Alison Lands is a leader in Coursera’s global Skills Transformation practice, partnering with Fortune 500 employers, national, state, and local governments, and university systems to develop custom learning programs that prepare people, companies, and regions for the future of work. With over 20 years of experience in workforce and economic development, Alison joins Coursera from senior leadership roles with Deloitte Consulting, the BCG Centre for Public Impact, New York State Economic Development Council, and a career in municipal government at the City of San Antonio, Texas, where she led the design and implementation of the Alamo Academies, a nationally recognized workforce development model providing over 1,000 youth with tuition-free career pathways into critical-demand STEM occupations.

Alison is a graduate of the London School of Economics, as well as Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. A Certified Economic Developer (CEcD), she is also an active member of the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) and stays continually engaged on policy and advocacy issues, particularly those related to upskilling and reskilling the U.S. workforce as a strategy to drive innovation and economic growth.