Joshua Shapiro Ph.D.

Dr. Shapiro is responsible for using data and research to improve the performance and opportunities for DES as well as assisting with setting the strategy for the Organization’s future by identifying and leading innovation and development initiatives. Through his leadership with the Center for Research and Evaluation and Institutional Research Dr. Shapiro’s leverages his academic interests in workforce, economic development, and the jobs of the future to ensure alignment between courses, skills, and industry needs. Additionally, he has conducted a number of community-based research projects building indicators and dashboards to measure collective impact as well as working with non-profits throughout San Diego to demonstrate social change. Dr. Shapiro is deeply embedded in the Educational Technology community and continues to identify and deploy novel initiatives including micro-credentials and stackable credentials, virtual reality classrooms, and new delivery platforms to improve learning outcomes. Through his development role he was instrumental in the creation of the first Income Share Agreement between a DES school and a Workforce Investment Board. He has been awarded 3.5M in grants and philanthropy for this initiative and gained local and national media attention for this innovative program to serve underrepresented and unemployed individuals. He has taught classes on Research Methodology for UC San Diego and is trained in both Qualitative and Quantitative methodologies with a specialization in labor market data. Dr. Shapiro holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in Sociology from the University of California, San Diego and a B.A. in Social Thought and Analysis from Washington University in St. Louis.