Dr. Lande Ajose is the Executive Director of California Competes. In this role, she spearheads the organization’s work calling for innovative solutions for coordinating the state’s education and workforce challenges. An expert in education and job training of low-income adults, Lande has extensive experience in developing effective change strategies through her work at Informing Change where she directed complex client projects related to education, poverty alleviation, workforce development and issues of inequity. Community college success was a major focus of Lande’s previous work both at MDRC, where she managed a comprehensive evaluation of the Achieving the Dream initiative, and during her tenure at the James Irvine Foundation. Lande has served on the California Student Aid Commission, appointed by Governor Jerry Brown.