SACRAMENTO – Following a collaborative 18-month planning process involving over 100 public meetings with government leaders, community members and data experts, California’s Cradle-to-Career Data System is now entering its next phase of development with the hiring of its first director, Mary Ann Bates. Governor Gavin Newsom championed the unprecedented collaboration to move California from one of only eight states without such a system to building the nation’s most robust system to date.

“Thanks to the dedicated efforts of our public leaders, community partners and data experts, C...