California Jobs First

 In 2021, Governor Newsom launched the $600 million Regional Investment Initiative (formerly known as the Community Economic Resilience Fund, or CERF) to support California’s 13 regions to create quality jobs and bolster their resilience to climate and global challenges impacting the state’s diverse regional economies. As part of this program, each of the 13 regions has built a California Jobs First Collaborative tasked with developing a clear vision for their region’s economic future.

California Jobs First will support high-road economic development plans to create equitable access to quality jobs. High-road economic development supports environmentally sustainable businesses that pay living wages and create opportunities for career growth. As California recovers from the economic distress of COVID-19, California Jobs First aims to ensure that the state’s economy works for all California residents, particularly those who have historically been marginalized.

In the Bay Area, organizations have come together to create the Bay Area Jobs First Collaborative (formerly High Road Transition Collaborative) that include balanced representation from workforce, community, labor, business, government, economic development, education, philanthropy, and indigenous communities. 

The State has chosen one Jobs First Collaborative in each region to receive a California Jobs First grant of $5 million for a two-year planning process. After the initial $5 million planning grants are provided, an additional $500 million for implementation will be administered in rolling, competitive grants.

At the request of multiple Bay Area Jobs First Collaborative partners, All Home took on the role of regional convener, responsible for coordinating with experts and stakeholders across all nine Bay Area counties to deliver on the purpose of California Jobs First and run a transparent, inclusive, and democratic planning process that the region can rally behind. 

All Home is focused on creating regional solutions to improve housing and economic security of the over-one-million individuals living in Extremely Low Income households in the Bay Area, many of whom could benefit from the high-paying jobs and economic infrastructure that California Jobs First funds will help create.

The Steering Committee is responsible for governing the Bay Area Jobs First Collaborative, providing overall guidance and direction to the Collaborative. Additionally, the Steering Committee has voting power on all major decisions, including financial oversight, contractor approvals, and the ultimate strategic direction of economic development advanced by the Collaborative.

• Aaron Burnett, Canal Alliance
• Amber Twitchell, On the Move
• Andreas Cluver, Building Trades Council of Alameda
• Angelica Cabande, South of Market Community Action Network
• Ada Chan, ABAG / MTC
• Josh Sonnenfeld, UC Berkeley Labor Center
• Carolina Martinez, California Association for Micro Enterprise Opportunity (CAMEO)
• Chris Rico, Solano Economic Development Corporation
• Rob Hope, San Francisco Foundation
• Jeff Bellisario, Bay Area Council Economic Institute (BAC)
• Kim Tavaglione, San Francisco Labor Council
• Kit O’Doherty, Bay Area Community College Consortium
• Brad Paul, Housing and Homelessness Organizations
• Louise Auerhahn, Working Partnerships USA
• Paul Fong, CA Federation of Teachers
• Stephanie Reynolds, Indian Health Center of Santa Clara Valley
• Tamia Brown, Contra Costa Workforce Development Board
• Tamisha Walker, Safe Return Project
• Zoe Siegel, Greenbelt Alliance
  
  See past Steering Committees

In early 2025, the Bay Area Jobs First Collaborative appointed Sector Investment Coordinators to lead Activation Plans for five of the region’s key sectors identified in our Regional Economic Strategic Plan: Advanced Manufacturing, Battery Manufacturing, Early Care and Education, Healthcare, and Transportation Electrification.

These Activation Plans serve as roadmaps for investment and growth in the Bay Area, with a focus on increasing high-road job opportunities for our region’s disinvested communities, ensuring climate resilience, and ultimately realizing sustainable economic strategies.

The Bay Area Jobs First Collaborative is distributing $9 million of Catalyst funding for development/design activities for initiatives that will help build a long-lasting regional economic development infrastructure in the Bay Area. At the end of 2024, the Collaborative accepted proposals that center and empower communities and workers, creates quality jobs, and address long-standing inequalities and climate vulnerabilities. Applicants were able to apply for up to $1 million for single-county projects and $1.5 million for multi-county projects — learn more here. On January 10, 2025, we announced the ten projects selected to receive the Catalyst funding — view the announcement here.

January 2026

• Slides
• Recording

Archive of 2025 meeting materials

Archive of 2024 meeting materials

Archive of 2023 meeting materials

• Regional Plan Part 1 (Final)
• Regional Plan Part 2 (Final)
• Activation Plans – view all here
  • Advanced & Precision Manufacturing
  • Battery Manufacturing (Battery Supply Chain)
  • Early Care & Education
  • Healthcare
  • Transportation Electrification

*Please email [email protected] for edits to Regional Plan Part 1 or Regional Plan Part 2. Requested edits will be reviewed and discussed by the Steering Committee on a quarterly basis and any approved edits will be reflected in the documents on a quarterly basis.

Below are key documents related to the work of the Bay Area Jobs First Collaborative.

• California Jobs First Brand Guidelines
• Executive Summary of the California Jobs First Proposal
• Planning Phase Plan Document
• California Jobs First Proposal
• Stipends, Honorariums & Participant Compensation Policy – this policy can also be found on the SFOEWD directives page.
• Implementation Criteria
• Construction Readiness Assessment
• Eligible Project Categories

The Bay Area Jobs First Collaborative is still growing. If you or your organization are interested in getting involved, have questions about the Bay Area Jobs First Collaborative, or would like to receive updates about California Jobs First and the Collaborative’s process, please fill out this form or email [email protected].