Sheila Thornton
President & CEO, OneFuture Coachella Valley
Sheila Thornton is President & CEO of OneFuture Coachella Valley. In her previous role as V.P. of Workforce Excellence for the Coachella Valley Economic Partnership, she lead the separation and launch of OneFuture Coachella Valley as an independent nonprofit for the purpose of expanding regional efforts to align educational attainment with economic development.
Under Sheila’s leadership, OneFuture Coachella Valley facilitates a coalition of education and business leaders implementing the Coachella Valley Regional Plan for College and Career Success, a five-year strategic plan to produce an educated workforce and assure Coachella Valley students are prepared for success in college, career, and life. Since its inception, the coalition has achieved significant success on common regional goals in career academy/Linked Learning expansion, FAFSA completion and financial aid capture, scholarship giving, and community and employer engagement in support of students.
From 2001 to 2012, Sheila served as a health workforce and leadership development consultant providing project management and coalition building guidance to industry, education, and community organizations. She assisted organizations with strategic planning, mission advancement, cross-sector partnerships, grant writing and management and program implementation. In that capacity, she lead the development of CVEP’s Healthcare Industry Council, a model for aligning education and workforce strategies by sector and sub-region. The Council expanded opportunities for low-income, disadvantaged students to succeed in Kindergarten-12th grade health career pathways programs, college health sciences programs and higher level health professions.
In her early career, Sheila served as Analyst/Project Manager for an economic research and consulting firm and Director of Community Services for a non-profit hospital.
Sheila serves on the California Future Healthcare Workforce Commission, the National Advisory Committee for Health Career Connection, the national leadership team for the Ford Motor Company Fund Next Generation Initiative, the CSUSB Palm Desert Advancement Board and the Desert Sands Unified School District LCAP Advisory Committee. Sheila received a B.S. degree in Applied Math from Loyola Marymount University.
Sheila Thornton is President & CEO of OneFuture Coachella Valley. In her previous role as V.P. of Workforce Excellence for the Coachella Valley Economic Partnership, she lead the separation and launch of OneFuture Coachella Valley as an independent nonprofit for the purpose of expanding regional efforts to align educational attainment with economic development.
Under Sheila’s leadership, OneFuture Coachella Valley facilitates a coalition of education and business leaders implementing the Coachella Valley Regional Plan for College and Career Success, a five-year strategic plan to produce an educated workforce and assure Coachella Valley students are prepared for success in college, career, and life. Since its inception, the coalition has achieved significant success on common regional goals in career academy/Linked Learning expansion, FAFSA completion and financial aid capture, scholarship giving, and community and employer engagement in support of students.
From 2001 to 2012, Sheila served as a health workforce and leadership development consultant providing project management and coalition building guidance to industry, education, and community organizations. She assisted organizations with strategic planning, mission advancement, cross-sector partnerships, grant writing and management and program implementation. In that capacity, she lead the development of CVEP’s Healthcare Industry Council, a model for aligning education and workforce strategies by sector and sub-region. The Council expanded opportunities for low-income, disadvantaged students to succeed in Kindergarten-12th grade health career pathways programs, college health sciences programs and higher level health professions.
In her early career, Sheila served as Analyst/Project Manager for an economic research and consulting firm and Director of Community Services for a non-profit hospital.
Sheila serves on the California Future Healthcare Workforce Commission, the National Advisory Committee for Health Career Connection, the national leadership team for the Ford Motor Company Fund Next Generation Initiative, the CSUSB Palm Desert Advancement Board and the Desert Sands Unified School District LCAP Advisory Committee. Sheila received a B.S. degree in Applied Math from Loyola Marymount University.