At the Joint National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education/Office of Vocational and Adult Education (NASDCTEc/OVAE) Spring leadership meeting, the members elected Mark Williams to the post of Secretary-Treasurer, adding his talents to the Executive Officer Board, which includes Ms. Marie Barry, New Jersey, as upcoming Vice President, and Dr. Patrick Ainsworth, California, upcoming President. These new appointments will be effective July 1st.  At the meeting, the attendees offered a special thanks to Dr. Phil Berkenbile for his wonderful devoted service during this past year toward our organization and to career technical education (CTE). Dr. Berkenbile will continue in the role of Past President, continuing the momentum along with Marie and Pat, of excellent leadership for our organization. Our current Past President, June Sanford of Connecticut, will be off the Board; we congratulate June on her service and dedication on the Board these past several years.
Mark is a former high school teacher and administrator who has served for six years as Illinois State Director of Career and Technical Education. During his tenure, he has been a founding member of the Coalition for Illinois High Schools, a member of several Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Taskforces devoted to addressing the critical skills shortages of Illinois. Most recently, he has focused on the Illinois Curriculum Revitalization Project as well as the development of STEM Learning Exchanges in Illinois.
Mark is a native of Illinois and lives with his family in the farm town of Delavan. He holds a B.A. from the University of Chicago and advanced degrees from the Angelicum University. He has taught at the secondary and post-graduate level. Mark’s philosophy of education is that true learning is hard work, fun, and never ceases.
When asked for his goals for NASDCTEc, Mark responded:
-Partner with membership and leadership to advance the implementation of the new CTE vision.
-Strengthen collaboration with OVAE, education stakeholders, and industry
-Bring more resources to implementation of rigorous programs of study
-Promote innovation in CTE
-Assist in the important work of the National Research Center for Career Technical Education (NRCCTE)
-Build our national network of stakeholders and other who share our vision
-Strengthen role of CTE in the implementation and assessment of the Common Core Standards
-Advance the significance of measured competencies rather than Carnegie units as measure of High School student progress
We welcome Mark to the Board! He can be reached at [email protected].
In other Board news, Dr. Frances Beauman will be the new Associate Member Representative for the NASDCTEc Board of Directors, filling this position after term ends June 30 for Ms. Kathy Wilkins of Montana. We want to thank Kathy for her dedicated service to the Board.
Additional new NASDCTEc Board Representatives include Dr. James (Bob) Couch, South Carolina, representing Region IV, and Mr. Eric Suhr, New York, new Region II representative. We want to thank Ms. Jean C. Stevens and Mr. Ralph Barnett all the best in their retirements.