Regional Coalition
San Diego’s AI Workforce Transformation
A public-private coalition aligning workforce development, leadership training, and capital investment to accelerate AI adoption at scale – closing gender gaps, strengthening economic resilience, and establishing a national model for inclusive growth in the age of AI.
The Coalition
Holly Smithson
President & CEO
Athena
Mark Cafferty
President & CEO
San Diego Regional EDC
Lisa Easterly
President & CEO
Cyber Center of Excellence
Chris Thorne
President & CEO
North San Diego Business Chamber
James Zanewicz
CEO
Connect
Hala Madanat
VP for Research & Innovation
San Diego State University
Regional Asset Map
Where San Diego Leads
Athena
Leadership training, AI fluency and STEM talent development
Strength: Established leadership training; cross-industry convening authority
Gap: Funding for scalable B2B AI deployment
Reach: 10,000+ stakeholders; 50+ corporate partners; 1.5m employees reached through partner organizations
San Diego State University
AI, engineering, cybersecurity and data-science research and training
Strength: Research capacity; large graduate pipeline
Gap: Faster industry alignment; rapid reskilling programs
Reach: 35,000+ students; 500,000+ alumni
San Diego Regional EDC
Policy, FDI attraction, regional competitiveness
Strength: Business climate strategy; global capital access
Gap: AI-specific workforce blueprint
Reach: 150+ investors across major regional industries
North San Diego Business Chamber
Advocacy and small-business employer engagement
Strength: Direct access to operating businesses
Gap: AI literacy among small and mid-sized businesses
Reach: 500+ member businesses across North San Diego County
Connect
Commercialization, startup acceleration and capital matching
Strength: Fast commercialization; venture-capital access at scale
Gap: Workforce inclusion in startup AI adoption
Reach: 3,000+ innovators in the San Diego startup ecosystem
Cyber Center of Excellence
AI threat assessment and cybersecurity across the regional ecosystem
Strength: Regional cyber resilience
Gap: Broader digital security across the region
Reach: 1,350 cybersecurity firms across the San Diego region
Strategic Gaps
4 Strategic Gaps We Are Closing
San Diego AI Workforce Transformation Dashboard | 2026–2030
Where We Stand. Where We’re Going.
A public-private coalition aligning workforce development, leadership training, and capital investment to accelerate AI adoption at scale — closing gender gaps, strengthening economic resilience, and establishing a national model for inclusive growth in the age of AI.
San Diego already leads in innovation, talent, and capital. The gap is not capability – it is strategic coordination.
This coalition is integrating leadership development, AI training, governance, and policy into a single, aligned system – unlocking the full economic potential of the region.
This establishes America’s most AI-ready workforce ecosystem – driving talent mobility, business performance, and sustained competitiveness.
Proposed Call to Action
What Comes Next
Expand a Regional AI Workforce Coalition
Athena + CCOE + EDC + SDSU + Connect + Chamber
Launch a Public AI Readiness Index
AI certification counts, employer adoption metrics, board governance participation and talent pipeline graduation rates
Secure Anchor Funding
Corporate, foundation, private philanthropy funding
Prove the Model, Publish the National Playbook
Share the coalition model, outcomes data, and implementation framework so other regions can adopt it