Jessica Falcon
Director Workforce Development, MMEC
Talk Title
Empowering Careers: Building Skills for the Future Workforce
Description of Talk
Workforce development empowers K-12 students by equipping them with essential skills, career awareness, and hands-on learning opportunities. By fostering partnership among academia, industry, and the government, we can bridge the gap between education and real world careers. Investing in early workforce development ensures students are prepared for future success.
Biography
Jessica Falcon is the Director of Workforce Development of the Midwest Microelectronics Consortium (MMEC). In this role, Jessica is responsible for working and growing partnerships among industry, government, and academia developing a sustainable workforce. In addition to the growth of partners, Jessica is responsible for catapulting specific areas of awareness and implementation of the MMEC workforce initiative. She is passionate about supporting partners and educating them on how to grow a robust workforce with a broad framework of characteristics.
Jessica began her career in the federal service as a student hire completing her bachelor’s degree in psychology, in the 88th Air Base Wing Directors Office in 2009. As she completed her education, she moved on to the Air Force Research Lab and started as a testing technician for the School of Aerospace Medicine in 2011. Jessica grew into the role and continued to excel and evolve her role to Lead Instructional Systems Developer and Testing and Evaluations Lead. She facilitated curriculum development for five departments graduating approximately 6,000 students annually. Jessica advanced again during this time as Chief Standards and Evaluations Branch, where she continued to work with the departments and students while managing an internal team.
As a lifelong educator, transformational and intentional leader, Jessica’s passion, drive, and effectiveness come from 14 years of serving active-duty, reserve, and civilian trainees. Her commitment to the education and workforce enterprise is unparalleled. Her goal for the future of MMEC is to create an ecosystem of collaboration, and thought provocation, and develop a sustainable program that supports the nation.