Welcome to your March updates from Sierra Jobs First.
This month marks one year since the Governing Council vote to award Catalyst funding to nearly 40 projects, selected for their impact on climate-forward, inclusive job growth in the seven-county Sierra Jobs First region, and many of those projects are already starting to demonstrate on-the-ground impacts in our region.
Read on for highlights from several of our projects, other regional news, and other opportunities to stay involved in forging a community-led, prosperous future for our region.
Thank you,
The Sierra Jobs First Team
Sierra Jobs First News & Updates
Your Input Requested by April 30: Eastern Sierra Outdoor Recreation Survey
Inyo, Mono, and Alpine Counties are inviting residents and visitors to share their perspectives to complete the Tri-County Economic Impact Analysis of Recreation, a Sierra Jobs First project designed to better understand how outdoor recreation impacts local communities, businesses, and visitors throughout the Eastern Sierra.
Insights gathered from the survey will help local leaders and regional partners better understand recreation patterns, economic impacts, and priorities for future improvements.
The survey is open through March and April. Complete the brief survey here.
Next Sierra Healthcare Industry Partnership (SHIP) Working Group Meeting April 8
Your input is requested on recent updates to the Sierra Region Healthcare Activation Plan, It is now available at sierraindustry.org/ship for public feedback.
The next SHIP working group meeting is on April 8th 9:30-11am. The agenda will focus on a discussion of upcoming grant opportunities and funding pursuits currently underway among SHIP partners.
To join the virtual meeting via Zoom, click here.
Next Recreation & Tourism Working Group Meeting April 20
The next Recreation & Tourism working group meeting will take place on April 20th at 3:30 PM and will focus on Climate Resiliency.
The session will dig into how regional projects are addressing Climate Resiliency and how this affects the Recreation & Tourism sector in our region. For more information, join the SierraWorks mailing list here.
Your Input Requested: Inform Development of an Industrial Arts Training Program in the Sierra
Rural County Representatives of California (RCRC) received a Sierra Jobs First Catalyst award to research developing a new Industrial Arts program in the Sierra Region. A consulting group led by Karen Y. Zamarripa will be conducting the research in partnership with Amador College Connect (ACC). The project builds on RCRC’s prior work, incorporating further workforce analysis, review of new workforce development strategies, including micro-badging and credentials, and insights from leaders like yourself regarding regional workforce needs.
A critical part of this workforce needs assessment is gathering your feedback through a detailed survey available here.
This survey will inform the development of a new industrial arts program in the Sierra Region. This detailed survey could take 30 minutes of your time. Please submit your responses by Thursday, April 30, 2026.
Catalyst Projects in the News
Traveling Art Exhibition, From Here to There, Opened February 26 in Inyo County – Coming Soon to Your County!
Sierra 7 Arts Alliance, a Sierra Jobs First Catalyst-funded partnership between arts organizations from all the Sierra Jobs First counties, hosted the opening of its travelling art show, From Here to There, on February 26. Read about the opening in Sierra Wave media here.
In her opening remarks at the exhibition, Naomi Hart Johnson of C5 Studios, a lead applicant on the Catalyst grant, explained the importance of the project and why a travelling exhibition best exemplified the Sierra 7 mission:
“We’re all rural arts organizations coming together in this partnership to try to support one another, to be able to pool resources, to collaborate, and to try to do some collective problem-solving. Rural arts organizations are really struggling to thrive at a difficult economic time, in a rural environment where we don’t have access to the big city donors and resources. What we do have is access to this beautiful place where we live, so we felt that it was really fitting for our first ever project to be an art show– rather than just creating a partnership or alliance that holds meetings.”
In the coming months, the exhibition will be travelling to all seven Sierra Jobs First counties– Visit C5 Studio’s website to find out when the exhibition will be coming to your county.
Eastern Sierra Business Resource Center Brings Award-Winning Customer Service Training to the Eastern Sierra, With an Eye Towards Local Business Needs
In February, the Eastern Sierra Business Resource Center, a Sierra Jobs First Catalyst project funded through a grant to the Eastern Sierra Council of Governments (ESCOG) hosted six free sessions of an award-winning customer service training seminar over two days in three locations to accommodate the staffing needs of Inyo and Mono county businesses.
The unpredictable Eastern Sierra weather made the lift of presenting the training in a way that would allow businesses to provide the training for all its customer-facing employees even more challenging, leading to a last-minute pivot in presenting two of the sessions virtually. Read about the successful sessions in the Inyo Register.
Eastern Sierra Microloan Program
The BRC has also partnered with TMC Community Capital to bring information about microloans to small businesses in the region. Learn more and register for the information session, to be held March 27, here.
Regional News
Sierra CAMP Resources Now Available for Free
Sierra Climate and Adaptation Mitigation Partnership (Sierra CAMP)
Sierra Nevada (or Sierra adjacent!) jurisdictions, non-profit organizations, land trusts, advocates, and beyond are invited to join Sierra Business Council’s FREE Sierra regional climate collaborative!
The Sierra CAMP, is a regional climate collaborative that was established in 2014. This Sierra Business Council program represents the Sierra Nevada’s climate concerns and actions at a state and regional level. Sierra CAMP is also a space for climate planning professionals to share best practices and innovation across the region.
Currently, Sierra CAMP is tracking updates to CalEnviroScreen 5.0. We will submit a comment letter to advocate for more indicators (e.g., drought, extreme heat) to represent the Sierra Nevada Region better.
After several years of being closed to non-members, Sierra CAMP is now open to the public free of charge. To join, please email eswalander@sierrabusiness.org to let him know that you’re interested in Sierra CAMP.