Founder and Managing Partner of a sustainability consulting company that helps businesses "go green." LEED accredited professional with expertise in energy, water, waste, and development sustainability metrics.
Professional consultant with experience helping businesses, governments, and educational institutions incorporate best practices in environmental sustainability. Expertise in reducing operational costs associated with energy, water, and waste while creating sustainability marketing opportunities.
I used to work with community colleges on running a district-funded workforce program, and definitely had a lot of issues with administrators, faculty, etc. not initially being "on board." Most community colleges are underfunded/staffed, so people tend to be suspicious of "new" programs even when they're free! Are you asking the administration to pay for these IT courses, give up staff time, etc.? If so, you may need to come up with answers to those barriers (like offering to find grant funding or tying into an existing program) to make sure they don't see it as a demand for more of their limited resources.
If you'd like to strategize on specific ways for working with community colleges, feel free to schedule a follow up call with me.
I had the pleasure of working with Ellie for 4.5 years and can attest that she is a consummate professional and talented manager and sustainability advocate. Her work was always quick and high quality. She was very easy to supervise because she would identify needed tasks and tackle them without hesitation. She was punctual, capable, efficient with her time, a team player, and a valuable mentor to junior staff and student interns. She also boosted morale with her delicious baked goods every once in awhile. I recommend Ellie wholeheartedly!
Ellie has been one of the most persistent, responsible and friendly managers I have had the pleasure of working under. Despite a distinctly diverse project portfolio at the Green Campus program, she manages to keep track of 30+ student interns on different schedules across the state of California. Considering that each student is a busy college student, this feat is remarkable in itself.
As a campus lead, her ability to quickly and concisely provide constructive critique makes for a more productive working environment. Her friendly and relative demeanor encourages interns to meet her reasonably high expectations goals. It has been a positive experience working for Ellie and I am sad to have to be leaving so soon!