Giselle Fernandez
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- Milken Institute27 min
The American Dream at 250 | Global Conference 2026
Jon Clifton, Michael Milken, Anousheh Ansari, Giselle Fernandez, Sanjay Gupta
The Center for the American Dream Initiatives hosted a panel featuring Iranian-born astronaut Sanooch, journalist Giselle Fernandez, and surgeon Sanjay Gupta to highlight how immigrant resilience and access to opportunity fuel the national narrative. Drawing on personal histories and data showing that immigrants view the dream as most thriving despite falling institutional trust, the speakers argued that collective optimism is essential to overcoming domestic polarization. The event further unveiled an interactive, AI-enhanced mural honoring 68 immigrants, reinforcing the thesis that the United States continues to be the primary global destination for those seeking to build a future.
- Milken Institute59 min
The Learning Gap: Creating the Workforce Industry Needs
Giselle Fernandez, Felix Ortiz III, Eloy Ortiz-Oakley, Chris Romer, Raul Valentin, Judy Woodruff
A diverse panel of education leaders and industry experts identified a critical national skills gap where 75 million Americans lack qualifications for middle-skill jobs, creating a mismatch between over 1 million unfilled openings and millions of unemployed individuals. Key figures including Felix Ortiz III, Raul Valentin, and Chris Romer argued that bureaucratic educational rigidity, outdated funding models, and insufficient employer engagement are exacerbating this crisis, which they characterize as a national security threat and an economic imperative requiring a shift toward competency-based outcomes. To resolve these barriers, the group proposed a new "employment triangle" that ties state funding to graduation rates, leverages data to align curricula with labor demands, and establishes hybrid credentialing systems to support lifelong learning and demographic surges.