Lt. Governor Walter Dalton will moderate a panel discussion between business leaders, including Cheya Dunlap, Global HR Leader with GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, Gen. David Grange, CEO of PPD, Inc. and representatives from Progress Energy and The Campbell Soup Co. on Monday, Feb. 22 in Fayetteville.

The discussion is part of Dalton’s regional meeting for the Joining Our Businesses and Schools (JOBS) Commission.

“We wanted to have one commission meeting with a clear business focus. And this will be the one,” said Karla Buitrago, spokeswoman for Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton.

The 20-member JOBS Commission is charged with making recommendations to the State Board of Education and the General Assembly about how the state’s early college high schools can align themselves more closely with their regional economic development needs.

At the meeting, the commissioners will solicit public input on the needs of North Carolina’s 11-county southeast region and how to work together to prepare students for 21st century jobs.

The Commission has also focused on enhancing Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education in the public school system.

North Carolina’s Southeast, an economic development group, will present on the fastest growing sectors, trends in workforce skills requirements and regional initiatives. Other presentations will be on the best design for STEM education in this part of the state and a proposed early college program focusing on a language and global diplomacy competency in Cumberland County.

The meeting will be held at Fayetteville State University in the Butler Theatre on Monday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. It will be the fourth regional meeting in a series of seven statewide meetings and the only one in the southeast region.