SCORE’s 2026 Future Forward Summit focuses on aligning education with workforce demand to strengthen outcomes for both students and employers
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee has emerged as a national leader building strong momentum around education-to-career pathways and workforce alignment. Now, leaders are calling for an even stronger statewide focus on scaling proven models to ensure more students earn industry-recognized credentials aligned with evolving workforce needs and greater economic mobility.
Today’s 2026 Future Forward Summit, hosted by the State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE), brought together leaders including Josh Brown, president and CEO of the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce & Industry; Dr. Agenia W. Clark, president of Fisk University; Dr. Brian Noland, president of East Tennessee State University; Cheryl Oldham, executive vice president of Human Capital at the Bipartisan Policy Center; Brent Parton, president and CEO of CareerWise; and Matt Sigelman, president of The Burning Glass Institute. They joined more than 350 policymakers, education leaders, and workforce experts to examine how Tennessee can build on its progress and accelerate impact. A full list of speakers can be found here.
“Today, too many students still don’t have a clear path to economic opportunity, and that has ripple effects far beyond the classroom,” said David Mansouri, president and CEO of SCORE. “Without strong pathways, students fall short of reaching their full academic potential, face challenges in their transition to careers, and struggle to build long-term stability. That impacts our workforce and our state’s future. We know what works. Now, we must scale it and connect more students to careers that drive economic mobility.”
Rapid shifts in the labor market, including the rise of artificial intelligence, are accelerating the need for education and workforce systems to deliver stronger pathways into high-demand careers that lead to economic independence. This year’s Future Forward Summit called for deeper cross‑sector collaboration to redesign systems, scale local models with proven success, expand work‑based learning, and accelerate students’ transitions into the workforce.
“A strong economy starts with a strong workforce, and that means making sure more students are connected to real opportunities,” said Josh Brown, president and CEO of the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce & Industry. “It’s encouraging to see the work happening across our state, and it’s clear we have more to do. That takes deeper alignment between education, employers, and policymakers and a shared commitment to preparing students for the jobs our state depends on.”
Leaders emphasized that improving connections across K-12, higher education, employers, and workforce systems will be critical to ensuring students can navigate clear, high-quality pathways into meaningful careers.
“Tennessee’s future depends on our ability to prepare every student for the jobs and opportunities of tomorrow,” said Sen. Bill Frist, M.D., SCORE’s chairman and founder. "When we invest in locally driven innovation and come together across sectors, we can build pathways that are clear, connected, and aligned to workforce needs. That’s how more Tennesseans can access meaningful careers and contribute to our state’s long-term prosperity."
Featured panelists and presenters during the event also included recipients of SCORE’s Future Forward Innovation Grant. Last year, SCORE awarded up to $75,000 to seven cross-sector teams — including partnerships with organizations such as Ballad Health, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, the Niswonger Foundation, and multiple colleges and school districts — to design and launch innovative, cross-sector models that enable students to earn high-value credentials connected directly to in-demand careers. Those teams convened at this year’s summit to share lessons from their first year of planning and implementation and explore how these models can be scaled to strengthen talent pipelines statewide.
In early April, SCORE announced a new round of the Future Forward Innovation Grant to incubate and expand more innovative models across the state and strengthen talent pipelines in high-demand industries such as healthcare — which is projected to grow around 16% from 2020 to 2030 — as well as emerging technologies that are reshaping the future of work, such as artificial intelligence and nuclear energy.
The summit and these investments signal a shift from vision to action and scaling what works to ensure every Tennessee student can access a high-quality pathway to economic mobility.
More information and a recording of today’s 2026 Future Forward Summit can be found here. Applications for the second round of the Future Forward Innovation Grant are due by May 15, 2026.