Chattanooga 2.0 Coalition Members and Supporters,

I am honored and excited to introduce myself as Chattanooga 2.0’s new Executive Director. As a two-year member of the coalition myself, I am no stranger to the collective impact mission of Chattanooga 2.0, and have a deep knowledge of the local K-12 landscape. Many of you will know me through our collaborative work to successfully launch Student Success Planning in Hamilton County Schools in 2019 and then urgently respond to the COVID-19 crisis together in 2020. Most recently, I served as Chief of Staff under HCS Superintendent Bryan Johnson, Ed.D. and Interim Superintendent Nakia Towns, Ed.D., partnering with many of your organizations to achieve historic academic outcomes for the students of Chattanooga-Hamilton County.

I also have a personal investment in seeing our community’s children realize their full potential. As a mother of two boys (with a third boy on the way!) and the wife of a UTC athletic coach, I am committed to offering every child and student in our community the opportunity to experience an inclusive economy and attain a thriving wage job.

In 2015, Chattanooga 2.0 was formed with a goal to transform education and workforce development along the cradle-to-career continuum. In the seven years since its formation, the Chattanooga 2.0 coalition has achieved dozens of collaborative successes, while the dedicated Chattanooga 2.0 backbone team has served as the convening entity that brings partners together to align resources and strategic focus, seeking to improve outcomes for all children, students, and families in Hamilton County.

The Chattanooga 2.0 backbone organization’s strategic commitment is to stimulate transformation for local early childhood, K-12, and higher education learners by:

• Aligning Priorities
• Driving Change
• Fostering Shared Accountability, and
• Convening and Championing Partners

As we close out 2021, I want to take a moment to double-down on that commitment. In the new year, Chattanooga 2.0 will zero-in on a few critical areas of our strategic plan, Forward Together. Although the entirety of our Forward Together plan will continuously inform our work over the long-term, in 2022, the Chattanooga 2.0 backbone team will be laser-focused on a small set of high-impact actions to drive cradle-to-career change, now. Specifically, our short-term focus will be on cultivating the outputs of select Action Teams, supporting the Hamilton County Children’s Cabinet, and implementing a limited number of urgently important strategies in early childhood, K-12, and college & career. You can expect to hear more from us about this work – and how you can contribute – early in 2022.

Chattanooga 2.0 is an organization that believes in continuous improvement. To that end, I want to hear from you. Please join me for open office hours to say hello and share your thoughts and vision for Chattanooga 2.0. Or email me anytime at JBronsonChatt2@gmail.com.

OPEN OFFICE HOURS

10:00 AM
Wednesday, December 22nd
Wednesday, January 5th

https://us05web.zoom.us/j/88028737956?pwd=bDF3bG45eDY1TlRBVFEzcnVYZHIrQT09
Zoom Meeting ID: 880 2873 7956
Zoom Passcode: TFU9Kw

In Partnership,

Jen Bronson
Executive Director