Tina Ngo Bartel, director of the San Diego/Imperial Center of Excellence, has been honored with a national 2023 Community, Economic, and Workforce Research Award from the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER) and the LMI Institute.

Ngo Bartel is the recipient of a new award category – industry collaboration – and was selected for the award in recognition of  “a community college approach to investing in industry sectors.” 

Awards honor “the achievements of outstanding researchers and organizations … to create a culture of excellence in promoting economic, workforce, and community development.”

The award is in recognition of Ngo Bartel’s work on guiding regional investments with labor market research. Investments led to new or modified programs that address social mobility in traditionally low-wage industries. 

One example is a report that examined the need for more child care entrepreneurs and more coordination among regional stakeholders to increase wages in the San Diego/Imperial region. The study surveyed 339 childcare providers and explored solutions for an existing workforce shortage.

Congratulations, Tina! Your fellow COE colleagues throughout the state applaud you!