Paula Chaon, Ford NGL Roadmap Coach, is a community coach with Ford Next Generation Learning working with progressive communities engaged in educational transformation around the career academy model. As a Ford NGL coach, she helps communities through visioning, strategic planning, and implementation of their high school transformation using career academies. She co-developed the Powerful Partnerships series for Ford NGL U and has hosted a series of webinars and professional development workshops to support implementation of effective partnership practices. Paula is energized by new ideas and opportunities to connect with amazing people who are passionate about this journey!
Prior to Ford NGL, she was Citibank’s vice president of Technology Talent Development responsible for educational initiatives including Women in IT and the Future of IT which represents a talent development pipeline from middle school through college to career. Her expertise helped Citi launch two IT Career Academies focused on information technology and cybersecurity.
Education is economic development! Paula helped to further the Career Academy movement through her work at the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce, St. Johns County School District, and in private industry. Back in her chamber days, she thought her ideal future would be engaging business and other chambers to embrace Academies and become engaged in a meaningful way in education. Through her work with Ford NGL, she considers she is “living the dream”.
She loves to go on adventures with her two daughters, Morgan and Genevieve. She also loves to spend time with family and friends and her faith family at the Church of Eleven22. A resident of Jacksonville, Florida, she volunteers at Bit of Faith Ranch, a nonprofit 501(c)(3), offering adaptive horseback riding lessons and equine-assisted activities for those affected by autism and related disabilities. Paula earned her Masters in Educational Leadership with North Central University.
