NAPE Education Foundation Board of Directors
The mission of the NAPE Education Foundation Board of Directors is to build educators’ capacity to implement effective solutions for increasing student access, educational equity, and workforce diversity. The Board meets quarterly and includes a diverse group of education and business and industry professionals.
Norman L. Fortenberry, Sc.D (President), Chief Executive Officer, WITAN Shawara Group
Dr. Norman Fortenberry is the CEO of the WITAN Shawara Group, a strategy and implementation consultancy that leverages his 30 years of experience in leading education and workforce organizations with budgets ranging from $2M to $40M and staff teams of 10 to 60 persons. He has demonstrated abilities 1) to recognize specific requirements and opportunities in organizational and programmatic challenges, 2) to devise high quality, cost-effective, and timely solutions, and 3) to implement solution strategies by identifying, organizing, and deploying the requisite human, technical, and financial resources. In developing and implementing strategies, He brings to bear over 25 years’ executive leadership experience in program/project design, coalition building, innovative problem solving, and grantsmanship at the pre-college, undergraduate, and graduate levels. He is a clear communicator with excellent interpersonal, team-building, and presentation skills. He received bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Lou Ann Hargrave, EdD (Past President), Retired, Work Prep Coordinator of TANF Funding Training, ABE and Employment Programs at Oklahoma Department of Career Technical Education
Lou Ann Hargrave, EdD, served the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education in multiple roles for 36 years. Most recently, as coordinator of the Work Prep/ABE TANF Programs’ Coordinator (1979-2015), she managed two statewide programs that provided CTE, academic remediation, and employability skills to Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) recipients. As Equity Coordinator (1982-1996), she managed the Displaced Homemakers Programs and the Careers Unlimited Programs, provided gender equity in-service training and technical assistance to local educational agencies, assisted with civil right reviews, and served on the ODCTE Accreditation and Evaluation team specializing in equity standards. From 1979 to 1981, she provided career education and guidance to high school and junior high students in three Oklahoma Counties’ public schools.
Dr. Hargrave began her career in education in 1977 as a vocational home economics teacher in Broken Bow Public Schools. She earned an EdD in occupational and adult education (2001), MS in occupational and adult education (1981), and BS in home economics education (1977)—all from Oklahoma State University, Stillwater.
Dr. Hargrave has been involved in NAPE for many years. She served as president and past president. She is current treasurer of the NAPE Education Foundation Board and a current member (and past co-chair) of the NAPE Policy Committee. She has also contributed to the work of the Awards Committee as a member.
She has served as an officer or member of the ACTE Legislative Policy Committee, Oklahoma Association of Minorities in Career Tech Education, Career and Technical Educational Equity Council (CTEEC), the American Vocational Association (now ACTE) Administration Division, and Oklahoma Women in Education Administration. She was named OVA Teacher of the Year, New and Related Services Division, and received the Meritorious Award from the Oklahoma Association of Minorities in Career Tech Education.
Michael Grubbs, PhD, (Secretary) Coordinator, Career & Technical Education, Baltimore County Public Schools
Dr. Michael E. Grubbs is the coordinator of Career and Technical Education (CTE) for Baltimore County Public Schools. In this capacity, he oversees nearly 40 different CTE programs of study across 10 career clusters; manages local, state, and federal budgets; and manages curriculum development, professional development, and instructional supervision related to CTE. Prior to his current position, he was the Supervisor of Manufacturing, Technology, and Engineering Education for Baltimore County Public Schools. While in this position, he oversaw extracurricular robotics for the school system, PLTW Engineering & Gateway, and technology and engineering education. Previously, he was a middle school engineering and technology education teacher, graduate research assistant for Virginia Tech, and adjunct instructor. He received his Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction: Integrative STEM Education, from Virginia Tech. He has authored the textbook Foundations of Engineering & Technology 7th Edition, book chapters, and numerous journal articles related to STEM, design, and engineering education. He is also a co-director for the Advancing Excellence in P-12 Engineering Education (AE3) research collaborative (www.p12engineering.org) which is in partnership with the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) to establish a defined and cohesive educational sequence to serve as the foundation for P-12 Engineering Standards. Dr. Grubbs current focus is on P-12 engineering education and improving students’ design cognition.
Victor Brown, PhD, MBA, (Treasurer) Associate Provost for Academic Programs and Education Effectiveness, Lehman College, The City University of New York
Dr. Victor M. Brown, is a native of Montego Bay, Jamaica and the first in his family to attend college. He earned a B.Sc. in Chemistry and Biochemistry from the University of the West Indies, Jamaica. Dr. Brown was a Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholar in London, England, where he served as Ambassador of Goodwill for Rotary International and earned a Postgraduate Diploma in Molecular Plant Pathology and Tissue Culture from Wye College, University of London. He holds a Ph.D. in Biochemistry through a joint program between the University of the West Indies and Wye College; and an M.B.A. in Business Administration from Goizueta Business School, Emory University.
Dr. Brown has held senior administrative and faculty positions at two- and four-year public and private colleges and universities in Alabama, Georgia, New Jersey, and New York. He led the restructuring of academic programs, including embedding high impact practices, stackable credentials, guided pathways and experiential learning in curricula. He fostered strategic partnerships with two- and four-year institutions to develop Baccalaureate and Baccalaureate-Master transfer agreements with national and international institutions to accelerate student progression and completion. Dr. Brown was influential in developing institutional policies to impact student recruitment, retention, and graduation rates through exposure and engagement with high impact practices to strengthen student persistence. As a professor at Tuskegee University, he was instrumental in the development of an early college high school initiative between Selma High School and Wallace Community College in Selma, AL to provide students with the opportunity to simultaneously complete college and high school. Currently, he is the Associate Provost for Academic Programs and Education Effectiveness at Lehman College, The City University of New York.
Dr. Brown has a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion, promoting and fostering strategic partnerships, and developing strategic planning. Dr. Brown has a passion for increasing the number of college-eligible, underrepresented youth. As such, he collaborates with schools, government and non-profit organization to develop strategic initiatives to create awareness of the educational and career opportunities through research, leadership development, and personal enrichment. He received awards, commendations, and citations from organizations such as New Jersey’s Bergen County Executive; New Jersey’s Bergen County Board of Freeholders; The South Carolina House of Representatives; and The Southeastern Consortium of Minorities in Engineering; for his selfless dedication to working with underrepresented youth. Dr. Brown serves on the Board for the YMCA of Greater Bergen County, the Disable Combat Veterans Youth Program and the Wise Scholars Foundation.
Judea Goins-Andrews, Advocate for Diversity and Equity in STEM Careers
Judea Goins-Andrews is a New Orleans native with a passion for STEM. As an active advocate for diversity in STEM careers for over 15 years, Mrs. Goins-Andrews has had the honor of directing programs focused on recruiting and retaining underrepresented students in engineering, creating sustainable STEM focused partnerships between educational institutions and industry, and consulting K-12 schools on implementing STEM workforce development programs. She was also a member of the state leadership team for Louisiana’s STEM Equity Pipeline pilot with NAPE. Mrs. Goins-Andrews received a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Engineering from Louisiana State University and a Master of Business Administration from Texas A&M University. She currently resides in Houston, Texas with her husband, Emanuel, and their fur-child, Bella.
Sherica R. Bryan, J.D., Vice President, Global Employment and Litigation
Veronica Gonzales, Director, STEM Learning Ecosystems & Senior STEM Consultant, Teaching Institute for Excellence in STEM
Veronica Gonzales currently serves as the Director of the STEM Learning Ecosystems Community of Practice, leading learning, communications and peer collaboration for leaders across 94 global communities. She has extensive and diverse experience in the nonprofit and public sectors as a development and strategic partnerships professional.
Veronica has a strong dedication for building partnerships to advance the capacity of communities, especially focused on marginalized populations. Veronica has worked to build collaborative programs in the areas of education, child welfare, leadership, and diversity in public service. Veronica believes strongly in the transformational power of storytelling.
In addition to her work with STEM Learning Ecosystems, Veronica consults on a number of projects to improve equity and outcomes for communities. These include more equitable grant-making processes, access to STEM opportunities and social-emotional learning training for school leaders.
Veronica holds a Master of Science in Social Work, specializing in Social Enterprise Administration and a Bachelor of Arts in International Affairs. She has worked abroad in Latin America and consulted on international projects, including education research for UNICEF, that has impacted countries across the globe.
Veronica is also an avid traveler, having visited over 20 different countries.
Nicholas Alexander Northington, Global Director of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion, International Research Exchanges Board
Thea Stern, MS, Pay Pal
Ms. Stern holds a Master of Science in Project Management from Boston University. She began her career in human resources consulting, specializing in talent management and recruitment. Interested in opportunities for veterans, she worked with many to create their first resumes and coached them on developing specific skills required for a successful civilian career. Five years ago, Ms. Stern transitioned into the technology industry, where she focused on both business and operations management of data centers. In her current role, she leverages her experience to develop customized solutions for Fortune-500 companies and small businesses in data center environments. She is an advocate for diversity in technical education and careers in data center technology. Ms. Stern’s professional interest is to develop a solid, supportive curriculum for encouraging diversity success in the workforce.
Michael Tinsley, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Success, Tennessee Board of Regents
Educating students has been a large part of Michael’s existence as far back as his elementary school days where he assisted lower performing students grasp and apply educational concepts to their everyday lives.
As a secondary educator for nearly two decades, Michael was an instructor, assistant principal, principal, and district leader responsible for closing achievement gaps while ensuring students had opportunities to realize their dreams through educational pathways. He transitioned to working with adults who needed differentiated learning in the area of math to fulfill high school requirements in order to move on to postsecondary education.
As the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Success at the Tennessee Board of Regents Michael’s role has encompassed working with over fifty institutions of higher learning and more than 200,000 students annually. The overarching goal has been to increase degree attainment among students whatever their race, color, national origin, gender, disability status, or additional qualities and characteristics. He has led faculty through statewide efforts in articulating credit from high schools to associate degrees on through bachelor’s degrees. His communication and leadership have been effectively utilized through speaking engagements and tours while leading diverse groups of stakeholders during innovative programs: Tennessee Promise, Tennessee Reconnect, High Impact Practices, Tennessee Statewide Dual Credit, Prior Learning Assessments, Curriculum Pathways, Co-requisite Courses, Gateway Coursework, Academic Mindset, 9 hours in Academic Focus, 30 hours in first year, SAILS etc. while maintaining a focus on data to drive student-based decisions.
Michael has been recognized with national awards and currently serves as an active member in multiple non-profit organizations while actively participating on various non-profit boards/executive committees: one as the President, another as Program Chair, along with NAPE’s Executive Committee and Chair of the Public Policy Committee.
The National Association for Partnerships in Equity, NAPE, drew Michael’s attention with its history rooted in sex (gender) equity in 1979, which grew to include vocational education (now – career and technical education) and the legislative advocacy of each. The incorporation of NAPE’s four pillars: “Public Policy and Advocacy, Technical Assistance, Professional Development, and Research and Evaluation” were important magnets. In Michael’s words, “The core of what I do daily, is to fight for those whose voices can’t be heard above the noise. NAPE is an organization, from within its very name, ‘equity’, provides for those same individuals through advocating legislative policies, while researching and evaluating effective practices and programs, to provide technical assistance and professional development to benefit those who otherwise would not be heard. It is an honor to partner with such an organization to make a difference in students’ lives.”
Sara Baird, NAPE President
Sara currently serves as the Assistant Director of Career and Technical Education (CTE) at the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction serving K-12 public schools statewide. Her background in CTE includes her previous positions as the Career Pathways Consultant at the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) where she focused on career pathways development, data definitions and collection, and growing career readiness awareness statewide. She started her work at DPI in Marketing, Management and Entrepreneurship in 2006. Prior to DPI, Sara taught Marketing Education for ten years in southeastern Wisconsin. Sara has a bachelor’s degree in marketing education and a master’s degree in training and development both from the University of Wisconsin-Stout.
Sara has been a member of NAPE since 2013 and has served as a board member at large on the Executive Committee for the last year. Her equity journey is rooted in implicit bias training alongside breaking down barriers for participation in career and technical education.
