Grants Management Coordinator

USGBC California helps expand green career pathways for more than 2.5M students. The partnership with California State University and the Foundation for California Community Colleges helps provide green workforce development opportunities across the state's public higher education systems. Published August 25, 2026 Los Angeles-based U.S. Green Building Council California (USGBC California) has announced partnership agreements with California State University (CSU) and the Foundation for California Community Colleges, the official nonprofit partner to the California Community Colleges (CCC). These partnerships bring together more than 2.5 million undergraduate, graduate and community college students across 22 CSU campuses and 116 CCCs - amplifying access to green career pathways, technical training, hands-on internships and robust professional networks. As California works toward state net zero and climate resilience targets, USGBC California says these partnerships aim to develop a skilled local talent pipeline that is equipped to design, build, operate and maintain sustainable infrastructure across the state and adapt buildings for a hotter, more wildfire-prone environment. "California's climate goals will ultimately be built by people," says USGBC California CEO Ben Stapleton. "These partnerships give us an extraordinary opportunity to connect millions of students to the skills, relationships and real-world experience that can turn climate ambition into careers. By creating clearer pathways from the classroom into the building industry, we can grow the workforce California needs while opening those opportunities to communities across the state." The partnerships establish comprehensive workforce development frameworks tailored to expand access to sustainability resources across all participating campuses, faculty and student populations. Some initiatives include: * Complimentary Memberships and Professional Networks: USGBC California provides hundreds of memberships for CSU and community college students, faculty and staff per campus. Members gain access to USGBC California's statewide Community Hub, technical expert networks, mentorship programs and the opportunity to engage as either participants or leaders in regional and topic-based committees; * Dedicated Landing Page: Custom web portals - one for CSU and one for the CCC - enable seamless access to educational resources, webinars, certificate programs, events, networking and membership benefits; * Industry-Recognized Green Workforce Training: Students and staff gain access to USGBC California's Learning Management System (LMS) and training portfolio, with most offerings provided at no cost. Certificates cover critical climate topics such as embodied carbon, electrification, zero waste, occupant health, building performance standards, extreme heat and wildlife defense. Many training courses are eligible for AIA and GBCI continuing education credits; * Green Building Corps Internships: Priority application consideration for CSU and community college students to participate in USGBC California's structured Green Building Corps internship program. Interns work directly with USGBC California staff across key programs, including Green Homes California, statewide building performance standards, green schools, advocacy and policy and building innovation; * USGBC California invites CSU and CCC campuses to participate in targeted career events that connect students directly to hiring managers, industry mentors and green job openings; * Policy Advocacy & Innovation: Each partner system will have the opportunity to send three campus representatives to USGBC California's annual Green Building Advocacy Day in Sacramento, directly engaging state policymakers; and * Campus Green Buildings Showcase: Green Building Corps interns and CSU campus teams will integrate university facilities into EcoMapCA, creating interactive public education tours that showcase sustainable campus architecture and energy efficiency milestones. "Community colleges have been supporting trades and technical training for decades, and partnering with USGBC California to create even more green career opportunities will generate enormous benefits across the state," says Aris Hovasapian, director of climate action and procurement initiatives at the Foundation for California Community Colleges. Sponsored Content After 10 years of seeing the former Wangler furniture store stand vacant, local residents in Regensburg, Germany, were pleased to see a crew from Metz GmbH arrive to tear down the building. At the center of the job site is a Sennebogen 830 R-HDD E Series material handler fitted with a variety of attachments to bring down and extract the material, sort it and load it for on-site crushing "As the community college system aspires to achieve systemwide climate action goals, as we strive to connect classroom learning to sustainable building practices and as we support the emerging green economy," he adds, "this partnership will lift up the communities served by our colleges by providing career pathways in sustainability to members of those very communities that have traditionally felt the first and most adverse impacts of climate change." Get curated news on YOUR industry. Enter your email to receive its newsletters.

Fresno State awarded grant to advance nursing education across Central Valley. The Central California Center for Excellence in Nursing at Fresno State will lead a regional effort to strengthen nursing education across the San Joaquin Valley with support from a $186,300 grant awarded to the Fresno State Foundation to develop nursing faculty, improve clinical training and expand collaboration among nursing programs and healthcare partners. Awarded by the Foundation for California Community Colleges' Nursing Education Investment Grant Program, Fresno State was one of two recipients this year, along with San Bernardino Valley College. The project will focus on three areas: * Strengthening regional collaboration and leadership among academic and clinical partners. * Improving clinical placement coordination by using regional data to support coordinated planning, greater transparency and informed decision-making. * Developing nursing educators and clinical preceptors through a hybrid faculty development program focused on learner-centered supervision, coaching, feedback and equitable evaluation practices. "For the Central California Center for Excellence in Nursing, this award reinforces our mission of advancing nursing education through regional collaboration," said Dr. Marie Gilbert, director of the Central California Center for Excellence in Nursing and principal investigator for the grant. "Ultimately, the greatest impact of this award extends beyond any single institution. By investing in educators, clinical partners and shared regional infrastructure, the Foundation for California Community Colleges is helping strengthen the preparation of practice-ready nurses who will care for the communities within the Central San Joaquin Valley." Since 2006, the Central California Center for Excellence in Nursing, housed within the College of Health and Human Services at Fresno State, has brought together nursing education and practice partners to address regional workforce challenges and improve the preparation of future nurses. Today, the center coordinates the Central San Joaquin Valley Clinical Education Collaborative, which includes 16 nursing programs and 10 clinical partners across the region. "One of the things that makes this award unique is that it isn't designed to support a single nursing program or institution," Gilbert said. "Instead, it invests in regional infrastructure that brings together nursing programs and healthcare organizations to strengthen nursing education across the Central Valley." The Central California Center for Excellence in Nursing at Fresno State will use the funds to support five community colleges while also benefiting 11 additional nursing programs - including Fresno State's - and 10 clinical partners, including: * Fresno State * Clovis Adult Education * College of the Sequoias * Fresno Adult School * Fresno City College * Fresno Pacific University * Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts * Lemoore College * Madera Community College * National University * Porterville Community College * Samuel Merritt University * San Joaquin Valley College * Tulare Adult School * Unitek Learning * Visalia Adult School Clinical partners: * Adventist Health Central Valley Network * Clovis Community Medical Center * Community Regional Medical Center * Fresno Heart and Surgical Hospital * Kaiser Permanente Fresno * Kaweah Delta Health Care District * Saint Agnes Medical Center * Sierra View Medical Center * Valley Children's Healthcare * VA Central California Healthcare System Lead with pride. Celebrating the generosity and vision shaping Fresno State's future. Join the movement at leadwithpride.fresnostate.edu. Academics Giving Research Academics Giving Student Success Academics Community Giving