58% of Recent Graduates Cannot Find Work. The Inland Empire’s Largest College District, Silicon Valley Leaders, a CNN Hero, and a Governor-Appointed Workforce Board Member are Gathering in One Room to Tackle the AI Jobs Crisis.
AyZar Outreach convenes 200 leaders in Tustin on April 11 to launch an AI workforce response for Southern California’s most vulnerable workers
TUSTIN, CA — The numbers are stark: 58% of 2024-2025 college graduates are still looking for their first job. Entry-level hiring at companies adopting AI has fallen 7.7% since 2023. The U.S. economy shed 92,000 jobs in February alone. And the people building the technology say artificial general intelligence is one to three years away.
On April 11, Ayzar Outreach will convene its first annual Jobs of the Future Summit in Tustin that will hold 200+ people who do not normally sit at the same table: the Vice Chancellor of the Inland Empire’s largest community college district, where 20,000 students are 69% Hispanic and 49% first-generation, Silicon Valley entrepreneurs who have co-founded publicly traded technology companies and advised governments worldwide on AI, a CNN Hero who arrived in the U.S. as a Somali refugee, a Governor-appointed member of the California Statewide Workforce Development Board, and a Caltech researcher who trains doctoral students in artificial intelligence.
They are gathering because the AI workforce crisis has arrived in Southern California, and the communities with the fewest resources are absorbing the most damage.
The AYO Summit: Jobs of the Future, hosted by AyZar Outreach [501(c)(3)], is not a conference about what might happen. It is a working convening to activate the response. The event takes place at Assembly @ FLIGHT, 1715 Flight Way, Tustin, CA 92782, from 1:00 to 4:30 PM. Admission is free. Seats are capped at 200, however virtual attendance is unlimited.
What makes this different from every other AI panel: AyZar Outreach is simultaneously launching a 200-person AI workforce training fellowship where the AI itself is the instructor. Path Seekers, as the fellows are called, learn to apply artificial intelligence within specific industries by being taught by a configured AI environment that adapts to their pace, generates industry-specific exercises, and evaluates their work in real time. Human facilitators coach. AI delivers the curriculum. The program is free to participants, backed by 52+ employer partners across 10 industry verticals, and built on peer-reviewed research from AAAI and the Caltech AI Bootcamp model.
The Summit also features Summit Pair, a live AI-powered matching system that analyzes attendee profiles during the panel discussion and generates personalized introductions between students, employers, and educators in the room, a real-time demonstration of the matching technology AYO uses year-round.
Confirmed Panelists and Speakers
- Dr. Nohemy Ornelas (Panel) — Vice Chancellor, San Bernardino Community College District. Over 25 years leading equity-driven initiatives that have expanded access to higher education for thousands of students and families across the Inland Empire.
- Kamran Elahian (Keynote) — Co-founded Cirrus Logic (NASDAQ: CRUS) and NeoMagic Corp. Founder of Global Innovation Catalyst, advising 30+ governments on AI and innovation ecosystems. Immigrant background, born in Iran, built his career in Silicon Valley with no safety net.
- Dr. Amir Zarkesh (Panel) — CEO of PathLLM.ai. PhD in Engineering. Co-founder and strategic advisor to AyZar Outreach. Builder of the AI-native training systems that power the fellowship.
- Meymuna Hussein-Cattan (Panel) — Founder and CEO of Tiyya Foundation. CNN Hero Award honoree. Arrived in the U.S. as a Somali refugee. Nationally recognized for her work supporting refugee and immigrant communities through economic opportunity.
- Angel Sanchez Jr. (Panel) — CEO of Phenix Technology. Founder of Phenix Gateway, advancing career pathways for people with intellectual, developmental, and physical disabilities. Appointed by Governor Newsom to the California Statewide Workforce Development Board.
- Dr. Reza Sadri (Speaker) — Director of the AI Bootcamp at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). Draws on experience training graduate and doctoral students across disciplines in intensive, hands-on AI programs.
- Kris Arguin (Spotlight) — Executive Chef, Cal Poly Pomona Enterprises. Demonstrates how AI is transforming culinary operations: recipe development, food waste reduction, and large-scale food service systems.
Why the Inland Empire: BlackRock CEO Larry Fink warned in March 2026 that the Class of 2026 could face the highest unemployment among graduates in years. For communities like those served by SBCCD, the stakes are even higher. The Inland Empire ranked 53rd out of 55 metropolitan areas for college graduate job quality (ADP Research, 2025). Regional unemployment in San Bernardino County stands at 5.9%, well above the national rate. And Brookings found that 6.1 million U.S. workers with high AI exposure and low adaptive capacity are concentrated in exactly the clerical and administrative roles that SBCCD graduates enter.
AyZar Outreach exists to intercept that trajectory. The organization does not teach AI awareness. It trains people to apply AI within their specific industry and connects them to employers who need those skills. The 52+ partner ecosystem spans healthcare, legal, finance, technology, social services, construction, real estate, logistics, public safety, and education.
|
“The question is not whether AI will change your career. The question is whether the communities most at risk from displacement will have access to the tools that make them competitive. That is what this summit is about on April 11.”
— Shirin Zarkesh, Cofounder and President, AyZar Outreach
|
Event Details
Event: AYO Summit: Jobs of the Future
Date: Saturday, April 11, 2026
Time: 1:00 PM (doors) — 4:30 PM
Location: Assembly @ FLIGHT, 1715 Flight Way, Tustin, CA 92782
Admission: Free. 200 seats, to those who reserve on event site
If you are press, please request a press pass by emailing the contact below
Media Contact
Dr. Norah Sarsour
Director of Strategy, Partnerships and Ecosystem Development
AyZar Outreach
About AyZar Outreach
AyZar Outreach [501(c)(3)] builds the bridge between AI literacy and AI employment. While colleges teach students what AI is, AYO trains them to apply AI within their specific industry and connects them to employers who need those skills. Founded in 2014, the organization operates across San Bernardino, Riverside, and Orange counties with 52+ employer partners across 10 industry verticals. The Path Seeker fellowship launches Cohort 1 with 200 participants in Spring 2026. Learn more at
ayzaroutreach.org.
