Awardee: G. Vittoria Abatte
Bay Section
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G. Vittoria Abbate, nominee, holds a B.S. in Liberal Arts and Sciences from the University of Illinois, Chicago and an M.A. in TESOL and Applied Linguistics from Northeastern. She has dedicated her career to adult education since 2002, serving in key leadership roles including ESL Coordinator (2003–04), Vice Principal (2006–07), Assistant Director (2012), and Director (2015). Her work includes teaching ESL, leading an ESL television program, and contributing to a consulting group focused on educational improvement. She has also engaged in international education projects, supporting the development of programs around the world.
Vittoria has been a committed and influential leader within CCAE, serving at the chapter, regional, and state levels. Her involvement began with the Contra Costa Chapter, where she helped strengthen local engagement and ensure members had access to the support and resources needed to effectively serve adult learners. She continued her leadership in the Bay Section, contributing to regional collaboration and later representing the section in legislative efforts. As Bay Section Legislative Representative, Vittoria played an essential role in building awareness, mobilizing members, and advancing advocacy priorities across the region. In 2015, Vittoria transitioned into state level legislative work, where her impact expanded significantly. She became a key voice for adult education funding, stability, and program growth. Her work connects back to her earlier involvement in regional consortium development during 2008–2009—a formative period in which she contributed to establishing systems focused on financing, collaboration, and accountability. The experience positioned her to support statewide initiatives that continue to shape adult education today. One of Vittoria’s major accomplishments has been championing training and support for new administrators. Recognizing the need for consistent preparation, she has advocated for structured professional development that strengthens leadership pipelines and ensures program quality across California. Her dedication to building capacity extends beyond administrators; she has continually supported advocacy training for educators and staff, empowering members to use their voices effectively. Through every role, Vittoria has maintained a steadfast commitment to ensuring that adult education receives the resources, visibility, and policy support it deserves. Her work has strengthened local programs, regional networks, and the statewide system, making her an exceptional nominee for CCAE recognition. A defining thread throughout Vittoria’s career is her unwavering dedication to collaboration for adult family literacy. In every role—teacher, coordinator, administrator, and advocate—she kept family literacy at the forefront, ensuring that programs supported adults as learners, parents, and community members. Equally central to her work is her belief that adult education is essential to local workforce solutions. She has actively championed adult school students as a critical part of the talent pipeline in Contra Costa County. In 2018, Vittoria organized and led Contra Costa County (CCC) adult education agencies, community colleges and Community Based Organizations (CBOs), to form the Contra Costa Workforce Collaborative (CCWC), led by member organization Rubicon Programs, for fiscal and operational management. The CCWC was formed specifically to bid on, at that time, the WDBCCC contract to divest itself of its long-standing operation of the American Job Centers of California (AJCC) at the East Bay WORKs One-Stop Career Center aka AJCC. This change was prompted by Contra Costa County leadership not wanting to be the lead agency due to fiscal concerns. Since 2018, the CCWC has successfully operated 10 AJCCs, known as "Access Points" across CCC, at adult school and CBO community locations. The CCWC continues today not only to meet its targets for expanding the services of the AJCCs to adults seeking job and career training and entry or re-entry in the CCC workforce, but consistently exceeding its targets for expanded service. Donna Van Wert, Former Director, CCCWDB, Retired wrote in her letter of support for this award for Vittoria, “The CCCWDB released a request for proposals (RFP) for another entity to provide these services. As the various agencies began individually inquiring about the elements of the RFP, Ms. Abbate had the wisdom to see what could be lost in this competitive process. With her experience and wisdom, she quickly invited all interested organizations to come together to explore the possibility of responding to the RFP as a group. To her credit, this idea was well received and resulted in the new Contra Costa Workforce Collaborative (CCWC) being created and winning the grant. As a result, America Job Centers Access points were established at multiple locations across Contra Costa County, including K12 Adult Schools, Community Colleges and community-based organizations. It is notable that the consortium selected a CBO as the lead agency as it demonstrates the spirit of true collaboration that is built into the history of Adult Education, exemplified by Vittoria Abbate.” |
