Today, WTC San Diego and Congressman Scott Peters visited current MetroConnect company LRAD Corporation to tour its new, expanded facility in Rancho Bernardo. The new space will support LRAD as it doubles its workforce and fulfills an $11 million U.S. Army order for acoustic hailing devices – its largest contract on record.
Another example of an #SDlifechanging company: LRAD creates long range acoustic hailing devices, mass notification, and messaging systems that enable users to clearly communicate warnings and instructions, resolve uncertain situations, and enhance safety.
And LRAD is taking its life-saving technology global. After a competitive process, WTC San Diego recently announced that LRAD is one of 20 local companies participating in our export accelerator program, MetroConnect. Over the next year, WTC will work closely with LRAD to help the company increase its export potential in European markets.
The company has seen extensive growth over the last decade, with a presence in 72 countries. This is a testament to the impact of LRAD’s mass notification technology – which is not only applicable to defense, law enforcement and public safety, homeland and border security agencies, but also helps with critical infrastructure protection, fire rescue, and much more all around the world.
Despite national rhetoric, data shows companies that are global pay higher wages, increase productivity in the domestic market, are less likely to go out of business, and spur more efficient R&D here at home. And now more than ever, it’s important that we step up to support local companies in sharing their life-changing innovation with the rest of the world.
Congratulations to LRAD, not just on its growth here at home, but its success abroad. Here’s to more to come.
Learn from the best, they say. For the third straight year, East County-based guitar manufacturer Taylor Guitars generously played host to WTC San Diego and the 20 companies in this year’s MetroConnect program for a day-long export strategy workshop.
We kicked off the day with a tour of the company’s manufacturing operations, showcasing the craftsmanship that goes into the creation of every Taylor guitar. Then, the MetroConnect cohort was treated to lunch and an information session about global growth, IP protection and even corruption in the international marketplace. Taylor Guitars CFO Barbara Wight provided first-hand insight about how the company selects distributors and deals with IP issues. She described how the company effectively responds to inquiries and IP infringement, and helped the MetroConnect cohort think through how they might mitigate international risks for their companies. Taylor Guitars Director of Finance Bryan Bear then described the company’s schema for prioritizing international markets and choosing an entrance strategy.
These workshops are among several support services provide to local SMEs as part the MetroConnect program.
Who has the best job in America, you ask? According to Glassdoor, data scientists do. And lucky for them, there’s plenty of data science gigs available at tech and life sciences companies in San Diego. With a median base salary of $110K and a 4.25/5 job satisfaction score, this growing profession is giving rise to leaders in the digital age.
It goes without saying that in a technology-driven world, the amount of available data will to continue to grow exponentially. And data scientists are exactly the types of people we’ll need to set up systems to digest and glean insight from all of that information.
Data scientists are deep thinkers, problem solvers, and interpreters, driven by seeing the result of their algorithms in action. And most of all, they are needed by companies across the world; most especially, in San Diego.
If you’re a data scientist interested in upgrading your life by living and working in San Diego, join us October 30 from 9am-12pm PST for a Virtual Career Fair with top employers: FICO, ResMed, Analytics Ventures Lab, and Booz Allen Hamilton.
The web-based fair will give participants (you?) virtual access to recruiters from the companies just mentioned. These San Diego companies span defense, life sciences, and technology industries, providing a deep dive into all that a career in data science has to offer. You can explore company booths and chat with recruiters via instant-message or video call…and you don’t even need to leave your living room!
On October 5, America celebrated Manufacturing Day. This national day of recognition was created in 2012 by the Fabricators and Manufacturers Association to change negative perceptions across the United States regarding the modern manufacturing industry. Through coordinated events, manufacturers connect with consumers, students, job seekers, and media to address growing concerns such as the skilled labor shortage and career opportunities for younger generations.
Here in San Diego, the manufacturing industry employs more than 113,000 people, accounting for 7.7 percent of employment in San Diego. This number is up 3.7 percent from last year, exceeding the national growth of 2.2 percent.* To celebrate this local impact, countywide events were held throughout the first week of October.
October 3: Viasat, Open Source Maker Labs, Hunter Industries, Mira Costa College, and more joined forces at CSU San Marcos to welcome busloads of students and teachers to North County’s manufacturer’s showcase. This event highlighted the manufacturers in North County curating scientific and technological solutions to global challenges.
October 3: San Diego City College’s Center for Applied Competitive Technologies (CACT) hosted its Educational and Resource Expo. This downtown event featured a startup panel, job fair, tours, and a manufacturing expo. CACT provides training that help San Diegans get ahead in the manufacturing industry.
October 4: San Diego Regional EDC hosted a Manufacturing Day Reception in Liberty Station. Ten manufacturers from around the region showcased their work including Taylor Guitars, Chuao Chocolatiers, and Planck Aerosystems. We also heard from Congressman Scott Peters (52nd District) and Congresswoman Susan Davis (53rd District), who discussed trade opportunities for San Diego’s manufacturing industry. We are proud to host the only MFG Day event in the country that celebrates the opportunities afforded by binational manufacturing. For the past three years, Samsung has underwritten EDC’s MFG Day festivities along with sponsorship support from CMTC. We would also like to thank our other sponsors: Solar Turbines, San Diego County Water Authority, and San Diego City College. EDC also partnered with Junior Achievement to organize tours of manufacturing facilities for high schools from Vista all the way to Santee.
Sponsor shout outs:
Located in Chula Vista, Samsung is a digital leader in TV & audio, computing and appliances. Samsung has maintained the number one position in the global television market for 10 consecutive years. The SAMEX plant is the largest maquiladora in Tijuana, manufacturing approximately one million televisions and monitors every month. With the success of its electronics business, Samsung now ranks as a top 10 global brand.
California Manufacturing Technology Consulting (CMTC), is a private nonprofit corporation. In 2016, The U.S. Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology awarded CMTC a five-year agreement to be California’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership Center. This agreement makes CMTC the lead organization for delivering services to small and medium-sized manufacturers with support of partners throughout the state. CMTC helps enhance operational performance, new product development, market expansion, and technology adoption for manufacturers in both urban and rural centers.
We appreciate the support of our investors and partner organizations that help make events like Manufacturing Day possible. If you are interested in getting involved next year, please contact our Investor Relations Coordinator, Taylor Dunne, at td@sandiegobusiness.org.
With and through our investors, EDC works to maximize San Diego’s economic competitiveness. Learn how in our Q3 report, which is segmented by our key teams/initiatives below:
Regional Support
EDC convenes resources and stakeholder groups to help talent and a diversity of companies thrive in the San Diego mega-region.
In order to grow jobs, EDC dispatched the following company support tactics and events in Q3:
Unveiled 15 companies selected to participate in DIV program
Helped AI startup Aira sign deals with San Diego Regional Airport Authority and San Diego Convention Center
Engaged startup community in North County through Startup78
WTC San Diego
As part of EDC, World Trade Center San Diego works to cultivate a pipeline of export-ready firms, maximize FDI opportunities, and grow the region’s global connectivity.
Amid increasing uncertainty over national trade policy, ensuring that local companies get the tools they need to be successful overseas is more important than ever. WTC deployed the following tactics in Q3:
EDC’s marketing efforts serve to elevate the region as a top destination for talent, business, and investment.
As part of the San Diego: Life. Changing. campaign, EDC showcased why San Diego is a hotspot for talent and investment with and through the following in Q3:
This work would not be possible without the investment and support of EDC’s members/partners. Thank you for allowing us to support the businesses that make this region truly #SDlifechanging.
Each year, EDC carefully selects a peer metro for our annual Best Practices Leadership Trip – a chance for EDC and a group of key partners and stakeholders to learn from another region facing challenges similar to our own. The decision to go to Indianapolis this year was not a hard one. We were drawn to Indy not just as a fellow participant in the Brookings Inclusive Economic Development Learning Lab last year, but because of its regional approach to inclusive growth that has catalyzed since. We were further intrigued by Indy’s unique talent attraction and retention programs and its many collaborative efforts across government, business, and philanthropy. Over three days, our group of nearly 30 San Diegans was welcomed by Indy’s civic leaders who highlighted local programs, projects, and initiatives. Ultimately, our goal of the Leadership Trip is to inspire fresh approaches to our own challenges and opportunities at home.
A two-sided economy: The Indy Chamber kicked-off our visit with an overview of the economic disparities facing Indianapolis. Similar to EDC, the Indy Chamber led its region through the Brookings Institution Inclusive Growth Learning Lab designed to help economic development organizations (EDOs) build a data-driven platform that articulates the economic case (and imperative) for inclusion. Since the lab, the Indy Chamber has disseminated the Indy narrative throughout town, with many civic leaders referencing its findings throughout our visit. While Indianapolis bodes well on measures affordability, job growth, and entrepreneurship, it is also the 6th most economically segregated region in the U.S., with limited opportunities for upward mobility for individuals born into poverty. The impacts of automation exacerbate economic segregation and poverty in Indianapolis, which lost more than 20 percent of its manufacturing workforce over the last decade. In facing these realities, civic leaders have enacted new measures to increase job preparedness, homeownership, and overall economic security for Indianapolis residents.
The Cook Medical “unicorn”: In a particularly moving presentation, Pete Yonkman, president of Cook Medical, shared an incredible benefit that his company offers employees who wish to advance their educational goals. With more than 12,000 employees worldwide, Cook is a privately-held medical device manufacturer headquartered in Indiana with facilities in six countries, including K-Tube Technologies in Poway. Through a program called “My Cook Pathway,” Cook eliminated its high school diploma requirement for entry-level manufacturing positions in 2017. High-potential individuals without a high school degree are hired to work at Cook in the mornings before spending the afternoon studying for their GED. During the seven weeks it takes to earn their high school equivalency (HSE), Cook pays employees full-time wages and associated fees. Furthermore, Cook has partnered with the local Ivy Tech Community College to expand the program for employees interested in AA degrees or certificate programs, fronting registration fees and associated expenses and providing guidance on the financial aid process. After overwhelming response from its employees, Cook has since expanded the program even further. Now, Cook employees can get an HSE through a Master’s degree leveraging the My Cook Pathway program. Before introducing this program, fewer than 65 employees took advantage of education reimbursement. Two years later, more than 1,000 employees are enrolled. By leveraging various state and federal funding streams that support employee education, Cook offers this benefit to its employees for less than $2,000 per employee. When Cook leadership eliminated its high school diploma requirement, they decided they wouldn’t sit back and wait for highly educated employees to show up at their door. Now, they are active participants in preparing Indiana’s future workforce, with resumes flooding their doors and employee retention rates on the rise.
Connecting Talent: Through its lauded statewide community college system and multiple universities, Indianapolis is well positioned to produce the workforce its economy needs, but the Midwestern city risks losing talent to the “lure of the coasts.” Jason Kloth, CEO of Ascend Indiana, is front and center on a statewide effort to retain talent by increasing employer access to qualified workers while supporting the residents of Indiana in their pursuit of a meaningful career. After serving in many leadership positions for Teach for America, Kloth led the City of Indianapolis Office of Education Innovation (OEI) as the deputy mayor of education under Mayor Greg Ballard. Kloth is the mastermind behind Ascend, a nonprofit focused on creating a stronger alignment between the supply of skilled talent and demand from employers in Central Indiana. Ascend has raised more than $10 million to support its work. The organization provides strategic consulting services to help high-growth companies identify, evaluate, and secure education partners to deliver a custom talent pipeline, usually in less than a year. In a recent project with medical device giant Roche, Ascend partnered with the University of Indianapolis to address the company’s shortage of technicians fueled by increased retirement turnover. The result was a work-ready pipeline of 25 skilled, entry-level professionals in less than 12 months. Ascend has also created a next-level, cloud-based platform called “the Ascend Network” that matches qualified talent from 14 higher education institutions to positions at more than 70 large companies. The platform has helped place more than 400 individuals in Indiana. Through its experienced team of recruiters and matching algorithms, Ascend ensures high quality candidates and speeds up the hiring process for both individuals and companies. Needless to say, our group was astonished.
Before returning home, many members of our San Diego group continued onto Washington D.C. for a day at the Brookings Institution. The group was welcomed by Amy Liu, vice president and director of the Brookings Metropolitan Program, before Brookings fellows facilitated a series of discussions on how and why other metros are approaching inclusive growth to help us think more broadly about strategies for succeeding in a rapidly-changing economy.
San Diego’s Progress
After spending much of 2017 deepening our understanding of regional challenges facing San Diego, EDC has spent 2018 assembling an employer-led steering committee to build an inclusive growth agenda that benefits more people, companies and communities. Guided by the findings of a recent EDC study, EDC’s Inclusive Growth Steering Committee recently endorsed a regional goal to double the number of skilled workers produced in San Diego County to 20,000 per year by 2030. To support this goal, the committee developed recommendations around transparency, engagement, and investment for employers to adopt and implement within their own organizations. EDC continues to work with the steering committee to set goals and recommendations for employer engagement around our other two pillars of inclusive growth; small business competitiveness and addressing affordability.
Before Indy, we traveled to Nashville and Louisville, smaller regions confronting deeply entrenched histories of racial segregation and poverty. Indianapolis is home to one of the largest endowments in the country and would not be where it is today without the investment of the Lilly family. Each metro is unique in its history, resources, and politics, and will inevitably need to craft an inclusive economic development strategy that works for their community based on their particular circumstance. However, inclusive growth as both an economic and moral imperative is a sentiment that permeates among more and more leaders nationwide.
Regardless of how different our circumstance may be from Nashville, Louisville, or Indianapolis, the authenticity that is threaded throughout our visits each year encourages an honest dialogue among our San Diego delegation, leading to a heightened sense of unity in purpose and mission amongst our investors and newer partners. There is much to be done, but EDC and our stakeholders are committed to this work. It will remain driven by collaboration, coordination, and honesty. EDC’s mission is to maximize the region’s economic prosperity and global competitiveness. To live up to that mission, our economic development strategies must promote growth through inclusion.
San Diego Aira is changing how people see the world, literally. The EvoNexus graduate was formed by several Rady School of Management alumni that had a vision to help blind and visually impaired individuals have a higher quality of life. The company has created a wearable technology that a blind or vision impaired (BVI) person can wear, which better connects them to their surroundings via a live individual who sees exactly what they would. These navigators transcribe the visual world into an auditory one. From shopping, to reading ingredients and instructions, picking out an outfit to traveling or calling an uber, Aira helps BVI individuals live a more independent lives. Based in San Diego, the company now employs 50 people, developers and navigators, that help clients across the country. And Aira is just getting started. Partnering with institutions like UC San Diego and San Diego International Airport, Aira Enabled Zones are being stood up to ensure BVI individuals are able to access this assistance for free while at school, on travel, etc.
San Diego Regional EDC has been proud to support Aira in creating strategic partnerships via introductions to San Diego institutions and regional partners. EDC was able to leverage its existing network to open new doors for Aira at key San Diego business and organizations including the San Diego Convention Center, San Diego Tourism Authority, Petco, Viasat, BD, Cubic, Canadian Department of Commerce, Zero8Hundred, Seaworld, Tijuana EDC, and more.
The company was also recently named to WTC San Diego’s export accelerator program, MetroConnect.
If you had arrived at Plantible Foods in San Marcos before August 22, it would have looked much like a typical farm; greenhouses and an abundance of open space.
But a few days later the space was completely transformed for the quarterly Startup78 meetup. On August 22, more than 200 individuals gathered to learn more about the food innovation scene in San Diego’s North County. From a company that turns bread scraps into vodka to two sisters on a quest to start the first museum dedicated to the avocado, North County is full of companies on the forefront of food innovation entrepreneurs.
Every food entrepreneurs experience is different. The crowd heard from Maurtis van de Ven (Plantible Foods), Ann Buehner and Mary Carr (The Cado), Sam Chereskin (Misadventure & Company), Chuck Samuelson (Kitchens for Good), as well as representatives from Suja and Stone.
But food entrepreneurship isn’t just about cashing in. Many of these founders are looking to solve some of the world’s biggest problems, like hunger, health living, and food waste. Kitchens for Good is a social enterprise that seeks to minimize food waste, increase sustainability and provide culinary training for populations that are experiences high unemployment rates.
“Five-and-a-half years ago I had a very nice job with a local company, Stone Brewing, having tons of fun” said Chuck Samuelson, founder and board member of Kitchens for Good, in the San Diego Union-Tribune. Nonetheless, he said “I kept waking up thinking I’ve got to do more.”
Guests were also treated to a beer garden, full of some North County’s most prominent breweries and distilleries, as well as the opportunity to sample some of North County’s tastiest food innovations.
Startup78 is an initiative of Innovate78 and San Diego Regional EDC to unite and amplify the resources available to entrepreneurs along the 78 Corridor with the goal of helping startups scale to become long-term, viable businesses that support San Diego’s economy.
Join Innovate78 for the next Startup78 event, focused on life changing science, on October 17 at the Oceanside Museum of Art. Register here.
San Diego Mayor Kevin L. Faulconer and World Trade Center San Diego (WTC), JPMorgan Chase & Co. and business and civic leaders unveiled the 20 companies selected to participate in the MetroConnect program, a comprehensive export assistance program to help local companies accelerate their global growth.
“Expanding San Diego’s global reach is vital to creating more local jobs for San Diegans and boosting our regional economy,” said San Diego Mayor Kevin L. Faulconer. “The MetroConnect program and their growing companies are introducing innovative products and services to new international markets and sharing San Diego’s story with the rest of the world.”
From visual-aid tech startup Aira, to soap manufacturer Dr. Bronner’s, to top 10 Inc. 5000 company Scientist.com, the 2018 MetroConnect companies represent a diverse cross section of San Diego’s innovation economy.
Now in its fourth program-year, the MetroConnect program equips small- and medium-sized companies (SMEs) with a suite of financial and programmatic resources in their efforts to bring their products and services global. Program resources include:
$10,000 in matching grants to cover up to 50 percent of the costs associated with international expansion, made possible by JPMorgan Chase and the Department of Defense’s Office of Economic Adjustment and EDC’s 501(c)(3) Foundation
Dedicated WTC San Diego staff manager to support company participants in deploying overseas strategies during the grant period
Free export consulting with JAS Forwarding (USA), Inc. on ITAR/EAR regulations and other export activities; in-kind support by San Diego International Airpor
Access to workshops that address export compliance, financing and fundraising and more
Reduced airfare on the Japan Airlines direct flight from San Diego to Tokyo, and on Air Canada direct flights from San Diego to Canada. Assigned Lufthansa agent for direct flights from San Diego to Frankfurt, Germany
Access to country representatives at the Japan External Trade Organization and the United Kingdom Government Office in San Diego
Free access to SYSTRAN software for website translation and customer service needs
Consideration to compete for an additional $35,000 during the MetroConnect Grand Prize Pitchfest in June 2019
“JPMorgan Chase is proud to continue supporting the global expansion of San Diego businesses,” said Tim West, Executive Director and head of JPMorgan Chase’s Middle Market Banking practice in San Diego. “MetroConnect will empower these 20 local companies to grow in targeted international markets, and help them navigate many of the complex nuances of global business. MetroConnect’s track record speaks for itself, and we’re looking forward to seeing the program’s continued impact on the San Diego economy.”
Since the program’s debut in 2015, 45 MetroConnect alumni have collectively generated $15 million in new export sales, signed more than 116 new contracts, added 161 new jobs to the region, set up nine new overseas facilities and seen four successful company exits. Past participants include Calbiotech (now ERBA Diagnostics), Rough Draft Brewing, Deering Banjo Company, Cypher Genomics (acquired by Human Longevity Inc.), Planck Aerosystems and many more.
“Amid increasing uncertainty over national trade policy, ensuring that local companies get the tools they need to be successful overseas is more important than ever. We know that companies that export pay higher wages, are less likely to go out of business, and become more competitive and resilient,” said Nikia Clarke, executive director of World Trade Center San Diego. “Thanks to JPMorgan Chase, the MetroConnect program helps San Diego companies export their innovation around the world, which creates jobs and opportunities back here at home.”
Against the backdrop of rapid changes in global production, a newfound ‘trade war’ with China, and renegotiations of trade agreements, it is more important than ever to support SMEs in going global. In 2015 alone, San Diego exported more than $17 billion in goods overseas, as well as billions more in services like software, cybersecurity, engineering and research. SMEs produce 92 percent of those goods – driving home the point of programs like MetroConnect. According to the Brookings Institution, companies that are global pay higher wages, are less likely to go out of business and increase productivity of the domestic market.
For more information about MetroConnect, please visit MetroConnectSD.org.
The 2018 MetroConnect companies are:
Aira
Allett
Arctic Zero, Inc.
AtYourGate
Bitchin’ Sauce
Cloudbeds
Conectric Networks
Dr. Bronner’s
Eddy Pump Corporation
Epitope Diagnostics Inc.
Hookit
IPS Group Inc.
KULR Technology Corp.
LRAD Corporation
MRP Training Solutions
PKL Services
Quality Controlled Manufacturing, Inc.
Raveon Technologies Corporation
Scientist.com
Telaeris, Inc.
The MetroConnect program is highly competitive, with just 20 companies selected based on a variety of criteria, including interest in new markets, interest in targeted metro markets, assessed impact of funds, current international traction and more. This is up from just 15 companies in the first three years of the program. Applicants were assessed by a panel of judges, including representatives from Qualcomm Ventures, Biocom, U.S. Commercial Service, Tech San Diego, Rough Draft Brewing, San Diego State University, Tech San Diego, UC San Diego, San Diego Regional EDC and WTC San Diego.
As part of EDC’s Inclusive Growth initiative, it is important to highlight action-oriented programs throughout the region that promote inclusion and serve as key examples for other employers to adopt and scale for their own organizations. After releasing its interactive web study Building San Diego’s Talent Pipeline, EDC spoke with Naila Chowdhury, director of social impact and innovation at UC San Diego, who has been leading the charge there in addressing critical issues affecting underrepresented communities in San Diego, as well as the rest of the world. Read about UCSD’s compelling programs in Chowdhury’s commentary below and see how you can get involved or implement.
My role as Director of the Office of Social Impact & Innovation (SII) at UC San Diego, along with its essential partners, serves the campus by actively promoting partnership, collaboration and enhanced relations between all campus stakeholders, especially students, the community, corporations, local, national and global organizations in the area of Social Justice. Since joining the University of California San Diego three years ago, I have been working on creating awareness and educating the university community about serious issues that need addressing in our beautiful City of San Diego.
I believe that gender inequalities and discrimination attitudes and practices, that hold women and girls back, also include our underserved communities and must be confronted and eliminated. It cannot remain just words anymore; we have to practice these words in every sphere of our lives. We at large have to establish public and private partnerships with civil society, academia, nonprofits, private sector, foundations, and large corporations. Everyone has to feel and be a part of this inexorable march to usher in a new era of enhanced, equal opportunities for women and minorities. Women and girls represent the largest untapped resources for social and economic development in our world today. Local issues like women’s leadership and economic empowerment, is critical to future development, sustainability, equity and peace in our world. Leaders of today must make a commitment to dismantling institutional barriers and ensure a level playing field so that every woman has the same opportunity as any man while seeking livelihood opportunities in day-to-day work, society or access to finance and business.
The Office of Social Impact and Innovation at UC San Diego is committed to bringing solutions to solve the world’s most pressing challenges like human trafficking, social inequality, and human rights violations trough programs like the upcoming Time to Rise Global Empowerment Summit. We want to focus on actions and solutions. These challenges are complex and require innovation, creativity and dedication to solve. We need everyone’s collaboration to build bridges and share information to address these difficult issues, and it is imperative that the San Diego business community is a part of the dialogue and solutions.
We at the University of California believe that leadership and mentoring training, role models, and skill development must begin at an early age to help build an equal and inclusive world. With this in mind the university, along with sponsor partners, is recognizing the unsung heroes during the summit and engaging the participation of 50 youth from Smart City Saturday, Teen only Hackathon -Stop Youth Trafficking. In preparation of their hackathon, they will be mingling and interviewing the survivors and refugees in attendance, and learning from one another.
I am very satisfied with the many ways the University of California San Diego is addressing, supporting under represented, and minority students by offering services and programs to ensure students have adequate resources during their education at UCSD. I will mention just a few:
Programs that include undocumented students through their own Undocumented Student Services Office, which strongly advocates and generates a sense of community for all students that are undocumented or come from mixed immigration-status families: http://students.ucsd.edu/sponsor/undoc/.
Centers like the Raza Resource Centro (RRC) is one of the Campus Community Centers supporting the UCSD Chicanx- Latinx. By using words with the letter X (latinX) it creates an inclusive environment for all of the students and individuals that visit their space, regardless of gender identity or expression: http://raza.ucsd.edu/.
Early Academic Outreach Program (EAOP) assists first-generation, socio-economically disadvantaged, and English-language learners by helping them prepare for postsecondary education, pursue graduate and professional school opportunities, and achieve success in the workplace: https://eaop.ucsd.edu/.
The TRIO Outreach programs offering services to San Diego High Schools on college advising, financial aid assistance, career awareness, educational field trips and summer programs and tours. All aimed at recruiting potential first generation college student and/or low-income students: http://trio.ucsd.edu/.
UCSD supports the first generation student by providing Student Success Coaches aimed at improving first-generation college student access and success, eliminate obstacles, and improve pathways for students to achieve their academic and professional goals: https://srs.ucsd.edu/about/index.html.
Through scholarship funding, services and programs, the Chancellor’s Associates Scholarship Program (CASP) recognizes and supports talented local students with financial need and great potential and motivation to succeed at UC San Diego: http://students.ucsd.edu/sponsor/casp/.
The PATHS ways to STEM through Enhanced Access and Mentorship. This program model is aimed at mitigating historically evident barriers and establish an infrastructure of resources, communications, and professional development within UC San Diego and in the surrounding community to increase under represented student to enter the STEM field: http://paths.ucsd.edu/.
According to Dr. Gentry Patrick, Director of Mentorship and Diversity for Biological Sciences at UC San Diego, what works for long term success with underserved minorities, is to immerse the students with professional context, leadership skills, support network of peers, faculty and alumni. It’s important to show how STEM affects their life and how they can be an example in their community and that STEM is not for somebody else. To make these programs successful what is needed is a broad base of support, partner with organization, individuals for funding, engagement, placement opportunities and mentorship possibilities.
We are happy to announce that during the Time to Rise Summit 2018, a PATH Scholar will be a recipient of SII -Social Impact Scholarship in partnership with Qualcomm Institute and Alliance4Empowerment (www.socialimpact.ucsd.edu, www.alliance4empowerment.net).
In summary, social impact is more than social justice. Our efforts at SII focus on areas of inclusion, inequalities, transformational leadership, and economic empowerment. It is time to rise together to address these social challenges. We hope you join us at our Time To Rise Summit on October 6: https://time-to-rise-summit.eventbrite.com.
UC San Diego-Social Impact is conscientious about its responsibility to leave behind a better and more collaborative world by training and informing Change Makers Who are the Source of Change. When we work with community partners and other collaborators, we build responsible caring ambassadors and we build bridges globally to develop international working relationships. At UC San Diego, we are changemakers. That is why Ashoka, the world’s largest network of social entrepreneurs, recently designated the university as a “Changemaker Campus”. Be the source of change with u s!
Learn from the best, they say. For the third straight year, East County-based guitar manufacturer Taylor Guitars generously played host to WTC San Diego and the 
