What does it mean to prepare students not only to earn a degree, but to thrive in a rapidly changing workforce? This month, we introduce ‘Built to Move,’ our new Trade and Transportation series! In this episode, Dr. Thomas O’Brien, Associate Dean in the College of Professional and Continuing Education at California State University, Long Beach, returns to share how higher education, workforce development, international education, and industry partnerships can work together to create meaningful career pathways for traditional and nontraditional learners. Discover how students can build English-language skills alongside discipline-specific training, earn self-paced AI certificates, and translate work and life experience into college credit and credentials employers recognize. It is time to see yourself as a global citizen with career opportunities that extend beyond one field, one employer, or one location. Dr. O’Brien completed both his Doctorate of Philosophy in Urban Planning/Transportation and his Masters in Planning at University of Southern California (USC). He is also the Director of the CA Local Technical Assistance Program (CALTAP) Center and Deputy Director of the METRANS Transportation Consortium, a partnership of CSULB and the University of Southern California. He previously served as Executive Director of the Center for International Trade and Transportation (CITT) also at CSULB. His teaching and research focus on logistics, supply chain management, and goods movement policy, as well as transportation workforce development. To learn more about Dr. O’Brien and his work, connect with him on LinkedIn or email him at Tom.Obrien@csulb.edu.