The Project CAMINOS STEM Summer Academy at Cal Poly Pomona, supported by the L.A. Region K-16 Collaborative, expanded equitable access to hands-on STEM learning for high school students across Los Angeles, providing robotics, architecture and other immersive experiences that help students see college as within reach and themselves as active learners on a university campus.

Since 2019, UNITE-LA has led a regional effort to redesign the student transfer ecosystem, partnering with community colleges, CSU campuses and philanthropy to address policies, practices and institutional cultures that hinder degree completion. This work evolved into a student-centered initiative anchored by CSU Dominguez Hills and Cal Poly Pomona.

UNITE-LA and the Los Angeles Digital Equity Action League (LA DEAL) advanced a coordinated, countywide approach to digital equity—aligning cities, community organizations, public agencies and residents around strategies to expand access to affordable, reliable high-speed internet.

UNITE-LA strengthened Southern California's apprenticeship ecosystem by aligning workforce, education and industry partners to expand non-traditional earn-and-learn opportunities.

The L.A. Region K–16 Collaborative is the region's engine for aligning K–12 districts, higher education and industry partners to build seamless pathways into health care, computer science and engineering careers.

In 2025, UNITE-LA, alongside the L.A. Opportunity Youth Collaborative (OYC), supported the transition of Horizons 32K from planning to implementation, marking a major step in the region's effort to reduce youth disconnection by 32,000 by 2028. This year, partners launched a multi-sector Stewardship Board bringing together leaders from K–12, postsecondary, workforce and holistic support agencies to guide collaborative action across systems that shape young adults' education-to-career pathways.

At California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), Dr. Amber Johnson often returns to a simple but transformative question: What would it look like if students experienced college as a place where they inherently belong, years before they ever apply? As an associate professor of Health Science and director of the Center for Health Equity Research, Dr. Johnson helped launch the Sankofa Summer Academy in partnership with CSULB’s College of Health and Human Services, the Sankofa Parent Village, and the Long Beach Unified School District’s (LBUSD) Black Student Excellence Center. As part of the L.A. Region K-16 Collaborative, convened by UNITE-LA, these partners came together to intentionally design an early pathway rooted in culture, belonging and opportunity. What began as a pilot effort has become a living example of how aligned systems can expand access and reimagine student futures.

UNITE-LA is playing a collaborative leadership role in the Los Angeles Apprenticeship Hub Initiative, a new citywide effort to expand high-quality apprenticeship opportunities and advance long-term employment, economic mobility and workforce equity for Angelenos. The initiative will develop a comprehensive blueprint to strengthen and scale nontraditional registered apprenticeships by convening cross-sector partners from across the region.

In partnership with UNITE-LA’s Cash for College campaign and the L.A. Region K-16 Collaborative, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (CPP) hosted Jumpstart Your College Journey: Your Guide to Financial Aid and Student Success on Saturday, Dec. 13, on the CPP campus. A total of 137 students and family members attended the event, including 46 prospective high school and community college students and 35 current CPP students. Participants received guidance on short- and long-term financial planning from CPP staff and SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union, personalized support completing financial aid applications, a campus dining experience and opportunities to connect with CPP’s Student Success Division to learn about academic, personal and student support resources.

UNITE-LA hosted its final Health Sector Collaborative of 2025, convening 20 health care employers, educators and workforce leaders to explore promising practices in health care career pathways.