Sheila Jackson

As Director of Workforce Partnerships, Sheila Jackson cultivates Alliance relationships with employers and workforce organizations to ensure that Linked Learning provides students with the skills necessary for careers in high-wage, high-skill, high-growth sectors—and that employers have the future workforce they need to drive California’s economy.

A devoted education and workforce development expert, Sheila has more than a decade of experience building and implementing high-growth partnerships between education and business. She has a passion for unlocking sustainable career pathways for youth, inspiring the private sector to create equitable access to their industries, and putting young people in touch with the skills they need to thrive in the future of work.

Sheila was previously a director at Jobs for the Future (JFF) where she focused on employer-led talent development and education initiatives. Through these initiatives, she worked to improve systems alignment and close equity gaps in the transitions from high school and postsecondary education to careers. Sheila also led the development of state and regional college and career pathways across the country through JFF's Pathways to Prosperity initiative, where she supported cross-sector collaboration among policy leaders, educators, and employers.

Throughout her career, Sheila has made important contributions to dialogue and action on private sector investments in career pathways design, dual enrollment, work-based learning, and equitable economic advancement. Prior to joining JFF, she worked in college access programming in the Bay Area and as a special education paraprofessional in the San Francisco Unified School District. 

Sheila earned her master’s degree in education at Harvard University and her bachelor's degrees in English literature and French studies from Wesleyan University.