On Friday, April 13, the Vermont/New Hampshire Career Development Association (VTNHCDA)will host its first ever all-day workshop at Keen State College.
According to Doug Cullen, past president of the association, the gathering will be “a small event, but with great speakers,” each of whom will initiate conversations around Transition Planning for students and young adults in Vermont and New Hampshire.”
“Participants will hear from both local and national speakers about how others are looking at the career development frameworks and putting them into operational practices,” he said.
He said the workshop will also provide educators from New Hampshire an opportunity to learn more about what is happening just west of the state’s border.
“How much do N.H. practitioners know about what Vermont is doing?” he rhetorically noted. “Do New Hampshire practitioners even know about Vermont’s Act 77 and other related legislation that put career pathways into a very positive light? It will be especially good for us in New Hampshire to hear from and work with people from another state, which has been a fundamental aspect of the Vermont/New Hampshire Career Development Association since its inception in 2016.”
At the workshop, scheduled speakers will include:
- Julie Heinz, Senior Advisor at Michelle Obama’s Reach Higher Initiative at Civic Nation, will speak about her work and Transitions
- James Westhoff, NCDA Credentialing
- Ed Colozzi, Career Development and Counseling Services & President of the the Massachusetts CDA – Transitions
- Drew McDowell, Director of Adult Education/Assistant Director at Windham Regional Career Center – Workforce technologies and expanding the post-Secondary landscape
“The focus of the event with invites sent out throughout New Hampshire and Vermont is to get educators with a stake in developing career development competencies in their school and district engaged in best-practice conversations,” said Cullen. “It all complements the contemporary effort of developing robust career pathways across the region and across the ‘great divide,’ which is high school graduation.”
Noting one of the other central themes of the workshop relates to asking and answering, “How much are we operating with educators ‘across-the-border’ in ways that are earnestly considered collaborative?” Cullen cited other important concepts.
“We also want participants to hear a bit from Washington and the Reach Higher initiative, as it relates to understanding metrics being used throughout the U.S. that measure college ‘engagement’ and ‘retention’ rates,’” he said. “These are tactical measures that can translate into big-picture economic development gains if the efforts behind the metrics have follow-through and support.”
To register for the workshop, which includes breakfast and lunch, click or to register, visit https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSftW8V69tUPX4bj_CWKAcNwP2F41F8io4FkXur5bfD8EvAUog/viewform.
To learn more about the VTNHCDA, visit https://vtnhcda.org.