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
Tim Scott
President & CEO
Biocom California
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
Biocom California
Life sciences industry advocacy and AI integration
Strength: Extensive life-sciences network across California
Gap: AI adoption across the biotech workforce
Reach: 1,800+ member companies; California's life sciences corridor
Strategic Gaps
4 Strategic Gaps We Are Closing
AI Workforce Readiness Index
Where We Stand. Where We’re Going.
AI-ready Talent
Executive AI Fluency
Board Governance Readiness
SMB Adoption Velocity
Inclusive Workforce Participation
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 + Biocom California + 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 founding partners at $50K+ level
Prove the Model, Publish the National Playbook
Share the coalition model, outcomes data, and implementation framework so other regions can adopt it