MIDDLETOWN – As the lead college for a recent grant obtained by the Hudson Valley Education + Workforce Consortium (HVE+WC), a partnership of six Hudson Valley community colleges, SUNY Orange has hired Morgan Earle to coordinate the consortium’s Cannabis Workforce Program.
The consortium was awarded a three-year, $1 million grant by the State University of New York last year to support the emerging cannabis industry by providing project management, industry/business development, curriculum development, education and training, student supportive services, and outreach and marketing.
Designed as a “hub and spoke” partnership model with SUNY Orange being joined by Dutchess, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster and Westchester community colleges as partners, the consortium’s project scope will be concentrated along the Hudson Valley region’s major highways (Route 17/I-86, I-84, I-87, and I-684) with a particular focus on serving communities identified as Opportunity Zones.
This “Cannabis Corridor” has many employer investments that will provide significant economic impact to the Hudson Valley region and will help ensure that the region’s cannabis businesses have what they need to be competitive, including a well-educated and talented workforce.
Earle will collaborate with consortium members with a focus on developing and implementing an employer-driven sector strategy and provide preference to serve populations that have been disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs.
Prior to joining the community college consortium, Earle spent nearly two years at Hudson Valley Community Services in Poughkeepsie, where she served as program supervisor for Emily’s Pantry and the Nutrition Outreach and Education Program.
In that role, she audited the programs to ensure that they adhered to grant requirements and delivered results. She also conducted case conferences and built ongoing community relationships to assure the programs were successfully linked with partner organizations.
She has additional experience as a program coordinator for the Field & Fork Network in Buffalo, Jamaica Feasts manager for the Queen’s Library and job placement specialist at The Door – A Center of Alternatives in New York City.
Earle earned a bachelor’s degree from Lake Superior State University, along with a graduate certificate in social entrepreneurship and a master’s degree in social and public policy, from SUNY Empire.
