San Bernardino Valley College hosted the roundtable in their new 114,000-square-foot Applied Technology Building. It’s a state-of-the-art space designed for hands-on training, and it reflects how California’s Community Colleges are responding to regional demand. These institutions are California’s largest workforce engine, and they’re instrumental in building a talent pipeline to meet both local industry demand and statewide goals for economic mobility.

Guests toured the new facility and heard from education leaders, including Dr. Linda Vazquez, Assistant Vice Chancellor at California Community Colleges; Dr. Diana Z. Rodriguez, Chancellor of San Bernardino Community College District; Dr. Golvert Contreras, President of San Bernardino Valley College; and Dr. Vanessa Thomas, Dean of Applied Technology, Transportation, and Culinary Arts.

Following the presentations, legislative staff and community leaders talked about what’s needed across the Inland Empire to close workforce gaps and expand opportunity. From equity challenges to career pathways, the conversation focused on what it takes to align public investment with community-driven solutions. These types of exchanges help connect Sacramento’s policy direction with the day-to-day experiences of communities throughout our region.

IECF launched the Legislators’ Roundtable Series to strengthen that connection. When policymakers, educators, and community partners are in the same room, it becomes easier to align funding and strategy around shared priorities. Our region holds distinct opportunities and complex challenges. The Roundtable sessions are designed to help legislators recognize and respond to the full scope of what the Inland Empire contributes, and what it needs to thrive.

We’ll keep convening spaces like this to make sure the Inland Empire’s voice is clear in the decisions shaping our future. IECF’s next roundtable will take place this fall to continue the conversation around workforce and education. We’re grateful to everyone who is helping us build these connections and bring more attention to what matters here. To learn more, contact Graciela Moran, Manager, Office of Policy & Engagement.

This roundtable series is part of IECF’s broader commitment to bridging policy, philanthropy, and local priorities. When we lead with collaboration, we move the region forward.

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Inland Empire Community Foundation (IECF), which recently received $4.5 million from Hoff’s estate, the largest of its kind in the foundation’s history, will distribute the endowed gift, noting that it will have significant impact on the Coachella Valley community for generations. 

Hoff, a trailblazing philanthropist, dedicated her life to charitable causes, including arts and culture, education, and environmental protection. Her legacy now lives on through The Jane Lykken Hoff Endowment Fund, which will support four organizations the philanthropists deeply cared about: the Palm Springs Historical Society, the Palm Springs Public Library Foundation, PBS SoCal, and the College of the Desert Foundation.

“Jane probably didn’t know that, at the time that we are receiving her funding, there is a critical nursing shortage, not just in the state of California, not just locally, but across the nation,” says Catherine Abbott, College of the Desert Foundation Executive Director. “This investment will ensure that students who are enrolled in our nursing program will have the financial resources that they need to reach that finish line, which is graduation.”

“Jane’s contribution couldn’t have come at a more impactful time,” she adds.

Abbott is quick to note that within the veterans’ population, veteran students come to College of the Desert, often navigating a brand new world.

“Finances are their biggest hurdle to success,” she stresses. “Some of them are working full-time, but it’s hard for them to do school full-time. This is another wonderful gift and investment that will hopefully alleviate some of the working hours for our veteran students so that they can focus on their studies.”

In addition to providing scholarships to veterans and nursing students at the College of the Desert, the endowment will benefit programming offered by the Palm Springs Historical Society, the Palm Springs Public Library Foundation, and PBS SoCal.

In a statement from Katherine and Greg Hough, executors of Jane Lykken Hoff’s estate, the duo shared: “Jane believed in the power of community. This gift ensures that her passion for giving back will continue to inspire future generations. We are excited to see the positive impact this funding will bring to our region.”

Meanwhile, Abbott is eager to keep things moving forward at the ever-expanding College of the Desert. 

“I think that the Foundation really has a rich history with this community and with this college,” she says. “And we have, in my opinion, a really solid reputation in promising to do with our donor funding what they have directed us to do.”

When asked what she felt most people might not realize about the College of the Desert Foundation, Abbott noted that the Foundation was formed 40 years ago to support students at College of the Desert.

“We now have nearly $65 million in assets, and we’ve grown exponentially in the past four years since I have been here,” she says. “I think that really goes to show the level of confidence that our donors have in this Foundation, with the leadership, and knowing that our reputation is strong and that we serve a diverse population of students who mainly stay here in the Valley. They are first-generation, so they’re navigating a brand new world, something that their parents are not necessarily familiar with.”

“We’re trying our level best to do what we can to help strengthen the economic infrastructure of the Coachella Valley for years and generations to come,” she adds.

Learn more at codfoundation.org.

This article originally appeared in the Desert Sun, November 2024

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