California Community Colleges & 50strong

Partner Announcement: Veterans Services with California Community Colleges has joined as a 50strong higher education outreach partner!

California is home to nearly 2 million military veterans. And over 60,000 veterans, active duty service members and dependents are enrolled across the 116 California community colleges.

California community colleges play a critical role towards preparing student Veterans in the military-ready workforce ecosystem. Veteran Resource Centers provide high-touch support services to help students achieve their educational and professional goals.

Veterans Services Specialist Heather McClenahen at the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office is helping to provide resources and support for the nearly 100 Veterans Resource Centers across the 116 colleges.

50strong is a collaborative effort toward a military-ready workforce ecosystem that is made possible by Wells Fargo, ADP, Amazon, Cushman & Wakefield, TEKsystems, Lowe’s and several other leading employers.

This collaboration with 50strong will support efficient, virtual, and casual access to employer-driven career readiness & employment opportunities – for military-affiliated students AND for the Veterans Resource Center teams that serve them.

From U.S. Army veteran & 50strong Co-Founder, Kevin Tillman: “I know from personal experience how awkward and difficult it can be to navigate civilian employment after the military, even with a degree. California will always be my home and I’m grateful to California Community Colleges for their leadership & service to the community.”

“It's hard for every Veterans Resource Center to stay connected to all military-ready employers. And vice versa. But so many employers are eager to support at-scale engagement for military-relevant career readiness via early/often exposure. My thanks to the Chancellor’s office for collaboration toward employment outcomes for their students and for working to be a “hub” of centralized support for each of their Veterans Centers.” - Kandi Tillman, 50strong Managing Co-Founder

“With the pace and continued growth within Amazon, we are continually looking to grow new pipelines of talent. Amazon’s Military Affairs team values the leadership and resiliency that Student Veterans possess and partnerships with organizations like the California Community Collee System are essential to our ability to engage with Veteran talent and keep pace with our growing demand.” - Beau Higgins, Amazon Global Military Affairs

“Wells Fargo is a military-friendly employer; we recognize veterans and service members as a rich source of talent, experience, and hard-earned skills. Collaborating with 50strong has helped us extend our reach, particularly into the student veteran community, to share our military hiring programs and our meaningful career opportunities with veteran job seekers.” - Sean Passmore, Vice President of Military Talent at Wells Fargo