Adam Echelman

Adam Echelman joined CalMatters from the Modesto Bee, where he covered issues of equity across Stanislaus County. Previously, he served as the Executive Director of Libraries Without Borders, a national nonprofit organization committed to promoting access to information. He's a graduate of Yale University.

Students work in the library at San Bernardino Valley College on May 30, 2023. California education leaders are striking deals with tech companies to provide students with opportunities to learn AI. Photo by Lauren Justice for CalMatters

Free AI training comes to California colleges — but at what cost?

August 11, 2025 at 11:57 a.m.

As artificial intelligence replaces entry-level jobs, California’s universities and community colleges are offering a glimmer of hope for students: free AI training that will teach them to master the new...

A new program trains college students for jobs helping homeless Californians, can it survive?

April 29, 2025 at 6:00 a.m.

With more than 187,000 people sleeping on California’s streets and in its shelters, the state’s homeless services industry is struggling to hire enough qualified workers to help them.

A local government agency referred Uriel Zaizar to Dolphin Trucking School in Vernon. But while he was there, the state was investigating it and trying to revoke its license. March 11, 2024. Photo by Zaydee Sanchez for CalMatters

How California channeled money to for-profit schools — while they were under investigation

August 24, 2024 at 6:53 a.m.

When state education investigator Leslie Feist visited Dolphin Trucking School in 2021, a teacher gave her a warning: Don’t stand near the truck while it’s moving. A tire might explode.

Some of the most popular job training programs in the state are for medical or nursing assistants, with many students obtaining training at for-profit colleges. Photo by Alex Horvath for CalMatters

Taxpayers cover tuition at California’s for-profit schools. The results? Low-wage, high-turnover jobs

August 21, 2024 at 12:16 p.m.

Kiana Munoz didn’t have much time. She had a baby to care for and needed to earn money after just graduating from high school. When she saw that Premiere Career...

Jaxon Hutchinson, center, helps his mom, Mikala Hutchinson, prepare dinner as Ryder Hutchinson, far right, eats a snack at their home at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in Oceanside on April 26, 2024. Photo by Adriana Heldiz, CalMatters

California colleges got billions in pandemic relief funds. What will happen once it’s gone?

May 1, 2024 at 1:03 p.m.

Congress gave California’s public colleges and universities more than $8 billion in emergency funding during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now the money is drying up and schools are faced with a...

Intern Ibrahim Mohamed conducts a maintenance check on a sensor while being trained by instrument technician Rodney Johnson inside a Contra Costa Water District plant in Oakley on Jan. 30, 2024.

Thousands of Californians got a shot at better careers through this program. Is it working?

February 15, 2024 at 6:42 a.m.

At 47, Ibrahim Mohamed doesn’t fit the typical image of a college intern. When he arrived in the U.S. from Sudan in 2016, he went online to look for a...

Ryan Wimsatt joins his hands to thank his parents during the graduation ceremony at Stanford University in Palo on June 13, 2021. Photo by Harika Maddala for CalMatters

Should state government jobs require a college degree? Why California is rethinking its rules

February 1, 2024 at 6:12 a.m.

Many California government jobs don’t require a college degree. That list may grow longer as agencies face a rise in job vacancies.

The student center at Cuesta Community College in San Luis Obispo on Jan. 10, 2024. Photo by Julie Leopo-Bermudez for CalMatters

Why California community colleges are reluctant to spend more than $500 million in state money

January 17, 2024 at 6:06 a.m.

More than a year after California community colleges received $650 million in state COVID-19 relief money, schools have spent less than 20% of it.

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