I am thrilled to join the Advance CTE team as a communications & advocacy associate. As part of the Communications Team, I will wear many hats, but my work will primarily be federal policy-focused. As part of this work, I will continue and support our weekly Legislative Updates and monthly member-only federal policy events, track federal legislation, and support resource development to connect our members to federal resources related to CTE.
Originally from the Washington DC metro area, I completed my undergraduate studies in western Pennsylvania at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and earned a bachelor’s degree in social studies education through the teacher preparation program. After graduation, I taught 7th grade modern U.S. History post-Civil War and 8th grade civics and economics at a middle school in northern Virginia. In my first year of teaching, I covered a unit on public policy development and its impacts with my 8th graders, facilitating class discussions about school funding, infrastructure, and how the many levels of government contribute to our lives. This unit ignited my interest in learning more about policy, and I began looking into graduate programs, with the coronavirus pandemic accelerating my return to school.
I enrolled in the University of Washington’s Evans School of Policy & Governance in the fall of 2021, seeking a deeper understanding of public systems and policies contributing to inequity in our nation’s public education. I loved the Pacific Northwest, spending my time camping, hiking, and exploring a new-to-me region of the country. Seattle became my home – particularly enjoying the summertime – and I learned much about the city through a position in the Seattle City Council President’s office. My work in this role led to advocacy for more school funding for school social workers and counselors and building a coalition with City leaders to maintain community college access and uplift certification programs in emerging technology on those campuses.
After graduation, I made the most of my summer in Seattle, backpacking in the Enchantments and Mt. Rainier National Park and taking a big road trip with my family around the Olympic Peninsula. At the end of the summer, I headed east, back to family and friends in the DC area, and began an earnest job search to join the education policy and advocacy community. After a year of substitute teaching, working at farmer’s markets, and networking, I am so excited to join Advance CTE to advocate for equitable investment of resources into learning communities with the long-term outcomes of learners in mind.
Located in Washington DC, I spend time with family, check out new restaurants or museums, and play the drums outside of work. A lifelong DC sports fan, I am a big professional basketball fan – go Wizards! – and love to play basketball and volleyball in my free time.
Hello! My name is Jessica (Jessi) Maddox, and I am ecstatic to be a part of the Advance CTE team as a senior policy associate. In this role I will be working directly with the upcoming cohorts of the Opportunity Gap Analysis providing customized technical assistance and peer learning opportunities to participating states. I will also collaborate with team members to enhance Advance CTE’s state policy, equity, and data and research strategies by supporting state and local sites in designing and advancing high-quality and equitable career pathways.
States make significant contributions to CTE programs through non-categorical, line item appropriations. Programmatic funding is distributed through periodic, legislatively established authorizations that are contingent on the availability of funds. States often place conditions on how money should be spent or used to promote state priorities. Additionally, a programmatic line item appropriation can be a recurring or a one-time investment. This blog highlights appropriations in industry-recognized credentials, Career Technical Student Organizations (CTSOs), career advisement, and educator preparation for fiscal year (FY) 2022. You can read more about categorical funding in the first blog in this series, 
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improving college access and completion rates for underserved students; ensuring equitable resources for learning recovery; expanding educational opportunities for justice-impacted individuals to improve outcomes; advancing equity in career and technical education; and increasing mental health resources in underserved communities. In the plan, ED notes that it hopes to improve data transparency with regards to Perkins V data, host a future webinar series on equity in CTE and propose broadened equity indicators as part of its priorities for potential legislative updates to Perkins V in the years ahead. Read the full plan 
As explained in 
In October 2023, New Hampshire passed 
In March 2023, Virginia enacted 
Fellows were also asked to share the key event or events that reinforced their decision to apply to the Fellowship, in other words – when they knew they made the right decision. Dr. Gardner shared that in CTE she rarely has an opportunity to work with or collaborate with other leaders of color across the nation and view the entire landscape of leadership possibilities in postsecondary CTE. The Fellowship offered an opportunity to build a network consisting of her peers, guest speakers invited to the Fellowship workshop and most importantly her coach whom she felt she was perfectly matched with based on their commonalities and interests. She recognized the level of thought the Advance CTE staff dedicated to finding the right mentor for each of the Fellows. Caleb discussed being paired with a postsecondary administrator with an automotive background and how the monthly coaching meetings inspired him to begin seeking the director position he currently holds at his institution. 
Tell me more about your journey to the Fellowship.
House Appropriators Advance FY24 Labor-HHS-ED Legislation