Meet the Team

Lora Larkin

Regional Chair, Central Valley Mother Lode Regional Consortium
Bio Coming Soon
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Gary Potter

Regional Director of Employer Engagement-Central Subregion
Gary has a Master’s of Agricultural Education with an emphasis in Agricultural Engineering and Technology. Gary has a passion for agriculture and manufacturing and is excited to support the region in building strong pathways to the workforce for the region’s employers, students, and colleges.
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Adia Smith

Regional Director of Employer Engagement-South Subregion
Smith, who holds a Master of Science in Aviation, works with business and industry, colleges, and other stakeholders to help create work-based learning opportunities for students. She also proactively engages industry with Consortium colleges to create initiatives that enable student employment.
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Beatrice Licon

Director of Programs and Compliance
Licon, who holds a Master of Business Administration, ensures all financial information within the Central Valley Mother Lode Regional Consortium is reported and submitted. She works with the Chancellor’s Office to make sure the Consortium is in compliance with financial reporting and assists the colleges and schools with financial questions.
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Noah Morales

Accounting Coordinator
Morales, who holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting, assists with financial reporting for the Central Valley Mother Lode Regional Consortium. He works in support to the Direct of Programs and Compliance, ensuring that all financial information in the Consortium is within compliance.
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Rebecca Murillo

Program Director, Strong Workforce
Murillo, who holds a M.S. in Educational Counseling and M.A. Leadership and Conflict Resolution has worked in various roles for both four-year schools and community colleges. She will assist in helping to streamline processes to facilitate program management for the K12 SWP and SWP Consortium colleges with the Central Valley Mother Lode Regional Consortium.
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Patricia Salinas

Director, Central Valley/Motherlode Center of Excellence
The Interim District Director, Center of Excellence oversees grant project deliverables, goals, implementation, and evaluation. She serves as an external liaison to regional workforce partners and works to support data and reports to institutions throughout our region. The COE Director will ensure the prioritization of requests equitably through the region, will continuously review data and workforce relevance, and ensure staff meet project outcomes. The COE Director is dedicated to advancing educational excellence and fostering innovative learning environments. With over twenty-five years of experience in education, she brings a wealth of knowledge in grant project development, assessment, and educational administration. Patricia has an array of experience from across the public and private education sector serving in her prior roles as project director for UC Merced, Chief Diversity Officer and Title V Director for Fresno Pacific University, and Business Account Specialist for Proteus Inc. Patricia earned her M.A. in Higher Education Administration and Leadership from California State University, Fresno, and her B.A. in Business Administration from Fresno Pacific University.
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Vacant

Director of K14 TAP

Tanisha Gonzalez

Department Assistant III, Central Valley Mother Lode Regional Consortium
Tanisha Gonzalez is a dedicated professional and Bakersfield native, currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in business. Over the past five years, she has been a key contributor to workforce development at Bakersfield College, working under the Strong Workforce grant. Her efforts have been instrumental in helping the Career Education Department achieve its objectives, making a lasting impact on the community. Outside of her professional life, Tanisha is an avid baseball/softball fan, and when she’s not working, you can often find her at the softball fields with her family, traveling up and down California to watch her daughter play softball.
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Mary Watts

Regional Director of Employer Engagement-North Subregion
Mary is a first-generation college graduate with a master’s in marketing management and a bachelor’s in international relations. Mary has experience setting up paid internships, creating work-based learning opportunities, coaching students on career readiness skills, and helping set up an Eastern Sierra K-16 Collaborative. Mary was born in Kern County and currently lives in Calaveras County. In her role, Mary will support the growth and strengthening of college to career pipelines to better prepare students to graduate with gainful employment to meet the needs of the workforce.
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Adriana Fonseca

Regional Apprenticeship Manager, Central Valley Mother Lode Regional Consortium (CVML) | LAUNCH Apprenticeship Network

Central Valley Mother Lode Regional Consortium (CVML) | LAUNCH Apprenticeship Network

“I am thrilled to announce that I have recently been appointed as the new Manager, Regional Apprenticeship for the Central Valley Mother Lode Regional Consortium (CVML). My ten years of experience in marketing provided a strong foundation for my work at the Division of Apprenticeship Standards (DAS). As a DAS Apprenticeship Consultant, my job consisted of helping organizations identify workforce opportunities, assisting with the development and registration of apprenticeship programs that supported innovation. My essential duties included administering multiple registered programs by facilitating apprenticeship committee meetings, managing the registration of apprentices, and reviewing standard compliance. I addressed countless complex inquiries, provided technical advice and assisted program sponsors and employers on the effective maintenance and improvement of their existing apprenticeship programs. Developing and maintaining relationships among industry, labor, and education was critical to my success in creating over 20 programs during my tenure. My apprenticeship experience has been key as I navigate my current role with LAUNCH in partnership with CVML. With five years’ experience in apprenticeship, I excel at: Managing partnerships with state, county and city agencies, unions, local educational agencies, U.S. Department of Labor Office of Apprenticeship as well as other key stakeholders Composing registered apprenticeship standards thoroughly highlighting Division of Apprenticeship Standards, CA Labor Code and CA Code of Regulations requirements Developing and executing apprenticeship programs from design through implementation My previous role allowed me to gain valuable insights into the nuances of Registered Apprenticeship and the critical role they play in workforce development. I am excited to lead CVML’s efforts in establishing CVML as a regional apprenticeship hub and creating meaningful opportunities for individuals in our community. Please feel free to reach out – I look forward to connecting!”
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