Posts Tagged ‘ECMCF Fellows’

Advancing Equity in CTE: Elevating the Knowledge of a New Generation of Leaders

Tuesday, August 8th, 2023

Advance CTE is excited to introduce a collection of briefs that feature the original research conducted by select Fellows from our inaugural cohort of The Postsecondary State Career Technical Education (CTE) Leaders Fellowship – Sponsored by ECMC Foundation (Fellowship). These briefs cover different topics within the CTE landscape and alignment with Advance CTE’s CTE Without Limits’ principles for advancing equitable, high-quality CTE programs for every learner. 

The Fellowship strives to address the growing shortage of state postsecondary CTE leadership by closing racial representation gaps and removing equity barriers to leadership advancement. Through individualized supports, intentional networks and a real-world fellowship project, Advance CTE-ECMCF Fellows gain the skills and network to pursue leadership positions and advance high-quality, equitable state postsecondary CTE systems. The Real-World Project is a capstone of the Fellowship. By highlighting selected projects and citing Fellows’ research as contributions to the national CTE landscape, we aspire to elevate a new generation of CTE leaders. 

The first brief, Career and Technical Education and the Justice System: State Strategies to Improve Outcomes for Justice-Involved Learners in CTE Programs, features research from Fellows alumni Richard Crosby and Janelle Washington.

High-quality education opportunities for justice-involved learners have demonstrated a strong economic return; a study produced by the RAND Corporation found that, for every $1 invested in prison education programs, there is a $4-5 reduction in incarceration costs during the first three years post-release of a prisoner. Despite these benefits, only seven states are currently opting to allocate the maximum allowable amount of state leadership set-aside funds to improving outcomes for this population of learners. This brief offers actionable recommendations for state leaders to address systemic barriers through changes to funding, administrative and program quality policies to have a long-term and lasting reduction impact on recidivism.

 

The second brief, a Policy Review of the Impact of House Bill 444 on Career and Technical Agricultural Education Dual Enrollment at Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) Institutions, highlights the research of Fellowship alumni Dr. Kristin Corkhill.

Dual enrollment is a popular education initiative that has contributed to increased postsecondary enrollment across the Technical College System of Georgia. These programs represent early opportunities for learners to gain industry-aligned skills and develop confidence and awareness of how to be successful in postsecondary programs and generate a highly skilled workforce pipeline to continue to grow the state’s economy. This brief offers recommendations for state leaders on how to continue to support improved enrollment trends.

 

The third brief, Non-Traditional Learner Participation in Postsecondary Career and Technical Education Programs features research by Fellowship alumni Jean Claude Mbomeda.

The non-traditional gender occupational divide weakens state economies by decreasing economic productivity and reducing diversity in decision-making. By creating gender parity in which “women participate in the labor force at the same rate as men, work the same number of hours as men, and are employed at the same levels as men across sectors,” the United States would see an estimated $4.3 trillion increase in the gross domestic product in 2025.1 Check out this brief to learn ways that state leaders can strengthen policies to ensure equitable access and outcomes for every learner and better meet the needs of the state’s economy and labor market. 

These briefs are the first part of the larger Building a Diverse Leadership Pipeline series, set to be released later this year, that aims to increase leadership stability and achieve more demographically representative state CTE leadership, by providing resources, tools and examples to help state leaders establish a talent pipeline and provide training, mentorship and opportunities for aspiring CTE leaders.

Amy Hodge, Membership & Policy Associate

By Layla Alagic in Advancing Equity in CTE
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ECMCF Fellow Feature: Dr. Angela Lawhorne

Monday, July 31st, 2023

In September 2022, Advance CTE and ECMC Foundation announced the second cohort of The Postsecondary State Career Technical Education (CTE) Leaders Fellowship at Advance CTE—Sponsored by ECMC Foundation. The Advance CTE — ECMCF Fellows include representation across multiple demographic categories reflecting the Fellowship’s goal of intentionally building a postsecondary leadership pipeline for underserved populations in Career Technical Education (CTE) that closes racial representation gaps and removes equity barriers to postsecondary leadership advancement. 

This month, Advance CTE sat down with veteran and ECMCF Fellow, Dr. Angela Lawhorne (VA), whose decades of experience in CTE and workforce development sparked her desire to promote more effective pathways for some of the most vulnerable learner populations. Through the Fellowship’s emphasis on developing equity minded leaders, she has been able to empower the community colleges she works with to refocus on how they are engaging and serving justice-involved learners. 

Tell me more about your journey to the Fellowship.

I’ve been working in CTE for about 10 years and in workforce development for 20 years. I was really excited to join the Fellowship because I saw an opportunity to learn more about what CTE looks like in other states and the best practices that I could replicate and bring to Virginia. I was especially eager to learn about strategies for expanding access to learners.

What skills or areas have you experienced the most growth in the program? 

Participating in the Fellowship has allowed me to grow my ability to apply a diversity, equity, and inclusion lens in my work as the Director of Career Education Programs and Workforce Partnerships. I’ve been able to build a more comprehensive understanding of the  barriers that different groups of learners face, and the importance of not just recruitment, but the continued support that they receive once they enroll to complete their programs. I know that there are steps we can take to improve outreach to learners that have been minoritized, or those that come from low income or rural communities. Through intentional support structures, we can increase awareness about career pathways, stackable credentials, and get them into a career.

I’ve learned a lot about how to provide intentional support for special populations and the different nuances of the obstacles that these groups of learners face.

Do you feel like the topics and experiences in the Fellowship have helped you advance in your current career/ at your current organization? 

Absolutely. In my current role as the  Director of Career Education Programs and Workforce Partnership, I feel like I’m exactly where I need to be to make a major impact on CTE programs, both the credit and on the workforce (credential) side. Virginia has a ‘one door effort’ which allows students, no matter where they come into the college, to access information on both workforce and academic programs. This means that we’re able to give them a more complete picture of the different certifications or licenses that they can earn on their path to completing a certificate or a degree.

I support our 23 colleges and provide guidance and resources about how to establish and expand programs. Most recently, I helped write a large infrastructure grant application, and the knowledge that I’ve gained through the Fellowship allowed me to present a thorough background on and explanation for how this project will provide specific wraparound services and supports to make our learners successful.  I know that I’m able to have an impact in my role because I can broker connections between workforce and our colleges to design high-quality curriculum and programs that connect learners with employers.

How has your experience in the fellowship helped you explore new spaces or positions in postsecondary state CTE leadership? 

The Fellowship has helped me gain a more holistic view of our population of learners and their needs. The workshop speakers were incredible, and I’ve been able to push myself beyond just the cycle of outreach and recruitment to focus more on the reasons that learners persist and complete their programs. My dissertation is on the topic of student success coaching, and I believe that this is an area where we should be doing more to ensure that learners have the help they need to be matched with program options that are best for them.

How has the Fellowship expanded your network?

I’ve made some amazing connections through the fellowship. My coach has been incredibly supportive in connecting me with a network for both my professional and personal development. She’s also provided guidance in my process for completing my real-world project for the Fellowship.  My real world project topic is on expanding higher education for justice impacted individuals in Virginia. We created a Canvas course that serves as a resource repository for the colleges to connect them with everything they need to know to launch a new program. This includes information about  Pell Expansion, contacts at the prisons or jails, and then best practices from other colleges.

We’ve also created a resource page on the website, credits2careers.org (C2C), which was launched specifically for former military who want to determine their eligibility for credit for prior learning. We’ve included a page on the site for justice-involved learners. The website allows them to go in and plug in any certifications or other education they’ve completed, and it will show the equivalent credit for prior learning programs at each of our colleges. If they were enrolled in a CTE program while incarcerated, they can use this tool to find the colleges that offer their program and continue with little disruption.

Our next steps will be to survey the 23 colleges to collect data on the training of justice involved learners and their current program offerings.

Have you discovered new opportunities for what a role in postsecondary CTE could look like/ the responsibilities of such a position?

I definitely look forward to advancing my career. I would love to expand my reach and have a larger responsibility for expanding CTE and workforce development programs across the state. We’ve established a consortium with over 100 members made up of colleges, representatives from the programs at the prisons, the Vera Institute of Justic, and the Laughing Gull Foudnation to name a few. I’ve been leading monthly, virtual community of practice meetings as well as two in person convenings per year. Our new Chancellor is excited to continue to build on the positive momentum we’ve seen with our new Canvas and C2C initiatives. He’s eager to make these a part of his mission to expand the services that our justice-involved learners receive. 

To connect with Dr. Lawhorne, contact her at alawhorne7457@email.vccs.edu 

 

By Jodi Langellotti in Achieving Equitable and Inclusive CTE
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ECMCF Fellow Feature: Nancy Ligus

Thursday, June 29th, 2023

In September 2022, Advance CTE and ECMC Foundation announced the second cohort of The Postsecondary State Career Technical Education (CTE) Leaders Fellowship at Advance CTE—Sponsored by ECMC Foundation. The Advance CTE — ECMCF Fellows include representation across multiple demographic categories reflecting the Fellowship’s goal of intentionally building a postsecondary leadership pipeline for underserved populations in Career Technical Education (CTE) that closes racial representation gaps and removes equity barriers to postsecondary leadership advancement. This month, we’re excited to highlight two members of Advance-CTE’s second cohort of Postsecondary State CTE Leaders Fellows. ECMCF Fellow Nancy Ligus (WV) is passionate about finding proactive and equity-focused solutions to reverse the current education and workforce trends in the state.

Tell me more about your journey to the Fellowship.

I learned of the Advance CTE Fellowship through a colleague at the West Virginia Community & Technical College System last summer. We’d both previously attended one of Dr. Johnson’s information sessions to learn more about the content of the Fellowship and how participating would give us insight and the tools needed to address the diversity and equity challenges we face in post-secondary education in WV. In my role as Director of Workforce and Economic Development for the WV CTCS, I was connected to all nine WV Community Colleges and their efforts in developing training and meeting the workforce needs in their regions. Although I recognized there were gaps in access and inclusion to Career and Technical Education throughout the state, I hadn’t been involved in any initiatives to address the deeper racial inequities and barriers to career pathways. When I transitioned to my current leadership role at Pierpont Community College in north central WV, I realized that I needed the right tools to address these challenges. I saw the Fellowship as a way that I could gain those skills, knowledge, and significantly greater understanding that I could put into action.

What skills or areas have you experienced the most growth in the program?

Through my experience in the Fellowship, I’ve grown my understanding of how systemic policies play a huge role in creating and perpetuating barriers of access to high-quality CTE programs for marginalized populations. Our state has the lowest labor participation rate, low education attainment, and generally a perception of poor educational performance and outcomes, but my new knowledge has allowed me to feel more confident sharing my ideas with other workforce development leaders and collaborating on proactive approaches to reverse these trends.

As I oversee the workforce programs at my college and collaborate on career pathways, I look at each one with a new lens. I feel empowered to anticipate some of the challenges and understand how to overcome them to create more possibilities for people. I’m also bringing what I’ve learned to my staff and other leaders in my college as we are moving out of a transitional period since the pandemic. It seems so timely; we’re sort of starting over to recapture our community’s awareness of what the college’s role is within our region, and it’s a good time to incorporate policies to reflect our commitment to equity.

Have you been tapped for new or more advanced roles within your organization as a result of your experience in the Fellowship? 

While I currently only represent one region in WV, I’ve been invited to participate in several state-wide initiatives which will be very important to the state’s future workforce and economic development. When I’ve had the opportunity, I connect relevant learnings and resources from Advance CTE and the Fellowship to inform my work. I feel like these insights are appreciated and I feel proud to be the person introducing others to innovative ideas from our workshop speakers and discussions. 

One of my objectives for participating in the Fellowship was to pass on my knowledge to future potential leaders and mentor others to continue this important work. That’s certainly been the case at Pierpont Community & Technical College, where I am currently working with the academic leadership to develop more career pathways and create strategies for addressing equity gaps. I serve on several grant committees, and having this experience has given me more appreciation for incorporating my Fellowship-based understanding of racial equity into the planning and implementation of funding.

How has your experience in the fellowship helped you explore new spaces or positions in postsecondary state CTE leadership?

I’ve always been the type of person to seek out opportunities to take my experience and knowledge to a new level. Since participating in the Fellowship, I feel I’m gaining a whole new skill set to add to my range of knowledge in the workforce development space. In my previous position at the WV CTCS, my team and I worked hard to advocate for high-quality CTE programs. While I wasn’t always able to see this labor come to fruition, I feel more confident that I could bring both my post-secondary leadership roles together; knowing what it takes for a community college to put an effective training program together at ground level, with the big-picture knowledge and experience driving and supporting the effort. If I could create my own position, it would be something like Director of Workforce Projects or a role that allows me to serve in a DEI advisory capacity to develop equity-minded practices and policies across the college system and lead a council with representation from each college to share ideas and challenges that may be unique to their area of service.

How has the Fellowship expanded your network?

As a member and Fellow, I am grateful for the wide breadth of the Advance CTE network and resource access. Not only are the resources provided to us through the workshops and speakers, etc. incredibly informative, but the Fellows themselves are exceptional leaders and resources in their own right!  This exposure has revealed where there are still many opportunities for growth in postsecondary education. Seeing and hearing what other colleges are doing to address these challenges through this network, especially through the lens of racial equity, reinforces to me that changes need to be implemented now. 

To connect with Nancy, email nancyl.ligus@gmail.com.

 

By Layla Alagic in Achieving Equitable and Inclusive CTE
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ECMCF Fellow Feature: Kayla Brossett

Thursday, June 29th, 2023

In September 2022, Advance CTE and ECMC Foundation announced the second cohort of The Postsecondary State Career Technical Education (CTE) Leaders Fellowship at Advance CTE—Sponsored by ECMC Foundation. The Advance CTE — ECMCF Fellows include representation across multiple demographic categories reflecting the Fellowship’s goal of intentionally building a postsecondary leadership pipeline for underserved populations in Career Technical Education (CTE) that closes racial representation gaps and removes equity barriers to postsecondary leadership advancement. This month, we’re excited to highlight two members of Advance-CTE’s second cohort of Postsecondary State CTE Leaders Fellows. ECMCF Fellow Kayla Brossett (LA) is passionate about expanding access to high-quality apprenticeship opportunities for every learner, and creating strategic partnerships across industry groups to achieve this goal.

Tell me more about your journey to the Fellowship.

I discovered the Fellowship through my previous role with ECMC Foundation in their education solutions division. As a woman of color, I’m very passionate about finding ways to address the lack of racial diversity that I’ve observed in state leadership and throughout my own career as I’ve advanced to different leadership opportunities. I want to find ways to elevate women of color into important decision-making roles in CTE, especially since they are involved in the delivery of these programs. This demographic is underrepresented in workforce development and STEM, so the Fellowship provided an exciting opportunity to expand my network and connect with people who not only look like me, but share my passion for this work. 

What skills or areas have you experienced the most growth in the program?

Through the Fellowship, I’ve had the chance to learn and interact with my cohort and expand my knowledge of the work happening in other states. I’ve really enjoyed connecting with other Fellows who are also doing work around registered apprenticeships. It is fascinating to see how different cities, like Denver, are able to achieve high completion rates for African American women.

The panels have been informative and having this interactive component to the workshops has made connecting with the speakers to learn more about their work more accessible and more effective in developing my own understanding of the discussion topic.

I’ve also learned a lot through working with my coach and her perspective on my process for completing my real-world project has been invaluable. As a consultant that specializes in DEI work, she’s helped me apply an equity lens to the design of my work and iron out details to narrow my focus, and I think the impact will be much stronger for it. I’m focusing in on a more specific demographic of African American women in a certain age range and a certain economic class, and she encouraged me to make these changes because it will lead to more specific measures and higher-quality data collection.

Have you been tapped for new or more advanced roles within your organization as a result of your experience in the Fellowship? 

I am excited to announce that I’ve recently launched my own workforce development firm, Brown Skilled Girl. The idea for this business stemmed from early work on my Real World Project which focuses on gathering data from 500 African-American women to inform interest in training and registered apprenticeship programs for the state of Louisiana. Brown Skilled Girl is a workforce development intermediary firm that aims to elevate African-American women into high-paying career pathways through data analysis, professional mentoring, registered apprenticeship programs, targeted core and soft skills training solutions, and strategic corporate partnerships. Our vision is to advance 1 million Black and Brown American women into diverse and future-ready careers paying a salary over $100,000 USD in 10 years. Our mission is to empower women of color to achieve their full potential by creating pathways to high-paying, fulfilling careers and ensuring that they receive the training and support they need to succeed.

How has your experience in the fellowship helped you explore new spaces or positions in postsecondary state CTE leadership?

I’ve learned a lot about the different funding streams involved with implementing CTE programs. Developing this knowledge will allow me to empower learners through the different opportunities for funding to return to school to earn their credentials and complete their program without debt. That is really powerful and certainly something that I will take with me into my work with Brown Skilled Girl.

I am very interested in working across states to build coalitions to drive strategic outcomes for learners. Prior to the Fellowship, I thought I had to solve all the problems at once, and now I have a more comprehensive view of the different pieces that need to come together to build these solutions. Maybe there is an issue with data use or quality, maybe the issue is due to low awareness, or maybe communication and marketing is the problem. By understanding the root cause, I feel more equipped to develop a plan and identify the right team need to solve specific problems.

I’m currently looking at how I can support companies in securing grants to support their ability to be apprenticeship partners. Registered apprenticeships have demonstrated strong outcomes for learners, particularly in IT.  Studies have shown that there are so many positive outcomes in their placement and their job advancement that I think that every student should have the opportunity to at least decide if that’s something that they want to enroll in.


Have you discovered new opportunities for what a role in postsecondary CTE could look like/ the responsibilities of such a position?

I envision working within state government, and my goal is to create coherent connections between workforce development and economic development to increase the health and responsiveness of the state economy. I see an opportunity to broker partnerships with near-peer states, like Texas, to learn more about how Louisiana could emulate the systems that have been successful in increasing employment opportunities. People are a critical piece of this work and economic development needs to merge so that locals are being trained to assume these new jobs that will improve the economic outlook of the state as a whole. 

To connect with Kayla, email kaylabrossettrivers@gmail.com.

By Layla Alagic in Achieving Equitable and Inclusive CTE
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Getting to Know the 2022- 2024 Advance CTE – ECMCF Fellows Part 5

Wednesday, January 25th, 2023

In September, Advance CTE and ECMC Foundation announced the second cohort of The Postsecondary State Career Technical Education (CTE) Leaders Fellowship at Advance CTE—Sponsored by ECMC Foundation. The Advance CTE — ECMCF Fellows include representation across multiple demographic categories reflecting the Fellowship’s goal of intentionally building a postsecondary leadership pipeline for underserved populations in Career Technical Education (CTE)  that closes racial representation gaps and removes equity barriers to postsecondary leadership advancement. 

This is the final blog in this series which has introduced each Fellow participating in the second cohort of emerging leaders from 14 states, including 12 professionals of color.

Caleb Perriton – Wyoming

Caleb Perriton’s career began in the automotive industry as an international trainer prior to entering the world of postsecondary CTE. Currently, he serves as Program Director of the Trades & Technical Studies Pathway at Laramie County Community College. He is an ASE Certified Master Automotive Technician and earned a bachelor’s degree in automotive technology from Weber State University and master’s degree in business administration from the University of Wyoming.  

 

Luv’Tesha Robertson – Kentucky

Dr. Luv’Tesha Robertson is passionate about creating seamless transitions among secondary, postsecondary and workforce programs to foster learner success, particularly for learners of color.  She has over 15 years of experience in program quality, accountability, and learner transfer and retention initiatives at postsecondary institutions and the state level. Currently, Dr. Robertson serves as Deputy Executive Director of the Office of Adult Education at the Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet. She earned both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in financial management, conflict resolution and leadership from Sullivan University and earned a doctorate in educational leadership and policy studies from Eastern Kentucky University.

 

Daniel Sandoval – Colorado

Daniel Sandoval is passionate about cultivating self-reliance among learners and students from marginalized populations and has focused on serving immigrant, economically disadvantaged, racially underrepresented and linguistically diverse communities. His range of experience includes grant writing and administration, managing apprenticeship and credential attainment initiatives, and serving in leadership roles in postsecondary student services. Currently, Sandoval serves as the Director of Customized Training and Apprenticeships at Pickens Technical College and as a Psychology instructor at the Community College of Aurora. He earned a bachelor’s degree in English writing from Colorado Mesa University and a master’s degree in counseling psychology from the University of Colorado at Denver. 

By Jodi Langellotti in Uncategorized
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Getting to Know the 2022- 2024 Advance CTE – ECMCF Fellows Part 4

Wednesday, January 18th, 2023

In September, Advance CTE and ECMC Foundation announced the second cohort of The Postsecondary State Career Technical Education (CTE) Leaders Fellowship at Advance CTE—Sponsored by ECMC Foundation. The Advance CTE — ECMCF Fellows include representation across multiple demographic categories reflecting the Fellowship’s goal of intentionally building a postsecondary leadership pipeline for underserved populations in Career Technical Education (CTE)  that closes racial representation gaps and removes equity barriers to postsecondary leadership advancement.

Over the next several weeks, this blog series will introduce each Fellow participating in the second cohort of emerging leaders from 14 states, including 12 professionals of color.

Dr. Angela Lawhorne – Virginia

Dr. Angela Lawhorne has more than 15 years of experience supporting career development grants for two-year institutions and serving in regional and state leadership roles for workforce programs. Her passion for workforce development began during her service in the United States Air Force, where she supported diet therapy training programs. Currently, she serves as Director of Career Education Programs & Workforce Partnerships at the Virginia Community College System Office, adjunct Assistant Professor with Old Dominion University and Chair of the Southampton County Public Schools CTE Advisory Committee. Dr. Lawhorne holds an executive master’s degree in Business Administration from Texas A&M University and a doctorate in Community College Leadership from Old Dominion University.

Nancy Ligus – West Virginia

Nancy Ligus leverages her unique experience as a former small business owner, industry manager, and workforce educator to design curricula for industry development and work-based learning. Currently, she serves as Director of Workforce, Continuing Education and Economic Development for Pierpont Community & Technical College in West Virginia. She earned both a Human Resource Management Certificate and an associate degree in business marketing from Community College of Allegheny and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Seton Hill University.

Leisa Mathews – Wyoming

Leisa Mathews’ career began her career in the industry sector in human resources and workforce training roles for the oil and gas industry, including designing an international competency-based training curriculum. Her path eventually led to postsecondary administration and workforce development, where she currently serves as the Workforce Development Coordinator and Perkins Coordinator for Western Wyoming Community College.

By Jodi Langellotti in Uncategorized
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Getting to Know the 2022- 2024 Advance CTE – ECMCF Fellows Part 3

Tuesday, January 3rd, 2023

In September, Advance CTE and ECMC Foundation announced the second cohort of The Postsecondary State Career Technical Education (CTE) Leaders Fellowship at Advance CTE—Sponsored by ECMC Foundation. The Advance CTE — ECMCF Fellows include representation across multiple demographic categories reflecting the Fellowship’s goal of intentionally building a postsecondary leadership pipeline for underserved populations in Career Technical Education (CTE)  that closes racial representation gaps and removes equity barriers to postsecondary leadership advancement. 

Over the next several weeks, this blog series will introduce each Fellow participating in the second cohort of emerging leaders from 14 states, including 12 professionals of color.

Dominique Footes – Maryland

Dominique Footes’ (Maryland) experience focuses on college and career readiness for learners across postsecondary, non-profit and commercial sectors. Currently, she serves as the Special Programs Administrator for the Southeastern Universities Research Association. In this role, she works alongside partnering universities and scientists to develop and implement early career development, mentoring, and student programming for Goddard Earth Science Technology and Research II. Footes earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology from the University of Maryland and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of Baltimore.

 

Dr. Crystal Gardner – Texas

 Dr. Crystal Gardner (Texas) is an experienced educator with a record of success in improving school systems and championing culturally responsive professional development at the secondary and postsecondary levels. She currently serves as the Instructional Supervisor for the Houston Community College Alternative Teacher Certification Program. In this role, Dr. Gardner oversees instructional operations, program development, quality control, and compliance management. She received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Prairie View A&M University and both a master’s degree and a doctorate in curriculum and instruction from Texas Southern University.

 

Davil Jackson – California

Davil  Jackson (California) is passionate about empowering youth and young adult learners and has significant experience in apprenticeship program management and career readiness advising.  Currently, Jackson serves as a Career Services Advisor at the University of California, Riverside Extension. He earned a Multi-Craft Core Curriculum Apprenticeship Readiness Instructor Certification from Michigan State University and a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of California – San Bernardino. He is currently set to complete a master’s degree in education from Touro College in the fall of 2022.

Amy Hodge, Policy Associate

By Jodi Langellotti in Uncategorized
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Getting to Know the 2022- 2024 Advance CTE – ECMCF Fellows Part 2

Thursday, November 17th, 2022

In September, Advance CTE and ECMC Foundation announced the second cohort of The Postsecondary State Career Technical Education (CTE) Leaders Fellowship at Advance CTE—Sponsored by ECMC Foundation. The Advance CTE — ECMCF Fellows include representation across multiple demographic categories reflecting the Fellowship’s goal of intentionally building a postsecondary leadership pipeline for underserved populations in Career Technical Education (CTE)  that closes racial representation gaps and removes equity barriers to postsecondary leadership advancement.

This post continues our series to introduce each Fellow participating in the second cohort of emerging leaders from 14 states, including 12 professionals of color.

Kayla Brossett, Louisiana

Kayla Brossett has more than a decade of experience designing and managing strategic industry partnerships, with a specialty in workforce development, diversity, equity, inclusion, and student career services. Currently, she serves as the US Director of Employer Partnerships at the Wadhwani Foundation. She earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Northwestern State University and a master’s degree in communications from Grambling State University.

 

Jomarie Coloriano, Wisconsin 

Jomarie Coloriano’s professional experience is deeply influenced by her passion for social justice and systems reform. She has received multiple accolades for her work in diversity, equity, and inclusion and student support including being named the 2021 Gateway Technical College DEI Champion, the National Association of Student Personnel and the Administrators NOW 2020 Professional in Inclusion, Currently, she serves as a Multicultural Support Specialist at Gateway Technical College and an adjunct faculty member in the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences and School of Protective and Human Services.  Jomarie is also a doctoral candidate in the Leadership for the Advancement of Learning and Service program at Cardinal Stritch University.

 

Yolanda Flores, Florida 

Yolanda Flores specializes in supporting and preparing refugee and migrant learner populations for secondary and postsecondary success. Her more than two decades of experience include an instructor, school administrator, grants coordinator, and special populations program administrator. Currently, she serves as Administrative Director for Postsecondary, Adult & Community Education for Collier County Public Schools. Flores earned a bachelor’s degree in social science education from the University of Central Florida and a master’s degree in educational leadership from the University of South Florida.

 

Amy Hodge, Policy Associate 

By Stacy Whitehouse in Uncategorized
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Getting to Know the 2022- 2024 Advance CTE – ECMCF Fellows

Tuesday, November 1st, 2022

In September, Advance CTE and ECMC Foundation announced the second cohort of The Postsecondary State Career Technical Education (CTE) Leaders Fellowship at Advance CTE—Sponsored by ECMC Foundation. The Advance CTE — ECMCF Fellows include representation across multiple demographic categories reflecting the Fellowship’s goal of intentionally building a postsecondary leadership pipeline for underserved populations in Career Technical Education (CTE)  that closes racial representation gaps and removes equity barriers to postsecondary leadership advancement. 

Over the next several weeks, this blog series will introduce each Fellow participating in the second cohort of emerging leaders from 14 states, including 12 professionals of color.

Dr. Tempestt Adams, North Carolina 

Dr. Tempestt Adams’  career path has cultivated a passion for teacher preparation, career and technical education (CTE), and college and career readiness. Currently, she serves as an assistant professor of CTE at Appalachian State University. Dr. Adams earned a bachelor’s degree in business and marketing education from North Carolina State University, a master’s degree in business administration from Pfeiffer University, and a doctorate in curriculum and instruction from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

 

Shelsi Barber-Carter, Arkansas 

Shelsi Barber-Carter has over 12 years of experience in education administration, including coordinating postsecondary programs and managing regional and state teams to implement Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V) programs. Currently, she serves as an education and career consultant while pursuing a doctoral degree in educational administrative leadership and research at Liberty University. She received a bachelor’s degree in microbiology and a master’s degree in public administration from Southern University A&M College. 

By Stacy Whitehouse in Uncategorized
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Getting to Know the Advance CTE – ECMCF Fellows

Wednesday, February 9th, 2022

In November, Advance CTE and ECMC Foundation announced the inaugural cohort of The Postsecondary State Career Technical Education (CTE) Leaders Fellowship at Advance CTE—Sponsored by ECMC Foundation. The Advance CTE – ECMCF Fellows include representation across multiple demographic categories which emphasizes the Fellowship’s goal of intentionally building a postsecondary leadership pipeline for underserved populations in CTE that closes racial representation gaps, and removes equity barriers to postsecondary leadership advancement. 

Over the past few months, this blog series introduced each Fellow participating in the inaugural cohort of emerging leaders from 12 states, including 13 professionals of color.


Dr. La-Tonya Dixon (Alabama) has deep experience in CTE and served in leadership positions in the food production industry before transitioning to higher education, where she currently serves as an Assistant Professor in Nutrition and Hospitality Management at Alabama A&M University. She received a bachelor’s degree from Oakwood University, and a master’s degree and a doctorate in Food Science and Technology from Alabama A&M University.

 

 

Raymond James (South Carolina) is a veteran of the United States Army, and currently serves as Department Head for machine learning at Greenville Technical School in Greenville, South Carolina. James earned an associate degree in General Engineering Technology at Tri-County Technical College and a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Kaplan University.

 

 

 

 

Rich Crosby (Texas) is a product of CTE, with over a decade of postsecondary instruction experience. Crosby currently serves as a drafting instructor at Trinity Valley Community College in the Correctional Education Division. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Industrial Technology and a master’s degree in Human Resource Development from the University of Texas at Tyler.

 

 

 


 

Click here to learn more about the Fellowship and each Fellow.

Brittany Cannady, Senior Associate Digital Media

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