Our History
In 2015, public servant and public policy strategist Leo Reddy co-authored a report with the Society of Manufacturing Engineers titled “Transforming Career Counseling.” That groundbreaking effort led to the formation of the Coalition for Career Development (CCD), and later the Coalition for Career Development Center.
Read on to learn about our organization’s milestones.
The Coalition was formed
Following the public release of the “Transforming Career Counseling: Bridging School to Career in the Workforce of the Future” report, Manufacturing Skill Standards Council CEO Leo Reddy formed the CCD management team.
The management team decided to form a Coalition for Career Development at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce-hosted conference on career readiness. Work on CCD recruitment began shortly thereafter.
The CCD recruited members with a draft white paper on “Career Readiness for All,” which presented the new Five-Pillar Solutions Framework.
The CCD’s industry-led Founder’s Council was formed.
The CCD held a National Career Development Summit in Washington, D.C., which included a detailed review of the five pillars in a draft white paper. The CCD also released a vision statement: “The Coalition for Career Development is committed to making career readiness the first priority of American education.”
The CCD publicly released its “Career Readiness for All” 2019 White Paper and Recap of 2018 Summit.
The CCD hosted a National Career Development Summit in Washington, D.C.
The Coalition for Career Development Center launched its Think Tank
The CCD Center completed its transition from an informal coalition to a nonprofit 501(c)(3) think tank under the name Coalition for Career Development Center. Jan Bray was appointed as the organization’s first CEO.
The CCD Center launched the State Leaders Career Readiness Network.
The CCD Center hosted a second Career Readiness Summit (Virtual).
The CCD Center released its inaugural “Condition of Career Readiness in the United States” focused on state-level career readiness policies. The report made recommendations on each of the five pillars.
Eva Mitchell became the second CEO of the CCD Center.
The CCD Center CEO shared an assessment of the foundational work and options for the next level of the Center’s work.
The CCD Center CEO hosted a series of plenary sessions to define the key policy and practice actions for each of the five pillars.
The CCD Center CEO and Executive Committee identified the next set of priorities for the CCD Center’s work.
The Board voted to accept the organization’s new strategic direction as a “think and DO tank.”
The CCD Center publicly released “A Roadmap for Industry Engagement and Action Across Sectors” as a basis for its technical assistance work.
The CCD Center hosted a Career Readiness Summit to preview and discuss the findings of the next “Condition of Career Readiness in the United States” report.
The CCD Center released the second “Report on the Condition of Career Readiness” in the United States and state map
The ALLready Era: The CCD Center expands its technical assistance work through the ALLready initiative.
Staff and cross-sector experts began developing a set of playbooks for leaders in industry, education, community, and local government to create an ecosystem of career readiness support for students in the middle grades.
The CCD Center announced the Leo Reddy Career Readiness Award and invited applications from K-12 schools.
The organization conducted a study to identify the best ways to elevate career readiness.
The CCD Center Board voted to adopt the ALLready brand to reflect the expansion of the organization’s work.
ALLready was conceptualized as an extension of the CCD Center and announced to Coalition leaders and allies, while a website build commenced.
The first set of ALLready-branded playbooks was released for career-ready school leaders, school coaches, community-based coaches, and industry leaders and employers.
ALLready is officially registered.