Yuma County sets June 10 workforce development board meeting

Yuma County put its workforce board on the calendar for a one-hour meeting from 9:00 a.m. to 9:59 a.m. on June 10, a brief public notice with long local consequences. The session mattered because the Yuma County Workforce Development Board sits at the center of how the county steers job training, employer coordination and career pathways for residents trying to move into better-paying work.

The county says the board partners with employers and the workforce development system to develop policies and investments that support regional sector partnerships, career pathways and customer-centered service delivery. ARIZONA@WORK-Yuma County also says it provides services to help employers recruit, train and retain skilled workers, while offering workforce readiness services for job seekers. For fiscal year 25/26, the local program lists $9,197,325 in WIOA Title I-B funding, giving the board real dollars to shape which training efforts get priority.

That money lands in a county economy where agriculture, tourism, military and government are principal industries, and where the City of Yuma serves as a key crossroad for air, highway and rail transportation. In practical terms, that makes the board’s work especially relevant to agriculture employers looking for seasonal labor, healthcare providers trying to fill stable year-round roles, logistics operators tied to Yuma’s border-linked freight corridors, public agencies that need workers, and trade shops that depend on electricians and other skilled craft labor.

The board itself reflects that mix. Its membership includes Sandra Navarrete of National Bank of Arizona, Maria Chavoya of Arizona Complete Health, Jesus Garcia of Acacia Home Health, Inc., Carla F. Gonzales of the Cocopah Indian Tribe, Samuel G. Sabath of Northern Arizona University, Karen King of the Tucson Electrical Joint Apprenticeship & Training Program and Frank Grijalva of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. That lineup puts business, healthcare, tribal government, higher education and labor at the same table, which is the point of a board meant to line up training with hiring needs rather than let each sector plan in isolation.

The June 10 meeting also fit into a regular series. Yuma County’s meeting information shows the YCWDB meets the second Wednesday in September, November, January, March, May and June, and notices are posted electronically to the ARIZONA@WORK-Yuma County website and the Yuma County Board of Supervisors website. County minutes from 2025 show the board approved revised bylaws after state recertification recommendations and adjusted committee memberships, a sign that the group’s structure continues to evolve as Yuma County tries to build a skilled, trainable workforce with local, state and federal partners.