Authority

The responsibility of the Community Engagement Advisory Board is to examine whether the Office of Cradle-to-Career Data (the Office) is creating strong feedback loops with data users, supporting evidence-based decision making and analytical capacity, and ensuring equitable access to actionable information.^[1]

Selection Criteria

Pursuant to the Governance Manual, “in order to ensure that Advisory Board members represent the public, starting in fiscal year 2024, a person who works for an organization or person represented on the Governing Board may not be selected to serve on an Advisory Board. An organization is defined as a state agency or representative of a segment (such as Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities), as opposed to providers that report to an agency (for example, a representative from a specific University of California would be eligible to serve, even though the University of California Office of the President is represented on the Governing Board).” For more information about the organizations and individuals represented on the Governing Board, please visit the C2C website.  

Membership and Terms

The Community Engagement Advisory Board members shall consist of 16 public members, appointed by the Governing Board. Members include the end users of the data system including practitioners, families, students, adult learners and workers, community organization staff, research organization staff, and advocacy organization staff.

While Community Engagement Advisory Board members are appointed as individuals based on their experiences, expertise, and perspectives, an Advisory Board member or applicant shall not be employed by an entity with representation on the Governing Board, as outlined in the selection criteria. 

Community Engagement Advisory Board members serve three year terms and serve no more than one consecutive term.

Representatives of specific institutions serve no more than one consecutive term and can only have one seat on the Community Engagement Advisory Board at a time.

Advisory Board members must be California residents^[2] and shall be subject to the requirements of the California Political Reform Act, including the C2C’s Conflict of Interest Policy, and Form 700 filing requirement.

Meetings

• Meetings will occur at least three times a year. Tentative meeting dates include a member orientation on August 22, 2025, and Community Engagement Advisory Board meetings on October 24, 2025, March 2026, July 2026, and October 2026.
• In addition to regular meetings, the Community Engagement Advisory Board may establish subcommittees as needed.
• All meetings are subject to the provisions of the Bagley-Keene Act.

Member Expectations and Responsibilities

All members of the Community Engagement Advisory Board are expected to attend meetings and advocate for the Cradle-to-Career System with key stakeholders.

Through feedback provided in meetings, the Community Engagement Advisory Board members offer suggestions for the Governing Board and the Office including, but not limited to:

• Professional development and technical assistance models that foster evidence-based decision-making, strengthen analytical capacity to use available data tools, and enable end users to understand structural factors that influence outcomes
• Communication structures that ensure a broad range of Californians know about and are using the tools
• Feedback loops that ensure meaningful and equitable public input, access, and utilization of the available information.

When there are significant gaps regarding feedback loops with data users, evidence-based decision making and analytical capacity, and equitable access to actionable information, the Advisory Board may make formal recommendations about the community engagement framework to the Governing Board for ways to improve feedback loops.

At the Fall Advisory Board meeting, Advisory Board members may bring forward proposals for ways to amend the community engagement framework to address the significant gap.

Prior to the Spring Advisory Board meeting, the Governing Board’s liaison to the Advisory Board, along with up to two Advisory Board members, will draft a report that links to all proposals members submitted, summarizes the discussion at the Fall meeting, and includes the Office of Cradle-to-Career Data’s light-touch feasibility write ups. 

At the spring Advisory Board meeting, the Advisory Board will discuss the draft report and share any comments or reflections on the overall report in the meeting. The Governing Board’s liaison may update the report based on the discussion at the Spring meeting, if desired. At the Governing Board’s May meeting, the Governing Board Liaison and one or more Advisory Board members will share the report with the Governing Board, which can inform the Governing Board’s work and deliberations.

Members will be required to:

• Attend two in-person meetings in Sacramento and one virtual meeting per year (note: reimbursement will be provided for travel within the State of California. Reimbursement covers public transportation, mileage, parking, as well as airfare and hotel for those located more than 100 miles away.)
• Review draft documents in advance of meetings
• Gather input from and share information with community members
• Complete all required paperwork and trainings forms

Selection

Advisory board members will be selected to ensure a broad representation of perspectives and expertise will inform the resources developed by C2C. Specific desired characteristics include:

• Ability to support community engagement with both analytical data sets (like dashboards) and tools for students and educators (such as resources for college and financial aid applications)
• Understanding of community member needs and concerns or currently serve as an ambassador to a specific groups or communities
• Familiarity with education issues ( particularly K-12, community colleges, universities, and teacher training) through personal and/or professional experience
• Ability to make information about education more understandable, useful, and relatable
• Ability to commit time to review materials, solicit input from community members, and participate in Advisory Board meetings
• Willing to work collaboratively toward common solutions and share lived experiences that can be beneficial to the Advisory Board
  

^[1] Education Code Section 10865(b)(1)(B).

^[2] Government Code Section 1062.

Application