One year ago, I joined CTE Foundation as Executive Director. Having a front row seat to witness the remarkable work this team does is inspiring, and I’m proud to share some of what we accomplished this spring. But before I get into the numbers, I want to say something about the people behind them. 

Working in Sonoma County means working alongside people who show up; for kids, for each other, for a future that isn’t guaranteed. Our partners invested in that future this year. Our teachers piloted new tools for it. Our students walked pathways into real careers because of it. 

None of that erases the challenges this county still carries – stretched schools, shrinking enrollment and the high cost of living. But I’d rather tell you that we are in the room working on these challenges than pretending the work is finished. This is where CTE Foundation is: not on the sidelines, but at the center of changing lives and changing schools. 

In April, more than 300 of you joined us at Spark the Future, where 14 classrooms filled the Student Showcase and our community raised over $350,000 for career-connected learning. If you were there, you saw what I saw: students explaining their fabrication projects, culinary creations and business ideas with the kind of confidence you can’t teach in a lecture. That same month, we hosted Innovation in Action at Analy High School, bringing regional leaders together around the future of school redesign. 

Then in June came a moment I’ll carry with me for a long time: our first-ever Path to Purpose Employer Celebration, honoring the 42 local employers who mentored over 105 students who completed internships this spring. One student intern who spoke at Spark the Future, Rosy, put it better than I ever could:  

“Path to Purpose gives students like me the confidence to walk into a room we never thought we’d belong in – and realize that we’re going to own that room someday.”  

Hearing that, in a room full of the employers who opened those doors, not only gave me goosebumps. It reinforced why we do this work. 

The momentum reaches beyond our county’s lines, too. This spring, CTE Foundation was selected as one of just 31 organizations nationwide to advance in the Catalyze Challenge, a major grant opportunity to help students explore career-connected learning. Our team also traveled to Ohio for the Accelerate ED convening to share what Sonoma County Schools and CTE Foundation are creating in regard to work-based learning with leaders from across the country. 

Meanwhile, new investments from Sutter Health and Kaiser Permanente are deepening pathways into healthcare careers. As if that wasn’t enough, local teachers just finished beta-testing our new STEM Kit Lending Library – coming to classrooms this fall – made possible through an exciting partnership with Sonoma Clean Power. 

It’s no secret that this is a season of change for public education. But everywhere I look, I see powerful change – the kind that turns curiosity into confidence and aspiration into opportunity. That doesn’t happen by accident. It happens because donors, partners, educators, employers and neighbors like you keep showing up for Sonoma County students. 

Thank you for being part of this shared effort. Now live on our site, you’ll find our full 2025–26 Impact Report, upcoming opportunities for employers to get involved, a save-the-date you won’t want to miss, and the stories of a year worth celebrating. 

Eli Weinzveg 

Executive Director, CTE Foundation