#223: Maricopa Community Colleges, Dell & NVIDIA on AI Workforce Development

In this EDUCAUSE episode, leaders from Maricopa Community Colleges, Dell, and NVIDIA break down what's actually broken in higher ed workforce pipelines — and what applied AI can do to fix it.

Featuring

Jess Evans is the Vice Chancellor and Chief Information Officer at Maricopa Community Colleges — founding member of the National AI Consortium alongside Miami-Dade and Houston Community Colleges, leading AI strategy across 10 colleges and 185,000+ students with one metric driving everything: student employability.

Adrienne Garber is the Chief Technology and Innovation Strategist at Dell Technologies for Higher Education — covering 17 states with a decade at Columbia University spanning roles as researcher, faculty member, student, and now strategic vendor partner.

Marie Breedlove is a Segment Sales leader at NVIDIA — working across all OEM partners and industries with a front-row view of where agentic AI, physical AI, and robotics are heading and what community colleges can uniquely do with NVIDIA's full-stack platform.

Timestamps

(1:00) Introductions — Maricopa, Dell & NVIDIA live at EDUCAUSE

(2:00) The student who almost skipped Python — and why it matters

(7:00) Students in shelters calling into Zoom — the real digital equity problem

(13:00) People think AI just happened — NVIDIA's 30-year history in higher ed

(17:00) Agentic AI, physical AI, and robotics — what community colleges must prepare for

(24:00) Reducing FUD across 10 colleges — Maricopa's AI Resource Center

(33:00) Under $100 a credit hour, zero debt, job-ready — the community college case

(38:00) Maricopa students running a real SOC for Homeland Security

(40:00) Empathy across the aisle — researcher, vendor, teacher, and student in one person

(45:00) The National AI Consortium February conference — come to Miami

Listen now: YouTube x Apple x Spotify

Whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways you can connect with TechTables:

1. 📬 The TechTables Newsletter

Thanks for reading TechTables! Get early access to new episodes, insights, upcoming events, and more — straight to your inbox.

Join now: https://www.techtables.com/ 

2. 🤝 Join the TechTables CIO Communities for Local Government

A private, vendor-free network where public sector CIOs share what’s actually working

Members get:

- 2x National Retreats (facilitated by Info-Tech Research Group & Gartner)

- 4x CIO Virtual Roundtables 

- Monthly “Behind the Mic” intelligence briefing doc

Apply to Join → https://techtables.com/communities-local-government

3. 🤝 The Better Together Virtual Series

The narrative-driven series bringing together industry partners and public sector CXOs. Discover the compelling stories that unfold when we stop working in silos and start building together.

»»» Email joe@techtables.com to learn more.

Platinum Newsletter Sponsor:

Missed out on Info-Tech LIVE in New Orleans? No worries, you can join TechTables & Info-Tech Research Group at Info-Tech LIVE 2026 - Las Vegas (June 9 - 11, 2026)!

Gold Newsletter Sponsor:

SentinelOne - Learn how SentinelOne empowers this state to stay secure.

Verizon Frontline -The advanced network that keeps first responders connected when it matters most.

Carahsoft - The Trusted Public Sector IT Solutions Provider™, supports government agencies and education/healthcare markets. Contact your Carahsoft rep today to access special discount pricing exclusively through the TechTables + Carahsoft partnership!

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit techtables.substack.com