{"id":53016,"date":"2026-05-08T16:14:48","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T21:14:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/?p=53016"},"modified":"2026-05-08T16:14:49","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T21:14:49","slug":"acc-convenes-national-leaders-to-shape-the-future-of-education-and-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/2026\/05\/08\/acc-convenes-national-leaders-to-shape-the-future-of-education-and-work\/","title":{"rendered":"ACC Convenes National Leaders to Shape the Future of Education and Work"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/05\/RS33080_20260430-HLC-Future-Makers-Summit-ca-194_lpr-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\u201cTwo women participate in a discussion at a summit. A Black woman with curly hair and a patterned shirt speaks into a microphone, gesturing with her hands. To her right, a young Black woman with curly hair wears a blue blouse and speaks with her hands raised. A third person, a white man, sits to the left, holding a microphone and looking at the speakers.\u201d\" class=\"wp-image-53017\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/05\/RS33080_20260430-HLC-Future-Makers-Summit-ca-194_lpr-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/05\/RS33080_20260430-HLC-Future-Makers-Summit-ca-194_lpr-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/05\/RS33080_20260430-HLC-Future-Makers-Summit-ca-194_lpr-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/05\/RS33080_20260430-HLC-Future-Makers-Summit-ca-194_lpr-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/05\/RS33080_20260430-HLC-Future-Makers-Summit-ca-194_lpr-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/05\/RS33080_20260430-HLC-Future-Makers-Summit-ca-194_lpr-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/05\/RS33080_20260430-HLC-Future-Makers-Summit-ca-194_lpr-1320x881.jpg 1320w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Austin Community College District (ACC) brought together national leaders in education, technology, and workforce development for its inaugural <a href=\"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/alliance-of-future-makers\/summit-of-future-makers\/\"><strong>Summit of Future Makers<\/strong><\/a>, positioning Central Texas at the center of conversations shaping what comes next.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hosted by <a href=\"https:\/\/offices.austincc.edu\/futurist\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>ACC\u2019s Office for the Future<\/strong><\/a>, April 30 \u2013 May 1, 2026, the two-day summit focused on the theme \u201cCreating the Future: From Insight to Impact\u201d to explore how community colleges can actively design the future of learning and work.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cCommunity colleges have a responsibility not just to respond to the future, but to help shape it,\u201d said ACC Chancellor Dr. Russell Lowery-Hart. \u201cThis summit brought together leaders willing to ask hard questions, challenge outdated models, and think differently about how we prepare students for a rapidly changing world. If we want students and communities to thrive in what comes next, higher education has to become more connected, more agile, and more aligned with the future of work.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As industries evolve rapidly\u2014from artificial intelligence to advanced manufacturing\u2014employers are looking for workers with new skills. At the same time, students need faster, more flexible pathways into those careers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Summit of Future Makers focused on bridging that gap\u2014bringing together leaders from across the country to explore how colleges can:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Prepare students for jobs that don\u2019t yet exist<\/li>\n<li>Use emerging technologies like AI to improve learning<\/li>\n<li>Build more responsive, workforce-aligned education models<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">By the Numbers<\/h3>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The intimate and engaging event drew change-makers from Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Illinois, and across Texas.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>140 in-person attendees<\/li>\n<li>20 dedicated staff and student volunteers<\/li>\n<li>4 inspiring breakout sessions led by Greg Brisco, Dr. Mary Darden, Dr. JaNice Marshall, Meme Styles, and Jose Teran<\/li>\n<li>2 insightful keynote speakers\u2014leading design futurist Mark Bryan and SXSW legend Hugh Forrest<\/li>\n<li>1 replica of the \u201cBack to the Future\u201d DeLorean&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"684\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/05\/RS33063_20260430-HLC-Future-Makers-Summit-ca-008_scr-1024x684.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-53019\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/05\/RS33063_20260430-HLC-Future-Makers-Summit-ca-008_scr-1024x684.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/05\/RS33063_20260430-HLC-Future-Makers-Summit-ca-008_scr-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/05\/RS33063_20260430-HLC-Future-Makers-Summit-ca-008_scr-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/05\/RS33063_20260430-HLC-Future-Makers-Summit-ca-008_scr-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/05\/RS33063_20260430-HLC-Future-Makers-Summit-ca-008_scr.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Event Highlights<\/h3>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">ACC Chancellor Dr. Russell Lowery-Hart kicked off the summit, introducing the College\u2019s Futurist, Dr. Monique Reeves. In her plenary, Dr. Reeves argued that higher education institutions must treat inclusion as a driver of innovation and proactively embrace creative disruption by courageously eliminating outdated, fragmented systems to make space for agile, forward-looking models, such as digital twins and living intelligence.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Emceed by Student Rights &amp; Responsibilities Senior Conduct Coordinator David DeRouen, the programming featured future-focused leaders and discussions, including the Future Fit Panel, which offered a dynamic discussion on preparing learners for jobs that don&#8217;t exist yet. The panel featured voices from IBM, Packback, ImaginX, and the City College of Chicago.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Breakout sessions allowed for deeper dives into critical topics such as AI, interrogative reasoning, and higher education innovation.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Summit marked the culmination of a year of collaboration by the inaugural Alliance of Future Makers (AFM) cohort. The Summit of Future Makers was the catalyst for a broader movement. As community colleges continue to build a workforce ready for what comes next, ACC is looking forward to growing this community.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To apply for the next AFM cohort, visit the <a href=\"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/alliance-of-future-makers\/\"><strong>Alliance of Future Makers website.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Austin Community College District (ACC) brought together national leaders in education, technology, and workforce development for its inaugural Summit of Future Makers, positioning Central Texas at the center of conversations shaping what comes next. Hosted &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/2026\/05\/08\/acc-convenes-national-leaders-to-shape-the-future-of-education-and-work\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3930,"featured_media":53017,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[4389,4282,4362],"class_list":["post-53016","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-announcements","tag-alliance-of-the-future-makers","tag-office-for-the-future","tag-summit-of-future-makers"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53016","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3930"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53016"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53016\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53017"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53016"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53016"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53016"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}