SXSW Interactive and SXSW EDU 2024

We’re excited to head back to Austin for SXSW EDU 2024, and this year, we’re expanding to SXSW Interactive! Thought leaders from several Jobs for the Future (JFF) centers and practices have applied to present at both EDU and Interactive, with partners including Kapor Capital, IBM, Best Buy, Chevron, Brown Girl Green, Deloitte, Walmart, Black Girl Environmentalist, and Whiteboard Advisors. Here are the conversations they’ll bring to the stage in Austin.

• You can submit a request to meet with someone at JFF or to let us know you’re coming!
• See our sessions below, as featured in SXSW EDU’s “Top Sessions to Attend for Policymakers & Government Leaders“.

SXSW EDU Sessions Featuring JFF Leaders

March 4, 2024

Corrections to Careers: Education for Incarcerated Youth

March 4, 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. CT
Austin Convention Center, Room 12AB

60,000 young people under the age of 18 are incarcerated in the United States without access to many of the social, technological and educational supports needed to cultivate skills and build a prosperous future. With high rates of juvenile recidivism, correctional education is an essential tool for helping youths realize their academic and professional potential. This panel will bring together correctional education advocates to discuss innovations in offerings for juveniles who are incarcerated and the value of incorporating career education at the heart of these efforts.

Featuring:
Lucretia Murphy, Vice President, Center for Justice & Economic Advancement, Jobs for the Future
Arti Finn, Chief Business Development Officer, American Prison Data Systems
Ryan Moser, Fellow, Resolve Philly
Kate Kimmer, Business Owner, Special Populations, Manufacturing, And Construction, Transfr, Inc.

An Investor Talk on AI: All-In or All-Hype

March 4, 2:30 – 3:30 p.m. CT
Austin Convention Center, Room 6AB

Venture capital investors have poured more than $40 billion into AI startups in just the first half of 2023. Big questions loom about how these technologies may impact education and the world of work. How are education and workforce investors separating the wheat from the chaff? Hear from venture capital and impact investors as they share trends they are watching and predictions on where the smart money is heading and decide if they are “all-in”—or feeling overhyped.

Featuring:
Sabari Raja, Managing Partner, JFFVentures
Brian Dixon, Managing Partner, Kapor Capital
Rohan Wadhwa, Managing Director, Lumos Capital Group
Dennis Price, Chief Impact Officer & Editorial Director, Impact Alpha

March 5, 2024

Horizons: Banning LGBTQ Education Means Banning LGBTQ Educators

March 5, 2:30 – 3:30 p.m. CT
Hilton Austin Downtown, Salon A

“Teacher Fired After Discussing Sexuality With Students.” What looks like a headline from the 1978 attempt to ban gay teachers from schools is one of many from 2022 that captures the growing effort to push LGBTQ educators into the closet. States across the country have sought to expel LGBTQ educators from classrooms by banning discussions of gender and sexuality, with drastic implications for both teachers and the young people who look to them as examples of positive and possible futures. This conversation will explore how these laws perpetuate inequitable economic outcomes for the LGBTQ community.

Featuring:
Taylor Sprague, Senior Manager, Jobs for the Future
Philip McAdoo, Founder and CEO, Philip McAdoo Diversity & Inclusion Consulting LLC

March 7, 2024

Skills-First Practices: The Catalyst for Inclusive Mobility

March 7, 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. CT
Austin Convention Center, Room 17AB

In the past three years, we’ve seen increased energy among employers who recognize the value of focusing talent practices on skills as the key currency and signal for career opportunity and mobility. According to a report by the World Economic Forum, by 2025, more than 40% of employers expect to prioritize skills over degrees when making hiring decisions. This session will discuss how business leaders can support their employees, through skills-first practices, in achieving their career and economic goals, while also creating a more resilient, dynamic, creative, diverse, and inclusive workforce.

Featuring:
Cat Ward, Vice President, Employer Mobilization, Jobs for the Future
Rashad Delph, Head of Talent Acquisition, Chevron
Lydia Logan, Vice President, IBM

How Will 2024 Elections Impact Education & Workforce Policy?

March 7, 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. CT
Austin Convention Center, Room 18AB

From the rising cost of higher education and growing student loan debt to improving links between K-12 and the workforce to increasing access to quality jobs, and conversations around equity and inclusion in the classroom and workplace, recent elections have thrust education and workforce policy into the spotlight as top issues. This session will bring together a bipartisan panel of policy experts to discuss the 2024 election and candidates’ policy proposals regarding education and workforce including the potential impacts the election might have on students, educators, and families.

Featuring:
Karishma Merchant, Associate Vice President, Policy & Advocacy, Jobs for the Future
Emmanual Guillory, Senior Director, American Council on Education

SXSW Interactive Sessions Featuring JFF Leaders

March 11, 2024

Thriving at Work: Nurturing Well-Being in Modern Workplaces

March 11, 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. CT
Austin Marriott Downtown, Waller Ballroom DEF

In this transformative session, we will address the impact of the pandemic, rising loneliness, and the social and political climate on employee well-being. This session will explore the complex relationship between mental health and workplace outcomes, providing practical strategies and technological innovations to navigate these challenges. We will showcase innovative approaches from leading organizations that prioritize mental health amidst these unique circumstances and dig into how employers can best foster more inclusive workplaces that drive equitable economic advancement for all.

Featuring:
Megha Bansal Rizoli, Director, Employer Mobilization, Jobs for the Future
Van Jones, Political Commentator, CNN; Co-founder of Rapport.co
Gayatri Agnew, Senior Director, Walmart
Jen Fisher, Human Sustainability Leader, Deloitte

March 15, 2024

Green Jobs & GenZ: The Future of Work

March 15, 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. CT 
Hilton Austin Downtown, Salon B

You’ve heard of quiet quitting, but what about “climate quitting”? In the age of the climate crisis, Gen Z has emerged as the climate career generation, demanding more action around climate change in the workplace and leaving if there isn’t any. More than 40% of Gen Zers and millennials have changed jobs or plan to because of climate concerns, according to a new study by Deloitte. This panel will discuss the exciting developments and concerns around the future of work for Gen Z, the climate generation.

Featuring:
Taj Eldridge, Managing Director of Climate Innovation, JFFLabs
Wawa Gatheru, Founder and Executive Director, Black Girl Environmentalist
Kristy Drutman, Head of Talent Acquisition, Brown Girl Green
Daniel Ojo, Director of Impact Strategies & Culture, JUV Consulting

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