NAPE Announces 2015-16 Executive Committee

The 11-member Executive Committee of the National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity (NAPE) welcomed four  new officers, elected by the NAPE Board of Directors, whose terms commenced on July 1, 2015.  Read the Press Release

President-Elect Victor Cato will serve a total of 3  years on the Committee, 1 year as President-Elect , 1 as President, and 1 as Past President. Mr. Cato works for the Oregon Department of Education Office of Learning in the Secondary Postsecondary Transitions Unit as Career & Technical Education Program Specialist for the Human Resources Career Learning Area. His special assignments include: Perkins special populations , traditionally underserved student groups in CTE/STEM, team lead and liaison for CTE teacher licensure, and member of the agency-wide Diversity and Inclusion Committee.  Mr. Cato has a BA in political science , MBA, and MA in teaching, and is an active member of Phi Delta Kappa International Honor Society.

Returning member Karen Showers was elected Treasurer for a 3-year term. Ms. Showers is an Education Director for Counseling and Student Support for the Wisconsin Technical College System. Ms. Showers has been a state education agency member of NAPE for 15 years, currently serving on the Professional Development and Member Services committees and was recently a Member-at-Large on the Executive Committee this past year. Her professional experience is centered on adult career development, career counseling, holistic assessment, postsecondary  student success strategies, and Career Pathways development and support.

Three new Members-at-Large were appointed for 2-year terms: Ruth Durkee,  Carolyn Zachry, and Adrian San Miguel.

Ruth Durkee is the Assistant Director for Adult Education at the Randolph Technical Career Center. Ms. Durkee is also an adjunct faculty member at Vermont Technical College and Castleton College, teaching undergraduate- and graduate-level courses for CTE teacher and administrator licensure and professional development. She is one of 7 individuals in Vermont who has been approved by the Vermont Human Rights Commission and the Vermont Agency of Education to conduct independent reviews of harassment complaints in Vermont schools.

Carolyn Zachry, EdD,  is currently the Education Administrator for the Career Technical Education Administration and Management Office in the Career and College Transition Division (CCTD) at the California Department of Education (CDE). She is responsible for administrative management of Perkins funding throughout California and was on the team responsible for the revisions to and professional development for the California Career Technical Education standards. Dr. Zachry is the CDE representative to the Joint Special Populations Advisory Council and the California County Superintendents Education Services Association CTE council. Additionally, Dr. Zachry is a member of the Common Core State Standards Integrated Action Team.

Adrian San Miguel is the Career Guidance and Transition Coordinator for the Division of Professional-Technical Education in Boise, Idaho. Originally from Texas, he received his degrees from Baylor University and has spent the past 10 years working in higher education in Texas, Indiana, and Idaho. Mr. San Miguel’s career and passion have been focused on serving nontraditional students and diversity-related initiatives. He also serves as state coordinator for the State Division, where he provides leadership and guidance for special populations and nontraditional occupational programs through Centers for New Directions and technical college system.

They will join the current members of the NAPE Executive Committee team: President Jay Ramsey (VT), Past President Terri Boyer, EdD (NJ), Member-at-Large Lakshmi Mahadevan, PhD  (TX), and CTEEC Representatives Terri Grusendorf (OK) and Monica Marsh (OH).

NAPE looks forward to another successful year under this team of exceptional leaders!