President’s Speaker Series features Erik Cushman and alumni panel

President Vanya Quiñones’s first President’s Speaker Series of the 2025-26 Academic Year explores the topics of employment, careers, social mobility, education and equity. 

Titled “Developing Talent: Building Tomorrow’s Workforce”, the event takes place 5:30-7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 12, at the World Theater and features keynote speaker Erik Cushman. He is the longtime publisher of the Monterey County Weekly, an award-winning newspaper founded in 1988 and augmented by a robust website. 

He is also chair of the Monterey County Workforce Development Board, a federally-mandated, public-private jobs program that helps employers find and hire people with the skills they need, and helps eligible job seekers who have barriers to employment — disabilities, criminal record, lack of a diploma — find meaningful work. 

That’s a development that Cushman believes has become more fully realized. 

“Right now, in our part of California, the opportunities available to people with ambition to…advance economically and educationally are more numerous than they’ve been in my lifetime,” he says. 

He plans to talk about the importance of education for career and job prospects, about the types of support available to college-goers and job-seekers, about local and regional industries and what they are looking for in candidates. 

After a Q&A, his talk will be followed by a moderated discussion by a panel of CSUMB alumni who will talk about the success they have been able to achieve in starting and growing businesses, or ascending in their careers. 

Get more information and RSVP.