Professional development for business and marketing teachers is entering a new chapter shaped by greater access.
A new collaboration between MBA Research and Curriculum Center and ACTE reflects a shared commitment to expanding high-quality professional learning. Together they are bringing the MBA Research Conclave into ACTE’s CareerTech VISION beginning this year in New Orleans, Louisiana.
This is more than a scheduling shift. It is a strategic response to the changing needs of business and marketing teachers, the broader CTE community, schools, and the workforce.
An Introduction
MBA Research is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting high school business and marketing educators in the classroom. Our major tenets include the development of classroom resources, nationally recognized standards validated by business and industry, strong partnerships across CTE, professional development, and advocacy.
To the MBA Research community, Conclave has always been a true meeting of the minds. Those attending Conclaves of the past had the opportunity to learn from expert educators and business leaders. They take part in targeted teacher training, connect with CTSO leadership, attend meetings of the National Association of Supervisors of Business Education, and collaborate with leaders in the MBA Research Consortium. The salon-style atmosphere encouraged the organic sharing of ideas and best practices. Attendees left the MBA Research Conclave each year with both formal professional development and informal, lasting relationships with other educators from across the country.
Why This Change Just Makes Sense
For many years, both the MBA Research Conclave and ACTE’s CareerTech VISION have provided meaningful professional development. Conclave offers a focused experience for business and marketing educators. VISION includes that content within a broader national platform for CTE teachers and leaders across all career areas.
Over time, our communities’ needs have increasingly overlapped. Meanwhile, educators face greater limits on time, travel and funding. Bringing Conclave to VISION addresses this reality by reducing the need to choose between two valuable events. By delivering the Conclave experience at VISION, this partnership increases access to high-quality business-and marketing-focused learning. Our goal is simple: Help educators stay informed, inspired and prepared to apply practical strategies across areas such as entrepreneurship, finance, management, marketing, workplace readiness and career-connected instruction.
The Big (Not So) Easy
This path forward emerged through a deliberate and thoughtful process. In 2023, the MBA Research board of trustees developed a task force o review partner options to improve long-term viability. The goal was not simply to identify a larger venue, but to determine which organization would offer complementary goals and the strongest alignment around professional development, service and sustainability.
MBA Research engaged stakeholders from the broader CTE community to assess the feasibility of reimagining Conclave. And to ensure that this collaboration would not dilute the unique experience business and marketing teachers value. We worked closely with consortium members to preserve key priorities, including maintaining the annual MBA Research Consortium meeting at VISION prior to the start of the convention.
High-quality professional development does not look the same in 2026 as it did a decade ago. The pace of change in business, communication, technology and workforce preparation has accelerated. Artificial intelligence, digital transformation, chang-ing labor market expectations and new models of collaboration are shifting the skills students need and the ways educators must prepare them.
Merging the Main Stages
One of the defining features of the MBA Research Conclave has been its emphasis on business leaders as general session speakers who share strategies teachers can use in their classrooms. That focus remains essential. And it is only further supported by ACTE’s commitment to elevating voices from the field. Direct insight from industry leaders on their evolution can help teachers refresh and connect student learning to the world beyond school.
By bringing this model into VISION, the audience expands. The collaboration preserves the invaluable networking spaces, the business and marketing hospitality suite, and the traditional MBA Research Celebration event. This integrated approach ensures we support educators at multiple stages of their careers.
- New teachers gain a strong foundation, practical resources and instructional models they can adapt quickly.
- Experienced teachers find renewal, fresh ideas and exposure to emerging trends that strengthen both instruction and leadership.
- CTE leaders and administrators gain opportunities to think strategically about program quality, industry alignment and teacher support.
Welcoming the Broader CTE Community
The benefits of this merger extend well beyond business and marketing teachers. Business strategy, entrepreneurship, communication, innovation and work-force readiness are relevant across all CTE programs.
This becomes even more important when considering the modernized National Career Clusters Framework and its official recognition of Management & Entrepreneurship and Marketing & Sales as cross-cutting career clusters. These areas are no longer understood merely as separate content areas for a specific group of educators. Instead, they are essential knowledge and skill areas that connect across every career field. As schools, districts and states respond to this updated framework, business and marketing educators can help strengthen all CTE instruction.
The practical value of this collaboration is clear. Attendees will benefit from access to high-level business insights, expanded networking, and professional learning intentionally designed to be useful back in schools. Ultimately, this approach provides access to a more extensive community of educators who share a commitment to preparing learners for a changing economy. Readers should view this as a renewed investment in what professional development should deliver: not only in-spiration, but immediate, practical value.
A Look Toward the Future
Hosting the MBA Research Conclave at VISION sends an important message about the place of the wider CTE community. It affirms that these educators deserve a strong national platform for learning, visibility and collaboration, recognizing that their work has significance across the larger national conversation about readiness, innovation and student success.
As we look ahead to the Centennial Celebration at ACTE’s CareerTech VISION 2026 in New Orleans, Louisiana, this December, we anticipate an exciting inaugural year for this expanded offering. Together, we are laying the foundation for educators to develop the workforce of tomorrow.
Brian Pyles, Ph.D., is a strategic advisor for CTE and workforce development and formerly served as board of trustees chair for MBA Research and Curriculum Center.
Holly Atha is president and CEO of MBA Research and Curriculum Center.
