ACTE Announces Virginia Specialist as National Award Finalist

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 8, 2018

Contact: Jarrod Nagurka
jnagurka@acteonline.org, 703-683-9312

ACTE Announces Virginia Specialist as National Award Finalist

ALEXANDRIA, VA—Today, the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) announced Judith P. Sams, Business and Information Technology and Related Clusters Specialists at Virginia Department of Education in Richmond, Virginia, as the 2018 ACTE Region II Administrator of The Year. This award recognizes administrative CTE professionals at the school, district, county, state or federal level in the 11 states, including Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the Bahamas, in Region II. The nominees from each state must have demonstrated outstanding leadership in ensuring teacher and student success and have made significant contributions toward innovative, unique and effective career and technical education programs.

Judith Sams is recognized across the commonwealth for the high standards she sets for all things CTE. Every program, every workshop, every curriculum review, every technical support opportunity, and every professional association activity in which she is involved is implemented to perfection because Sams plans and works hard behind the scenes, according to her nomination packet.

Sams currently leads development of the cybersecurity fundamentals course that set the stage for cybersecurity pathways in each career cluster. Sams has enjoyed national acclaim for presentations on Economics and Personal Finance and Cybersecurity Education, and she spends countless hours advising on the state of Virginia’s successful initiatives. She also leads the Microsoft Imagine Academy, giving students and teachers across Virginia equal access to professional development, classroom resources, credentialing, and national recognitions for information technology.

Through her role as state coordinator for the Southern Region Education Board (SREB), she conducts career counseling, project-based learning regional workshops and SREB streaming videos, and she represents Virginia at conference planning and Board meetings. She also serves as State Chairman for the Virginia FBLA-PBLA and as State Agent for the Virginia Business Education Association.

Sams is one of 5 finalists for the 2019 national title. The national winner will be announced at the ACTE Awards Banquet, a dinner and award presentation recognizing the best CTE educators in the country. The event will take place on Wednesday evening, November 28, during ACTE’s CareerTech VISION 2018 in San Antonio, TX. The Awards Banquet is sponsored by Express Employment Professionals, the US Army, CareerSafe, and Stratasys. For more information about the ACTE Excellence Awards, visit our webpage.

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About ACTE
The Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) is the nation’s largest not-for-profit association committed to the advancement of education that prepares youth and adults for successful careers. ACTE represents the community of CTE professionals, including educators, administrators, researchers, school counselors, guidance and career development professionals and others at all levels of education. ACTE is committed to excellence in providing advocacy, public awareness and access to resources, professional development and leadership opportunities.