Preconference Workshops • Wednesday, February 26

WED 9:00–4:00

Career Pathways Leadership Certification – Level I

This interactive workshop immerses you in best practices and insightful discussions based on CORD’s Framework for Career Pathways Alignment. Workshop segments include:

Strategically engaging employers to support innovation
Building community partnerships to facilitate seamless transitions
Designing industry-responsive career pathways
Using pathways mapping to identify and design stackable credentials
Championing and facilitating non-credit to credit alignment
Providing holistic student supports for credential completion

Participants will develop a local action plan and receive a toolbox of resources designed to support collaboration with K-16 educators, adult education programs, community organizations, and employer partners.

Bio

Claudia Maness has worked for CORD/NCPN and CORD Communications for over 28 years. She is currently the Director of Professional Development for CORD/NCPN. Before working for CORD, she was a secondary mathematics classroom teacher.

While working for CORD and CORD Communications, Claudia has been involved in developing curriculum materials, hiring and managing sales representatives across the country, and providing professional development to more than 5000 educators in 250+ workshops.

Bio

Kaye Sharbono holds a Master’s Degree Plus Thirty in Educational Leadership with endorsements in Adult and Early Childhood Education. She is the retired Director of Adult Education from Louisiana Delta Community College accumulating many accolades from her 30+ years administering Adult and Family Literacy programs in Northeastern Louisiana. Ms. Sharbono has spent her retirement years continuing her passion of Adult Education by serving on the Board of Directors for The Coalition on Adult Basic Education (COABE). On that board she served in many capacities including President from 2017-2019. Ms. Sharbono continues her work in the field by consulting and training programs across the country in development and implementation of cutting-edge research in the field of adult, community and family literacy education.

Career Pathways Leadership Certification – Level II

This interactive workshop challenges you to take your pathways development to the next level, based on the Advancing Credentials through Career Pathways Framework. Workshop segments include:

Assessing achievements and lessons learned
Refining implementation practices to facilitate scaling
Expanding employer engagement and work-based learning experiences
Increasing awareness and leveraging stakeholder involvement
Applying market responsiveness and sustainability strategies

Participants will have a pre-workshop assignment prior to the conference, and benefit from a virtual roundtable a month after the conference.

Bio

Ann Westrich’s professional journey showcases her deep commitment to Career and Technical Education (CTE). Starting as a Marketing Educator at Waunakee High School, she gained hands-on experience in teaching before transitioning to a broader role as the State Marketing Education Consultant at the Department of Public Instruction.

Currently Ann serves as Education Director for Career Prep and Transfer within the Wisconsin Technical College System, Ann plays a pivotal role in shaping the direction of CTE across the state. Her work involves collaborating with Career Prep Coordinators from all 16 colleges, leveraging their expertise to enhance CTE programs and opportunities.

Ann’s philosophy, encapsulated in the quote “People will support what they help to create,” reflects her belief in collaborative decision-making and community involvement.

Building Industry-responsive Biotech Pathways with Stackable Credentials

(Invitation Only)

This full-day workshop for biotechnology educators will immerse you in best practices for career pathways development. You’ll dive into CORD’s Framework for Career Pathways Alignment to guide your team in:

Fostering partnerships to support your community’s Career Pathways ecosystem
Engaging employers through the Business & Industry Leadership Team (BILT) model
Building industry-responsive career pathways with stackable credentials
Using pathway maps to align programs and communicate with stakeholders
Integrating employability skill development in biotech courses to improve workforce readiness
Creating seamless pathways through credit for prior learning and non-credit to credit alignment
Providing holistic student supports for credential completion

Participants will draft an action plan focused on strategic pathway implementation and receive a toolbox of resources to engage with P-20,adult education, community, and employer partners.

WED 9:00–Noon

Workforce Development System Partnerships: Strategies for Moving Career Pathways Forward

This interactive session will focus on integration of services with workforce development partners that will guide the development and implementation of career pathways. Join us to examine your current partnerships and develop action plans to grow and strengthen current workforce development partnerships.

Presenter: KayLynn Hamilton, Workforce Development Professional, Former Associate Teaching Professor at the Institute for the Study of Adult Literacy, Penn State University

Supporting Every Learner in Successfully Navigating High-Quality Career Pathways

In a time when information is critical to success and budgets are tied to outcomes, the need for strategic employer engagement with education has never been greater. No longer can programs thrive with limited input from local employers. Educators must stay informed of—and respond to—industry-specific trends that impact skill sets, national standards, and credentials. Participants will learn the tools and resources needed to map out your employer engagement strategy. Participants in this session will dive into the promising practices of developing a career preparation ecosystem through an inclusion lens. The session will provide high level overviews of counseling & career development initiatives, national models of meaningful advising implementation to borrow and share ground level ideas for supporting special populations in high quality career pathway programming.

Presenter: Lauren Jones, CTE Program Director for Special Populations, Counseling and Equity, CTE State Office in Colorado

WED 1:00–4:00

Apprenticeships in Career Pathways: Best Practices and Lessons Learned

This session will focus on best practices and lessons learned for integrating apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeships within career pathways. Attendees will learn from states and regions that are engaged in this work and be given an opportunity to develop action steps for integrating these into their own state and local plans.

AI Evolution: Enhancing Creativity, Efficiency, and Ethics

The increasing complexity of AI over the last few years is comparable to the growth of the Internet. The world has gone from web-connected to AI-embedded devices and processes. This session focuses on harnessing AI for creativity in the classroom and efficiency in the workplace; ethical AI use in an educational environment; and AI-driven critical thinking.

Bio

With over 23 years of experience in education, Dr. Lane Freeman has dedicated his career to advancing teaching and learning through innovative technologies. His expertise spans curriculum design, faculty development, and educational leadership, with a particular focus on leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance educational outcomes.

As the Director of Online Learning for the North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS), Dr. Freeman leads initiatives that integrate AI into both classroom instruction and student support services. He is a passionate advocate for using AI to create personalized, efficient, and scalable learning experiences that better prepare students for the challenges of the modern workforce.

Throughout his career, Dr. Freeman has presented at national and regional conferences, sharing insights on the transformative potential of AI in education. He has been instrumental in helping educators and institutions embrace cutting-edge technologies to improve teaching strategies, streamline administrative tasks, and enhance student engagement.

Dr. Freeman’s work reflects his commitment to lifelong learning, ensuring that students and educators alike have access to the tools and strategies necessary for success in the digital age.

Bio

Dr. Trent Mohrbutter is a lifelong learner and innovative educator with 35 years of professional experience, and holds an undergraduate degree in Education, a Master’s in School Administration, and a Doctorate in Education Leadership and Supervision.

As the former Vice President for Instruction and Chief Academic Officer at Nash Community College in North Carolina, he led academic and student affairs, supporting a dynamic and inclusive learning environment. During his tenure, he oversaw student success initiatives that resulted in increased student retention and completion. His diverse career includes roles as an early college, high school, and middle school administrator, teacher, counselor, and coach.

Dr. Mohrbutter integrates cutting-edge technology and AI to enhance teaching and learning and has designed, implemented, and facilitated professional learning for K-12, community colleges, and four-year institutions, both in person and virtually. His work supports high-impact instructional practices, equity and inclusion, guided pathways, and leadership excellence. An accomplished consultant, writer, and presenter, Dr. Mohrbutter is recognized nationally for his contributions to student success, retention, persistence, and completion. His focus on fostering positive, student-centered cultures and building sustainable community partnerships is central to his mission of advancing education through innovation and leadership.

NCPN is a project of CORD, the Center for Occupational Research and Development.

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