ACTE Announces 2021 Postsecondary Leadership Success Program Fellows

March 17, 2021

Today the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) announced its third class of Fellows for its 2021 Postsecondary Leadership Success Program at ACTE – sponsored by ECMC Foundation (PLSP-ECMCF). The program’s review committee selected 20 participants for the 2021-2022 cohort.  The PLSP-ECMCF will support current and aspiring leaders in career and technical education (CTE). The goal is to provide professional and career growth opportunities to the next generation of leaders at nonprofits and postsecondary institutions offering CTE programs.

To view the fellows’ bios, please visit this page by clicking on the Fellows’ name.

This is ACTE’s third cohort of 20 CTE postsecondary professionals in leadership development activities. These activities include creating a personal development plan, attending virtual and in-person professional development sessions, sharing best practices with the field and engaging with a mentor. The goal of the program is to help participants develop and refine their skills in CTE organizational leadership and management; build critical skills in communication, collaboration, networking, problem solving and use of time/resources; and hone their ability to facilitate institutional change. The PLSP-ECMCF also includes a research study to help determine what efforts best contribute to leadership development among postsecondary CTE professionals and the creation of resources that can be widely distributed to support others in the field.

POSTSECONDARY LEADERSHIP SUCCESS RESOURCES

Leadership Matters : Postsecondary Leadership To Ensure High-quality CTE Continuity

On Tuesday March 31, 2020 ACTE was happy to host a webinar with community/technical college and career technical center leaders that started a conversation about different approaches they’ve led their institutions towards in creatively and successfully replicating the hands-on and work-based learning components found in successful CTE programs of study during the COVID-19 Crisis. Featured attendees include Dr. Casey Sacks, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Community Colleges, US Department of Education (invited) Dr. Bryan Albrecht and members of the leadership team from Gateway Technical College, Fellows from the Postsecondary Leadership Success Program at ACTE – Sponsored by the ECMC Foundation (PLSP-ECMC Foundation) and other leaders from around the country. To view the webinar, please click on the video below.

Apply for 2021-2022 Cohort

Applications for the Postsecondary Leadership Success Program at ACTE – Sponsored by ECMC Foundation will open October 1, 2020 and will close on December 14, 2020!

Instructions for Applying

2021-22 ACTE Postsecondary Leadership Success Program

Postsecondary Leadership Success Program at ACTE – Sponsored by ECMC Foundation (PLSP-ECMCF) February 2021 – February 2022

Leadership training that encompasses personal characteristics, technical skills, interpersonal behaviors, commitment to goals, and effective organizational skills is crucial for effective leadership and critically important for postsecondary CTE. For this reason, the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE), with funding from the ECMC Foundation, is seeking participants in the initial Postsecondary Leadership Success Program (PLSP), March 2021 to February 2022. Selected participants will develop and refine their skills in organizational leadership and management; build critical interpersonal skills in communication, collaboration, networking, problem solving, and the effective use of time/resources; and hone their ability to facilitate institutional change. Participants will build a network of peers in CTE postsecondary leadership and work with a personal mentor to strengthen skills. Participants will commit to identifying and making progress on a self-identified project/work challenge that will have substantive impact on their postsecondary CTE program and/or enhance the delivery of CTE for undeserved populations.

The PLSP-ECMCF program is intended to develop the organizational leadership and management skills of CTE professionals who are working in postsecondary with preference given to those working with adult learners and those who would like to address the needs of undeserved populations. These populations may include adult learners, learners with disabilities, English language learners, or other groups. Individuals selected for the program must demonstrate a passion to grow their skill set and commit to being a recognized leader, both to support their own program and institution and to further leadership development among others in the postsecondary community. Participants will receive a stipend and a possible option graduate credit upon completion, and all travel and attendance costs for required events will be covered.

Individuals seeking to participate in the program must complete and submit the following electronic application, which will be reviewed by a committee of postsecondary CTE leaders. Applicants will be scored based on their ability to articulate goals and purpose for participation; experience with and commitment to undeserved populations; sensitivity to diverse populations; and clarity of the proposed challenge/issue you plan to solve. Please read the instructions carefully and be sure to upload the requested attachments, which include a letter of support from your institutional leader and a resume or CV. Applications judged to be incomplete will be disqualified from consideration.

For sample preview of applications, download here.

If you have questions, please contact Lauren Fillebrown, Program Coordinator – Partnerships (lfillebrown@acteonline.org).

Program Schedule

2019-2020 Program Schedule

National Policy Seminar 2019 in Arlington, Virginia – March 24-27, 2019
- 2019 National Policy Seminar Agenda
- PLSP-ECMC Foundation NPS Summary

Gateway Experience in Kenosha, Wisconsin – June 12-14, 2019
- 2019 Gateway Experience Agenda
- PLSP-ECMC Foundation Gateway Experience Summary

ECMC Foundation’s Inaugural Partner Convening in Washington, D.C. – October 22-24, 2019
- 2019 ECMC Foundation Convening Agenda
- Coming soon! 2019 ECMC Foundation Convening Summary

ACTE VISION 2019 in Anaheim, California – December 3-7, 2019
- Coming soon! 2019 ACTE VISION Agenda

Program Speakers

2019-2020 Program Speakers

Program Webinars

2019-2020 Program Webinars

April 2019 – Design Thinking for Solving Problems Featured Speaker: Dr. Jaared Scott, Associate Supt. Francis Tuttle Technology Center Understanding how to develop a problem statement and apply design thinking principles to create innovative strategies for problem solving.

May 2019 – CTE image and Recruitment Featured Speaker: Katie Fitzgerald, Advance CTE, Communications Manager Featured Speaker: Brittney Davidson, Aspen Institute, Senior Program Manager, College Excellence Program Review research and current tools available on effective messaging about overcoming the image and stigma of CTE.

June 2019 – Effectively using data and research Featured Speaker: Dr. James Bartlett, Associate Professor, College of Education, North Carolina State University Understanding challenges in access and equity for underserved populations in CTE and strategies for building an inclusive culture and interpreting research findings and leveraging evidence-based practices.

July 2019 – Access, equity, and special populations in postsecondary CTE Featured Speaker: Ricardo Romanillos, Director of Professional Learning, National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity Identifying challenges in access and equity for underserved populations in CTE and strategies for building an inclusive culture.

August 2019 – How to Present Like TED Featured Speaker: Rachel Mann, Founder and President, Teach/Lead Like TED Understanding design thinking and its application to solving problems.

September 2019 – Perkins V: Local Needs Assessments Featured Speaker: Alisha Hyslop, Director of Public Policy, ACTE Understanding federal CTE policy, funding, and the purposes of political advocacy and strategies for engaging and building partnerships with business and industry, the community and other education leaders.

October 2019 – Leadership without Authority Featured Speaker: Nancy Trivette, ACTE President Nancy shared about her experience in leadership roles, and particularly about what leadership without authority looks like and best practices in leadership positions without authority.

November 2019 – VISION Presentation Update PLSP-ECMC Foundation 2019-2020 Cohort Fellows gave an update on their 2019 VISION Presentation with their partners.

2019-2020 PLSP-ECMCF Fellows Blog Posts

PLSP-ECMCF Fellows Highlighted on ECMC Foundation #CTELeadershipCollaborative Blog!

Throughout the year, the 2019 PLSP-ECMC Foundation Fellows have been assigned various blog posts about different experiences. Through these posts, the fellows will share what they’ve learned, ideas they would like to share, and how the experiences have changed and challenged them. Stay tuned throughout the year to read the blog posts, which will on the ECMCF web site. Check out the the links below to see some of the fellows blogs on ECMC Foundation’s #CTELeadershipCollaborative blog as the fellows share about their experience as a Postsecondary Leadership Success Program at ACTE – Sponsored by ECMC Foundation Fellow!

“Intentional Selection” by Nzingha Williams

“Career-Tech in the Spotligh” by Carrie Schiederer