Featured Speaker

Mary Walshok, Ph.D.

Associate Vice Chancellor & Dean
University Extension

Dr. Mary Walshok is an industrial sociologist who has directed the continuing education and public programs arm of UC San Diego for nearly three decades, overseeing programs that educate approximately 56,000 enrollees annually. She is widely recognized as a thought leader on job creation, workforce readiness, and the new innovation economy. She has also been recognized for her many efforts to help accelerate the San Diego region’s economic vitality, assure a globally competitive talent pool, and help college graduates transition to employment areas that are in hot growth fields.

Walshok is co-author of Closing America’s Job Gap, and has authored two other books: Blue Collar Women, and Knowledge Without Boundaries: What America’s Research Universities Can Do for the Economy, the Workplace, and the Community. She will be speaking on her forthcoming book, Invention and Reinvention: The Evolution of San Diego’s High-Tech Economy, published by Stanford University Press.

Dr. Walshok received her B.A. from Pomona College and her M.A. and Ph.D. in sociology from Indiana University.