and scaling it outward is the next step to preparing today’s students for tomorrow’s uncertain world.

Thank you to the NCCEP and GEAR UP for inviting WorkingNation to be part of this great conference.

Watch this video to get an informative look at the work that GEAR UP is doing in Los Angeles.

Engaging Parents as Partners! from GEAR UP 4 LA on Vimeo.

Join the Conversation: Tell us what you think about GEAR UP on our Facebook page.

Dana Beth Ardi

Executive Committee

Dana Beth Ardi, PhD, Executive Committee, is a thought leader and expert in the fields of executive search, talent management, organizational design, assessment, leadership and coaching. As an innovator in the human capital movement, Ardi creates enhanced value in companies by matching the most sought after talent with the best opportunities. Ardi coaches boards and investors on the art and science of building high caliber management teams. She provides them with the necessary skills to seek out and attract top-level management, to design the ideal organizational architectures and to deploy people against strategy. Ardi unearths the way a business works and the most effective way for people to work in them.

Ardi is an experienced business executive and senior consultant who leverages business organizational transformation through talent strategies. She uses her knowledge and experience to develop talent strategies to enhance revenue and profit contributions. She has a deep expertise in change management and organizational effectiveness and has designed and built high performance cultures. Ardi has significant experience in mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, IPO’s and turnarounds.

Ardi is an expert on the multi-generational workforce. She understands the four intersecting generations of workers coming together in contemporary companies, each with their own mindsets, leadership and communications styles, values and motivations. Ardi is sought after to assist companies manage and thrive by bringing the generations together. Her book, Fall of the Alphas: How Beta Leaders Win Through Connection, Collaboration and Influence, will be published by St. Martin’s Press. The book reflects Ardi’s deep expertise in understanding organizations and our changing society. It focuses on building a winning culture, how companies must grow and evolve, and how talent influences and shapes communities of work. This is what she has coined “Corporate Anthropology.” It is a playbook on how modern companies must meet challenges – culturally, globally, digitally, across genders and generations.

Ardi is currently the Managing Director and Founder of Corporate Anthropology Advisors, LLC, a consulting company that provides human capital advisory and innovative solutions to companies building value through people. Corporate Anthropology works with organizations, their cultures, the way they grow and develop, and the people who are responsible for forming their communities of work.

Prior to her position at Corporate Anthropology Advisors, Ardi served as a Partner/Managing Director at the private equity firms CCMP Capital and JPMorgan Partners. She was a partner at Flatiron Partners, a venture capital firm working with early state companies where she pioneered the human capital role within an investment portfolio.

Ardi holds a BS from the State University of New York at Buffalo as well as a Masters degree and PhD from Boston College. She started her career as professor at the Graduate Center at Fordham University in New York.