Carmen Summers leads a world class team of Cloud Platform Specialists that enable enterprise customers to transform complex visionary ideas into sustainable, adaptive, technology solutions on Microsoft’s Azure Cloud Platform. Prior to joining Microsoft in 2007, Carmen worked for Electronic Data Systems and honorably served 8 years in the United States Air Force. She is also a member of the San Diego Workforce Partnership’s Workforce Development Board. Here she tells us a little bit about her.
Why are you passionate about workforce development?
I am passionate about workforce development because giving opportunity to people who may not otherwise have it is important to who I am at the core. So many good people get overlooked due to lack of credentials or school affiliation. Workforce development opens the door to opportunity to people who just need help with a path and connection.
If you had $1M to donate to a workforce development program, what would you want done with it?
That is a hard one, but I would probably give the gift of high speed internet and laptops. The amount of people without access to the internet and good devices is a disadvantage in our society. The internet and a good device is like electricity, we all need it.
What do you like best about being on the Workforce Development Board?
I like the exposure to different initiatives for good and seeing a perspective of workforce development outside of my own industry of tech.
Why is workforce development important for San Diego County?
Creating talent in our own community is key. Instead of importing talent I believe we have great people already living right in our community that with the right path and help they can fill those in-demand jobs and create more economic prosperity locally.
What do you enjoy doing when you’re not working? Any new hobbies since we started working from home?
My husband and I just bought a new home in Oceanside in the farming community of Morro Hills. It happened to come with a guava and cherimoya orchard. So my new hobby, since I can’t travel to exotic places right now, is to learn how to care and harvest our orchard. It has actually been a lot of fun!