Rally for Sustainability Celebrates Opening of EV Charging Stations

The San Mateo County Community College District will celebrate the installation of plug-in Electric Vehicle charging infrastructure at all three Colleges and the District Office. The Grand Opening begins on October 28th at 11:30a.m. at the Skyline College Auto Department where students, faculty, staff, and members of the community will participate in the ribbon cutting ceremony. The ceremony will acknowledge industry partners, as well as the Auto Technology program’s new curriculum focused on Electric Vehicles. 

At 12:30p.m., the EV Rally will begin. EV owners past, present and future are encouraged to join the Rally by driving to College of San Mateo for a ribbon cutting of the charging station in DaVinci Lot (Lot 3) at 1:00 p.m. The EV Rally will reach the finish line in Parking Lot 4 at Cañada College at approximately 1:30 p.m. where the third and final ribbon cutting will take place and a number of EV’s will be on display. Come for all or some of the event to see the future of the sustainable transportation in San Mateo County. In 2012, the College District collaborated with Schneider Electric in a public/private partnership to install eleven Electric Vehicle (EV) charging stations at each of its campuses Chancellor’s Office.

The District received funding from the California Energy Commission (CEC) to develop and deploy alternative and renewable fuels and advanced transportation technologies to help attain the state’s climate change policies. Furthermore, the District matched the funds of the CEC to achieve its goals for sustainability: improve the campus-wide system of alternative fuel infrastructure, support the use of electric vehicles, decrease greenhouse gas emissions, establish workforce training programs and offer opportunities for student learning.

Danielle Pelletier Leads Statewide Effort to Teach English in the Workplace

Danielle Pelletier, ESL instructor, has been named coordinator for the Teaching English in the Workplace for the California Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (CATESOL). Pelletier has been serving in her new role since last spring.

"The primary initiatives of the CATESOL Teaching English in the Workplace Interest Group is to make sure that there is representation for those California ESL (English as a Second Language) teachers who teach English in the workplace," Pelletier said. "This group is comprised of teachers who teach workers at all levels. This could mean teaching basic English to hotel employees or teaching presentation skills to an executive at a bio-pharmaceutical company."

As the coordinator, Pelletier's primary responsibilities are to recruit, maintain, and develop membership so the group has proper representation. She also works with the members to organize professional workshops in all parts of California. "The workshops are designed to help our members continue with professional development between CATESOL conferences."

Whereas most schools are cutting back on ESL teachers, companies throughout California are realizing the value of having their employees feel confident about speaking English and understanding the U.S. culture of business, Pelletier said. "The TEW (Teaching English in the Workforce) group is fortunate to be in a field that is continually growing and I feel fortunate to be coordinating this group," she said.

Pelletier has also been named President of English League, a Translations and Workforce Language Training company. The company started in 1995 in Boston and moved to the Bay Area in 2002. Pelletier has been with English League since 2000 as a Senior ESL Instructor and Program Director, teaching in companies such as Bose in Boston and Genentech in the Bay Area. "I'm happy to be at the helm- a new adventure for me - and will continue to provide our customized English classes to international professionals all over Silicon Valley and the Bay Area," she said. “It’s also exciting to be working with organizations in this global economy, providing translations services.  It’s a great new world!”