Skills at the Center

Kathy Booth codirects the Center for Economic Mobility, transforming data into practical solutions. She connects education and workforce development by designing state longitudinal data systems, such as the California Cradle-to-Career Data System, and improving coordination between agencies, including California’s Career Education Master Plan. Her work helps clarify student economic outcomes, such as documenting earnings gains associated with upskilling, and guides the use of labor market information to create pathways to better paid, more stable jobs. Kathy has led statewide reform efforts in the areas of developmental education, expansion of student supports, the redesign of accountability frameworks, and Guided Pathways. She has a BA from Wesleyan University.

Rajinder Gill focuses on nontraditional learning and training programs that support skills-first hiring practices. She brings her previous experience as the cocreator of the New World of Work program, which scaled across all 116 California community colleges, and her role as Essential Skills Program CEO to projects at WestEd. Rajinder provides insights, synthesis information, and resources related to durable skills training, assessments, digital credentials, and learning and employment records (LERs) to help employers, learners, and job seekers navigate the rapidly changing workforce. While earning her MSEd at Dominican University, Rajinder analyzed effective college and career counseling practices through her thesis work at Oxford University.

Kate O’Rorke is the lead Project Manager for DataVista, the statewide data system for California Community Colleges. Throughout her career, she has focused on expanding education and career development programs for K–12, community college, and adult education students. Kate is the Chief Operating Officer and cofounder of the Essential Skills Program, which teaches employability skills and is supported by a curriculum, training, and verified credential process. She also led New World of Work, a career program that expanded across all 116 California community colleges. Kate has an MS in organizational leadership from Colorado State University and a BS in business from Arizona State University.

Erin Carter contributes to the research, development, and implementation of internal and external technology projects. She assists clients in stakeholder engagement and developing functional requirements for solutions that support program needs. Erin has years of project management experience in enterprise web development, data management, and training for education audiences, working closely with state, county, and district education groups and end users. She serves as product manager for WestEd SPARK and North Far North Careers and supports ongoing research on digital credentials and related technologies for the California Cradle-to-Career and Career Passport projects. Erin graduated with a degree in communications from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Sterling Smith helps educators and workforce professionals make data-informed decisions with social, economic, and labor market information to support student success and economic mobility. Before joining WestEd, he was a senior consultant at Lightcast, specializing in economic impact studies, workforce gap analysis, and program market assessments. He has worked with colleges, universities, and nongovernmental organizations across the United States and internationally, including California Community Colleges, South Dakota Board of Regents, and Colleges Wales. Sterling has a BS in agricultural economics from Washington State University, where he researched college debt and entrepreneurship and won an international business plan competition.

Rocio Ambrocio brings her project management expertise to high-visibility initiatives focused on data systems, workforce development, and adult learners. She oversees project progress, budgets, and contracts while drawing on her background of supporting Title I K–12 schools, after-school programs, and nonprofits to build college and career readiness programs. Ambrocio is passionate about collaborating with postsecondary administrators and educators to address factors impacting educational and economic mobility. Her work centers on supporting students with nonlinear educational paths, particularly first-generation, transfer, and adult learners. She additionally mentors staff across the agency and supports their growth. Rocio holds a BA from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a project management certificate from Google.

Mansi Master is an Operations Manager in WestEd’s Center for Economic Mobility. Managing daily operations in the Center for Mobility and Measurement, she contributes to proposals, finances, team management, recruitment, and professional development. She also directs the Code Alignment Project. Previously, she coordinated the LaunchBoard statewide data system and other postsecondary projects. Mansi holds a BA in psychology and economics from the University of Virginia and an MPA from George Mason University.

Rhegille Baltazar supports teams with project management and helps lead professional development during team meetings. She’s experienced in running engaging meetings, supporting and facilitating online technical assistance sessions and webinars via Zoom, and coordinating project tasks. One of her notable projects includes the coordination and facilitation of the California Cradle-to-Career Planning Process. Baltazar also has a background in teaching and curriculum development through Pin@y Educational Partnerships, which offers ethnic studies programs in San Francisco’s Excelsior District. She holds BAs in sociocultural anthropology and Asian American studies, with a minor in education, from the University of California, Davis.

Sherry Seibel combines technical expertise and research experience to examine how education pathways influence labor market outcomes. She has worked as a software engineer at organizations including Harvard’s Clinical and Translational Science Center and IQVIA, and has conducted workforce and credentialing research at Harvard’s Project on Workforce, The Burning Glass Institute, and Simmons University as a Visiting Scholar. Her research has focused on economic mobility, technical skill evaluation, and rapid reskilling programs. Sherry holds a BS in Computer Science from Simmons University and an EdM from Harvard Graduate School of Education, where she received an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship.