Building the Future Workforce: Integrating Durable Skills into K-12 Education
The modern workforce is changing, and educators must prepare students with essential durable skills to thrive after graduation.
Join our panel of K-12 durable skills and workforce experts on February 12 at 2 pm ET as they explore the growing demand for durable skills and their role in preparing students for future success. They’ll share strategies to integrate durable skills into curriculum and instruction, ensuring students are ready for the challenges of the future workforce.
Panelists
- Michael Crawford, Vice President of Strategic Initiatives, America Succeeds
- Ann Nakaska, Career Consultant and Educator, Constructive Career and Life Designs
- Sabba Quidwai, CEO, Designing Schools
Register for the Webinar
- Gain insight into workforce trends and how education can respond to evolving employer expectations
- Discover why durable skills enhance long-term success and practical ways to foster development in K-12 schools
- Learn how to assess and measure durable skills to ensure students are career-ready
About the Panelists
Michael Crawford
Michael Crawford is the Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at America Succeeds, responsible for leading, developing, and expanding Durable Skills work with a focus on research and impactful, quality implementation.
Prior to joining America Succeeds, Michael served as Director of Community Research for VELA, and as Strategic Partnerships Manager for Western Governors University. He’s been an invited mentor, advisor, speaker, and facilitator for work related to human development, entrepreneurship, and education, and he’s been a guest on wide-ranging podcasts and panels about technology and the future of learning and work.
Michael earned a BA in Psychology from the University of Michigan, an MS in Sport Psychology from Michigan State University, and a PhD in Educational Psychology from the University of Kansas. When he’s not working, you can find him embracing life with his family and friends, exploring new-to-him places and activities, and reading whatever he can get his hands on.
Ann Nakaska
Ann Nakaska BA, M. Ed., CDF is a career consultant who specializes in career planning and career decision-making. She strongly believes in strengthening decision-making skills through increased exploration, analysis, and evaluation of industry knowledge and trends.
Ann loves reading about business, entrepreneurship, innovation, and the career possibilities of tomorrow. She has been researching, writing, and presenting about career opportunities of the future for the last 5-6 years. She is optimistic about the future of work and loves exploring the exciting work opportunities open to everyone created by industry innovation.
Sabba Quidwai
Author, educator, and entrepreneur Dr. Sabba Quidwai believes that cultures of innovation begin with a culture of empathy. In an AI-powered world, she helps organizations build trust, encourage creativity, and inspire a collective vision through her role as CEO of Designing Schools. This work reflects her conviction that learning is a lifelong journey, extending from classrooms to the dynamic landscapes of the modern world.
Her journey into this role began with the challenges she faced as a new graduate in 2007, which unveiled the discrepancies between traditional education and the demands of a rapidly evolving job market, especially during the transformative era marked by the iPhone's release and a subsequent recession. Dr. Quidwai's career, rooted in her beginnings as a high school social science teacher, evolved to leading innovation at USC and later being recruited as an education executive at Apple.
This transition from the classroom to the corporate world was not just a career shift, but an extension of her commitment to redefining education. These experiences deepened her insights as a social scientist, focusing on designing learning experiences that equip everyone with the skills and strategies to be irreplaceable in a world with AI.
She shares this research in her 2020 documentary, examining why and how design thinking is the human advantage in an AI world. Sabba also hosts a daily podcast, “Designing Schools,” where you can listen in for daily inspiration.