Tuesday, February 13, 2024

Women in the Trades

 

In this episode, Dr. Leslie Cordie interviews Oneka Jenkins about women in the trades. Oneka is an instructor with Minnesota Statewide Limited Energy and IBEW Low Voltage Electrical Journeyman Technician.  

Oneka is an IBEW Low Voltage Electrical Journeyman Technician.  She has been in the electrical industry for 16 years.  Currently, Oneka is an Instructor with Minnesota Statewide Limited Energy JATC teaching Apprentices and Continuing Education classes.  During her time in the electrical industry, Oneka has been an IBEW Business Representative, a General Foreman, a Foreman, a Journeyman Installer and an Apprentice.  For the last five years, Oneka has been training new apprentices in the low voltage electrical trade.  She has established a financial readiness course and an industry readiness course to help the new apprentices with the highs and lows of the construction trade.

 

Listen to the Podcast


 

 

Tuesday, January 16, 2024

Online Learner Engagement

 

In this episode, Dr. Leslie Cordie interviews Dr. Nancy Chapko about online learner engagement. Dr. Chapko is an Instructional Design Strategist at Gateway Technical College, an adjunct instructor in Career and Technical Education at the University of Wisconsin–Stout, an adjunct instructor of business courses at Wisconsin Technical College, and a National Training Institute (NTI) professional educator for the Electrical Training Alliance.

Dr. Nancy Chapko is an Instructional Design Strategist at Gateway Technical College, an adjunct instructor in Career and Technical Education at the University of Wisconsin – Stout, an adjunct instructor of business courses at a Wisconsin technical college, and a National Training Institute (NTI) professional educator for the Electrical Training Alliance. She has expertise in connecting technology and pedagogy, cultivating instructional strategies, and developing content to align with educational and occupational standards.  


Listen to the Podcast


 

 

Tuesday, December 19, 2023

University-Industry Collaboration

 


In this episode, Dr. Leslie Cordie interviews Dr. Alma Gonzalez about university-industry collaboration. Dr. Gonzalez is a visiting researcher at the National University of Ireland – Galway. 

Dr. Alma Gonzalez holds a Ph.D. in Strategic Studies from the Nanyang Technological University (Singapore) and has over 10 years of experience working around the world as a strategic learning and development consultant and corporate trainer. Alma is passionate about creating and sharing knowledge to enhance organizational performance and improve the capabilities and lives of professionals. She has experience working with organisations of all sizes, from Ministries of Defense and large multinational corporations to higher education institutions and technology start-ups. Alma's research interests lie at the intersection of higher education, corporate training, and industrial transformation. Her most recent research explores university-industry collaboration on workforce training and development in the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.


Listen to the Podcast


 



 

Tuesday, December 5, 2023

Workforce Development in Career and Tech ED


In this episode, Dr. Leslie Cordie interviews Dr. Brock Kelley about workforce development in career and tech ed. Dr. Kelley serves as Regional Director of Workforce Development for the Alabama Community College System.

Dr. Brock Kelley currently serves as Regional Director of Workforce Development for the Alabama Community College System. He has extensive experience in creating education-to-industry pipelines and has been instrumental in developing programs and initiatives in the areas of career awareness and career preparation across the state. Before joining the community college system, he served as Director of Workforce Development for the Alabama Department of Education.

Dr. Kelley earned his Ph.D. in Adult Education from Auburn University in 2018. In his current role, Dr. Kelley works with each community college to foster and create pipelines between educational institutions. Before joining state-level government, Dr. Kelley worked just shy of a decade in K-12, where he served in numerous roles such as the principal of Charles Henderson High School and System-wide Behavior Specialist with Enterprise City Schools. During his tenure as principal and most recently with the Alabama Department of Education, Dr. Kelley worked to increase the labor participation rate in Alabama by focusing on career awareness, career exploration, and post-secondary preparation.

 

Listen to the Podcast


 



 


Tuesday, November 28, 2023

Workforce in Crisis


Chris Stark is a Community and Economic Development Educator for UW-Madison, Division of Extension. Based in Eagle River, WI Stark has had multiple roles in economic development including as a state practitioner for the State of Maryland, a local economic development practitioner, and as a site location consultant for businesses. Now tenured at the Univ of Wisconsin, Stark resides in Eagle River, WI where he assists local and regional economic development practitioners in rural areas with economic development strategies. In recent years, his research and area of focus has been on how to cope with the coming workforce crisis.


In this episode, Dr. Leslie Cordie interviews Chris Stark about workforce in crisis. Chris is a Community and Economic Development Educator for UW-Madison, Division of Extension.


Listen to the Podcast


 


Tuesday, November 14, 2023

Leadership Lessons Learned


“People who are truly strong lift others up, people who are truly powerful bring people together” 

Michelle Obama

This quote encapsulates the strength and determination that Dr. Jacqueline Austin has demonstrated throughout her professional career and also reinforces one of her key attributes whenever entrusted with a position of leadership. Her commitment to bringing people together and lifting others up coupled with the creation of an environment that is purposeful in its pursuit of excellence, has been integral to her ability, to achieve maximum results while inspiring the team that she leads to maximize their full potential.

 

A person of integrity, transformational, determined and a passionate advocate for student development are just a few of the words and phrases used to describe both her character and her accomplishments by peers and students alike. Dr. Austin has always been at the forefront of pioneering change and has been instrumental in developing key initiatives throughout her career that continue to redound to the benefit of students she served or who sought her counsel at the Barbados Community College. Her progression to the helm of Industry Services Unit enabled her to leverage her expertise and skills to bring key partners and stakeholders together to develop programs and strategic partnerships that equipped participants with the requisite skills and knowledge to effectively meet the needs of the ever changing job market.

Dr. Austin exemplifies the belief that excellence is not an exception. It is a prevailing attitude. She has demonstrated that the pursuit of one’s goals and dreams can still be realized even in the midst of challenges if met with hard work and a determined spirit. This drive and focus led to her selection as a Fulbright Hubert Humphrey Fellow and subsequently a Presidential scholar at the University of Manchester Business School where she pursued a doctoral degree in Business and Management. Her outstanding contributions during her academic career both through her research and global speaking engagements have positioned her at the forefront of her peers as a thought leader in the area of Technical Vocational Education and Training and Human Resource Development and has enabled her to provide valuable consultation to educational institutions and multinational corporations as well as regional and international governments.

 

Dr. Austin has exhibited a level of focus and determination that is unparalleled. Her pursuit of her academic and professional career has taken her to numerous countries across continents but she never lost sight of her commitment to family, faith or fulfilling her purpose. This same commitment to making a meaningful difference remains at the forefront of her new role as President of the Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College. She will undoubtedly bring the CFBC community together while lifting their hearts and minds.

 

In this episode, Dr. Leslie Cordie interviews Dr. Jacqueline J. Austin about leadership lessons learned. Dr. Austin is the President of the Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College in St. Kitts, West Indies.

 

Listen to the Episode


 


Tuesday, October 31, 2023

Career and Tech Ed Advising

In this episode, Dr. Leslie Cordie interviews Dr. Kemaly Parr about career and tech ed advising. Dr. Kemaly Parr is an Assistant Professor in the Murray State University College of Education and Human Services Department of Adolescent, Career, and Special Education. Dr. Parr also serves as the Director of Career and Technical Education at Murray State. She holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Adult Education from Auburn University and a Master's of Science Degree in Dental Hygiene from the University of Tennessee. She has over 10 years of experience in higher education. She is a member of the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE), the Kentucky Association for CTE (KACTE), and the Association for Career Tech Ed Research (ACTER). She is an active member of the American Dental Hygienists Association (ADHA).

 

Dr. Parr was recognized as the Murray State University College of Education and Human Services Outstanding Collegiate Researcher Faculty Award in 2020 and she received the Murray State University College of Education and Human Services Outstanding Faculty Research and Creativity Award in 2019.

 

Listen to the Podcast

 

Conversations From the Front Porch Episode 1 Transcripts

Tuesday, October 17, 2023

The Climate of Teaching and Learning in the U.S.

 

In this episode, Dr. Leslie Cordie interviews Dr. Jason C. Bryant about the climate of teaching and learning in the United States. 

Dr. Jason C. Bryant is an Assistant Clinical Professor at Auburn University where he began in January 2016 and is currently serving as the director of Truman Pierce Institute within the College of Education at Auburn. Dr. Bryant has seventeen years of K-12 experience as a former science teacher, assistant principal, and principal at both the middle and high school level in Alabama. He is a past president and board member for the Southern Regional Council on Educational Administration (SRCEA) and served on the executive board of the Alabama Association of Professors of Educational Leadership (AAPEL). His dissertation is titled “Student Perspectives of Supporting and Hindering Factors in School Integration and the Role of Racial Identity in the Process” which he received from in Administration of Elementary and Secondary Education from Auburn University.

Listen to the Podcast


Conversations From the Front Porch Episode 12 Transcripts

Tuesday, October 3, 2023

Online Restoration Ecology Certificate

 

In this episode, Dr. Leslie Cordie interviews Dr. Becky Barlow and Dr. John Kush about School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences.  

As an Alabama Cooperative Extension System Forestry Specialist and Professor within the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences at Auburn University, Dr. Becky Barlow strives to inspire forest landowners to manage their property to meet multiple objectives.  Forestland management basics are a focus of her outreach work.  She also works in the area of agroforestry research and extension to provide landowners with options for generating additional revenue from their lands.  In addition, she teaches several upper level forestry courses in Auburn University’s School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences.

 

Dr. John S. Kush is a research fellow (recently retired) in the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences at Auburn University.  His Bachelor of Science degree in Forest Science came from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.  He received his Master’s and PhD, both in Forest Ecology from Auburn.  He conducted research for over 39 years with a focus on stand dynamics, fire effects, and restoration and taught several classes related to forest ecology. He has authored/co-authored book chapters and numerous publications. He is a certified senior ecologist and was inducted into the Alabama Foresters Hall of Fame in 2017.  Though retired, he teaches a forest fire management class and several classes with the restoration ecology graduate certificate program at Auburn.

 

Listen to the Podcast

 

Conversations From the Front Porch Episode 11 Transcripts

Tuesday, September 19, 2023

Workloads for Faculty: Online and F2F

 

Dr. Simone C. O. Conceição

Dr. Simone C. O. Conceição, Ph.D. is Professor Emerita in the Department of Administrative Leadership at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and owner of SCOC Consulting. She received her doctorate in Adult and Distance Education from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her Master's in Adult and Continuing Education from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She teaches courses in the areas of distance education, use of technology with adult learners, instructional design, and adult learning.  Her research interests include distance education, adult learning, impact of technology on teaching and learning, instructional design, and staff development and training.

 

Dr. Conceição is the editor of Teaching Strategies in the Online Environment (2007). Most recently, she coauthored the books Creating a Sense of Presence in Online Teaching: How to “Be There” for Distance Learners (2010). Managing Online Instructor Workload: Strategies for Finding Balance and Success (2011) and Motivating and Retaining Online Students: Research-Based Strategies that Work (2014). She was inducted into the International Adult and Continuing Education Hall of Fame in 2018.

 

Listen to Podcast

 

 Conversations From the Front Porch Episode 10 Transcript