Meet the Candidates for the IAACE Board of Directors was recorded on Friday, March 25 at 10:30 am EDT.
You may watch the recording below.
You must sign in to see the ballot and cast your vote.
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IAACE Board Election Ballot
All members of IAACE are entitled to vote for one (1) President-Elect candidate, one (1) Treasurer, and four (4) Board Member candidates.
Voting starts on Thursday, March 17, 2022 and closes on April 1. 2022.
Announcement of Election Results will be announced at the Annual Meeting
President-Elect Nominee
Konnie McC0llum
President-Elect
Konnie is Adult Education Director for River Valley Resources, Inc. where she is responsible for all Adult Education programming and budgeting for Adult Education services in both Economic Growth Regions 9 and 10. She has a Master’s Degree in Adult Education from Indiana University and a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Louisville. Konnie is a current member of the IAACE Board, where she chairs the Student Engagement Committee. In 2021, Konnie won COABE’s national Outstanding Administrator of the Year Award. When she is not working, she is a fierce competitor who has qualified and run the prestigious Boston Marathon, and she has earned a Fourth Degree Black Belt in World Taekwondo, making her a Taekwondo Master.
Treasurer Nominee
Lisa Cruea
Treasurer
Lisa Cruea has been nominated to serve as IAACE Board Treasurer. Lisa has been the Director of the Warren County Learning Center and the Benton/Fountain/Warren Adult Ed Program since 2007. She has been an IAACE Member for fourteen years and has served as Treasurer for the last three. Lisa has also served on the Advocacy, Budget, Audit, and Conference Committees. She enjoys working with her students and shares their elation when they achieve their goals. In her free time, she loves seeking adventures with her family
and traveling with her husband.
Board Member Nominees
Each board member who is not an officer shall be elected for a term of two (2) years by the active membership.
Board Member at Large
Adrienne Carrol
Adrienne Carrol has over 13 years of experience as an adult educator with 10 years of experience as an ABE teacher, 2 years of experience as a professional development facilitator, and almost 4 years of experience as the Director of Adult Education at NEO Adult Education in Portage. She holds Master’s degrees in Adult and Community Education as well as Executive Development for Public Service. Adrienne is passionate about adult education and is thrilled to have an opportunity to join the IAACE board and work with others who share her passion.
Board Member at Large
Melinda Grismer
Board Member at Large
Louisa Hoffman
Louisa Hoffman has been a dedicated ESL instructor since 2006, and for the last 15 years has taught hundreds of Spanish-speakers in Clinton County, Indiana, to begin to speak, read, write and understand English. She teaches on behalf of the Lafayette Adult Resource Academy (LARA) serving primarily Latino residents of Frankfort, Indiana, out of the Learning Network of Clinton County office building. During the global pandemic, Louisa pioneered a short course in digital literacy that safely trained adult learners to remotely access live English language instruction. The course, called “Clase de Prepa (which means preparation course in Spanish),” was a three-week, hands-on introduction to the Zoom and Burlington English platforms in our computer lab, socially distanced with masks. She wrote the curriculum (particularly geared for low literacy LEP adults) that included all the components of how to access the technology, utilize its features and connect with our teachers’ live instruction so our students could continue learning at home.
Board Member at Large
R. “Mac” McElroy
R. “Mac” McElroy is in his fourteenth year working in correctional education. He served as an ABE/HSE teacher for thirteen years at the New Castle and Miami Correctional Facilities and he is currently serving as the Site Manager at the Miami Correctional Facility. Mac is also in his final year of work to complete his PhD in Educational Studies through Ball State University. His current writing and academic projects include a series of articles about the redesign of the TPACK Model and a research study that examines the idea of using inquiry-based instruction to facilitate student engagement. Mac loves teaching, reading history, and lounging on a sunny beach with his wife of 27 years.
Board Member at Large
Christy McIntyre-Gray
Christy McIntyre-Gray serves as the Coordinator for the M.S.D. of Wayne Township’s Adult Education (WTAE) program that serves 1800 students a year. WTAE has classes in Marion, Morgan, and Hendricks counties spanning urban,
suburban, and rural communities WTAE’s Integrated Education and Training (IET) program was recognized as an innovation project by the United States Department of Education. Her program has recently trained 12 Student Ambassadors to help expand outreach work throughout the communities including urban, suburban, and rural communities. The Student Ambassador Council and IAACE were just honored with a national Coalition of Adult Basic
Education (COABE)’s grant award “When Learners Lead, Programs Succeed” helping to expand the Student Advocates program around the state. Christy was also recently selected for the COABE State Advocates for Adult Education
Fellowship. She has a passion for our work and a drive to see our state funding restored through statewide communication campaigns from students and directors to elected officials with the purpose of raising funding for all of our
programs who are #1 status for gains, #3 for high school equivalency diplomas, and #7 for integrated education and training (IET) programs. Christy has a talented staff that is always willing to support and collaborate with other programs and the synergy brings new opportunities for all. Right now, it is the time to synergize around leverage state dollars that will honor our collective achieved status as the best place in the nation for student growth. Christy has a Masters in Social Work and a work history that spans positive youth development, public policy, workforce development, United Way,
foundations, and court mediation. Christy, her husband Jason, and their five children are national park enthusiasts who have a goal of traveling to all parks by 2027. They live on a fifth-generation farm in Danville, Indiana.
Board Member at Large
William Patterson
William Patterson is the current director for Elkhart Community Schools Adult Education. He comes from a diverse background in both business and education. William holds master’s degrees in Educational Leadership, Special Education, and Business. He currently lives in Bremen with his wife Wendy and their four daughters. William has a passion for education and helping others grow, both in a classroom setting and in the community. William believes each day is an adventure full of opportunities and that together, we can make a difference.
Board Member at Large
Angela Reffo
Angela Reffo has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Applied Health Science from Indiana University-Bloomington and has worked as the Testing and Data Manager for South Bend Community School Corporation Adult Education for 10 years. Her strengths are supervising, conducting and monitoring HSE testing and also sharing strategies/best practices to help other data managers analyze
their data effectively. She enjoys being the “biggest cheerleader” for the students who take their high school equivalency test in South Bend. She has been a presenter at both IAACE and Summer Institute. In her spare time, she is the announcer for the New Prairie High School Boys Varsity Soccer Team, a 5th-grade basketball and volleyball coach, a consultant for Pampered Chef, and a
volunteer in children’s ministry at her church. She has been married to her husband, Daniel, for 15 years and they have 3 children: Olivia(13), Noah(12) and Breanna(8).
Board Member at Large
Amy Richmund
Amy has over 20 years of educational experience, with her passion being specifically in adult education. Her most recent school role was HSE Supervisor for Wayne Township Adult Education through 2019, before joining forces with her husband Neil, Australian-born web designer and former chaplain/educator himself, to co-found ConnectAble, a nonprofit formed specifically to serve the needs of adult education. Amy now works full-time with ConnectAble and has the honor of working with several adult ed programs not only across Indiana but across the nation. Amy has had the honor of consulting and presenting on several adult education topics both on the state and national level.
Board Member at Large
Katherine “Katie” Walton
Katie Walton is an adult education teacher in Region 9. She currently works for River Valley Resources in Ohio, Ripley, and Switzerland counties. Katie has been teaching adults for around three years and has truly found her passion here. Previously she taught internationally and locally at the middle school level for twelve years. Katie is a strong believer in virtual and digital learning but knows it is not the best option for everyone.
Board Member at Large
Amy Wood
Amy was hired as the executive director for LARA in November of 2019, but her journey with the nonprofit sector began in 2007 at United Way. Amy began learning and believing in the mission of LARA of assisting others to make productive, ongoing improvements in their lives through education and life skill training, and she knew she wanted to be involved.
Like many of our students, late in life, Amy returned to education herself and received her BA in Adult and Career Education with a minor in Human Resource Development. It was there that she found her professional career and education have led me to do all the things she loves; networking, leadership, empowerment, diversity, and training needed to lead and grow this amazing organization.
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