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IAACE Board Election Ballot
All members of IAACE are entitled to vote for one (1) President-Elect candidate, one (1) Secretary, and three (3) Board Member candidates. Voting is open until Thursday, April 13, 2023.
Announcement of Election Results will be announced at the Annual Meeting on Friday, May 5. Register by clicking here.
President-Elect Nominee
William Patterson
President-Elect
William Patterson is the Adult Education Program Director at Elkhart Community Schools. William currently resides in Bremen with his wife, Wendy, and four daughters. Before working at Elkhart, William and Wendy worked for Bashor Children’s Home with special needs students. William grew through various roles in management and has a diverse educational background. He holds a bachelor’s degree in secondary education. He has master’s degrees in educational leadership, business, and special education. William is a servant leader who believes we should empower others to succeed.
Secretary Nominee
Katie Walton
Secretary
River Valley Resources
Region 9
Katherine (Katie) Walton is an adult educator in southeastern Indiana. Katie currently works for River Valley Resources and has classrooms in several different counties in her area. Before joining River Valley Resources four years ago, Katie taught middle school for several years, both internationally and at a local school district. Katie serves on the Indiana Association for Adult and Continuing Education’s student advocacy and conference committee. She has presented at Indiana’s adult education conference several times. She is passionate about building connections with her students and using technology to assist with that process. Katie is also a Google-certified educator. On a personal level, Katie resides on her husband’s family farm with a wide variety of animals she tends to. She has a daughter who keeps her very active. Katie loves to travel, camp, and walk the beach when she can.
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.
Dustin Bentz
Board Member at Large
Dustin Bentz is Adult Education Director for Jennings County Schools Corporation. He is responsible for the Jennings County Education Center, the budgeting, and all of the Adult Programming for Jennings County. He has a Master’s Degree in Special Education from Ball State University, along with a special education administration certification from Ball State. He received his Bachelor’s in Elementary Education with an endorsement in SpecialEducation from Indiana University Southeast.
Dustin spent 15 years working in Special Education before making the move to Adult Education in 2021. He spent time in Self inclusive rooms, behavior management, behavior consultant, and administration.
Dustin has been a long-time wrestling coach and recently competed for the
first time in 24 years, winning the ISWA folkstyle state wrestling championship in the Veterans division. He’s also a licensed IHSAA wrestling official. Dustin resides in Madison, IN with his wife, Dr. Gina Bentz, 2 kids – Sofia 15 and Brendan, 13, and one dog – Skywalker!
Michelle Ellis
Board Member at Large
Michelle Ellis is currently the Director of Adult Education at Wagler Education and Training Center.
Michelle obtained a degree in Business Administration, began employment at a local bank, and then
moved to a position with the State of Indiana at Family and Social Services. Looking for a change,
Michelle started her career in Adult Education in 2008 as a Teaching Assistant with Turning Point
Education Center and found her passion. She moved into the role of Assistant Director the following
year. Michelle took the title of Director in the 2018-19 program year.
Due to financial restraints, Open Arms could not accommodate the growth needed to offer skills and labor
training. Michelle saw the opportunity for expansion and the positive effect it could have on the
community, so she and her staff searched for a new partnership and became Wagler Education and
Training Center in 2021. This meant Michelle had to start a non-profit company, find a board of
directors, write policy and procedures, and reapply for all IN-Training Courses and IET/WEI Courses with
an updated curriculum with a new name and tax ID number. In just two short years, Wagler has grown to
be a successful Adult Education site in the State of Indiana.
While serving as Director, Michelle developed more than 7 successful IET/WEI partnerships that
advanced student enrollment from approximately 100 students to over 300 per year. Michelle has
visited several adult education sites to brainstorm and assist other Directors in implementing new
IET/WEI partnerships. She is always willing to lend a helping hand.
Michelle is the mother of two and Nana of four grandchildren, all under age 5. Michelle enjoys spending
time with family, being outdoors on the campground and lake, and spoiling grandbabies. Michelle is a
native of Greene County, Indiana.
Greg Jones
Board Member at Large
Greg is Site Coordinator at Indiana State Prison. He taught Marketing and Business Education at Westville Correctional Center for 14 years. He has been in charge of education services at ISP for the past 4 years. He has 2 Bachelor of Science degrees from IU Bloomington. Business Marketing from the Business School and Business Education from the Education School. Greg was awarded the Meritis award in 2021 and the Administrator of the year award in 2022. Before his career in education, he owned a family business in printing/publishing/marketing. He enjoys golf and loves spending time with his large and very close family.
Shawn Hughes
Board Member at Large
Shawn Hughes began his teaching career in the Department of Correction in 2012. He has a passion for teaching and providing students with the resources for successful re-entry. His caring spirit is evident in how he interacts with students and staff. His hard work and dedication were recognized in 2013 by IDOC Commissioner, being awarded Teacher of the Year and again in 2016.
Shawn has taught academic students of all levels and was instrumental in developing the CORE program at Putnamville. He has also taught evening classes in Hospitality and Logistics. In 2021, Shawn was hired as site manager at Putnamville Correctional Facility. Working together with his team, he led his facility to be a top school in the state.
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