LA DEAL advanced a coordinated policy and partnership strategy in the first quarter of 2026 to expand broadband access and strengthen digital equity across Los Angeles County. This work included engagement in state regulatory proceedings, federal funding discussions and direct collaboration with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to improve key broadband programs, ensuring underserved communities have access to reliable, high-speed internet.

As part of the Horizons 32K strategic plan to improve outcomes for opportunity youth across Los Angeles County, UNITE‑LA is advancing efforts to strengthen the transition from high school into college, training and employment for students in Los Angeles' alternative education system. In February, alongside the Britebound Center for Career Navigation at Jobs for the Future (JFF) and LAUSD, UNITE‑LA convened K–12, community college and workforce leaders to improve career navigation for students completing high school in non-traditional settings. LAUSD's Options division serves more than 9,000 students across 60 sites, including continuation high schools, virtual academies and community day schools for expelled students.

UNITE-LA is advancing a coordinated state policy agenda and urging partners, employers and policymakers to support critical state legislation—AB 805 and SB 1132—to strengthen California's workforce system and expand economic mobility for opportunity youth. This work builds on momentum from the 2026 Youth Apprenticeship Summit in Sacramento, where leaders across education, workforce and policy aligned around implementation, marking a critical shift from planning to action. As the state moves to operationalize recommendations from the California Youth Apprenticeship Committee, UNITE-LA is helping ensure that policy, practice and lived experience are aligned to expand equitable, high-quality career pathways.

"I know who I am, I know where I'm going and I know who can help me get there." That is the goal driving UNITE-LA’s latest effort to ensure more young people in Los Angeles County graduate high school with real momentum toward college, career and economic mobility. Through the California Purposeful Pathways Project, funded by the Gates Foundation, UNITE-LA and the California Community Foundation will support demonstration models in the Long Beach and South Bay subregions of the L.A. Region K–16 Collaborative—showing how high schools and community colleges can better integrate advising, dual enrollment and career-connected learning into coherent, equitable pathways for students.

UNITE-LA is leading a new effort to ensure more young people in Los Angeles County graduate high school with clear pathways to college, careers and economic mobility.

Through the California Purposeful Pathways Project, funded by the Gates Foundation, UNITE-LA and the California Community Foundation will support demonstration projects in the Long Beach and South Bay subregions of the L.A. Region K-16 Collaborative. The effort will show how high schools and community colleges can better align advising, dual enrollment and career-connected learning into more coherent and equitable pathways for students.

On March 13, partners from across Los Angeles County came together for the Horizons 32K Stewardship Board quarterly meeting to deepen alignment around our shared mission to reduce youth disconnection. Representatives from education, workforce, philanthropy, community‑based organizations and county agencies were in the room, alongside members of the Youth Advisory Council. The group received updates across key workstreams, including efforts to strengthen high school transitions, expand earn‑and‑learn opportunities, advance systems change through the Opportunity Youth Demonstration Project and improve mentorship and regional coordination. The conversations reinforced our collective commitment to ensuring young people—especially those furthest from opportunity—can access clear, supported pathways into education, training and employment.

UNITE-LA is honored to share that Kelly Reynolds, director of Education and Workforce Strategy & Policy, was appointed as vice chair of the Education and Workforce Development Committee for the Valley Industry & Commerce Association (VICA). In early February, Adam Gottlieb, director of Postsecondary Strategy & Policy, represented UNITE-LA in the vice chair role, sharing key updates on early care and education investments and the proposed 2026–27 State Budget.

The L.A. Region K-16 Collaborative was honored by Assemblymember Mike Gibson, who represents Compton and surrounding communities, with a Certificate of Recognition in honor of its work aligning Los Angeles area education, workforce and employer partners to support equitable student access and success leading to meaningful careers.

On Feb. 12, UNITE-LA's Director of Digital Equity, Liliana Aide Monge, provided testimony at an in-person hearing of the California Public Utilities Commission regarding the proposed merger between Charter Communications and Cox Communications.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 5, 2026

MEDIA CONTACT:
Claudine Battisti

UNITE-LA LAUNCHES CALIFORNIA ECONOMIC MOBILITY FELLOWSHIP TO ADVANCE JOB QUALITY AND ECONOMIC MOBILITY