Here is Your Chance to Meet the Candidates.

Please review the candidates’ profiles and videos. The ballot opens Wednesday, April 3, and votes must be submitted by Wednesday, April 17, 2024, 11:59 pm ET.

At-Large Board Candidates

Watch the Meet the Candidates
Carol Bible, Denise Esslinger, David Shepherd, Maeve Warrick
Due to Spring Break travels, three candidates were unable to attend Meet the Candidates and submitted videos.
Abbie Martin
John Heppner
Ty Mungle

Carol Bible
Carol is the Lead Instructor at Central 9 Adult Education. She began her career in adult ed in 2014 and was recognized as C9’s Teacher of the Year for the 2015-2016 program year. Carol has taught all levels of ESL, Transitions, HSE classes, HSE Bootcamps, and the academic components of various IETs. She received her Master of Science in Education degree in 2020 from Purdue University and has been teaching HSE online exclusively since the COVID shutdown. Carol has taken the lead in developing instructional strategies and sharing them with her HSE team at C9 and with the adult ed community at IAACE conferences and by invitation in other parts of the country.



Denise Esslinger
Denise, with an illustrious career spanning the entirety of the education sector, began her journey in elementary education before transitioning to adult education later in her professional life. Her impactful contributions include a role as the High School Equivalency Manager at MSD of Wayne Township, where she led a team of 25 teachers to achieve the highest HSE diploma achievement rates. Currently serving as the Assistant Director of Adult Education at MSD of Warren Township, Denise plays a crucial role in supervising a team of 50 staff and managing educational programs valued at over $3 million. Warren received the Program of Excellence Award from DWD for PY22. Denise received an Award of Recognition from dormakaba, one of Warren’s WEI partners. She co-chaired the committee for the 2024 Adult Education Day at the Statehouse and was awarded a Certificate of Appreciation from IAACE.



John Heppner
John, MBA, EdD, has worked in education for over 15 years. His previous experience is in higher education, and the last five years have been in adult education. John has presented at IAACE conferences and other venues numerous times.



Abbie Martin
Abbie is a seasoned professional in adult education with seven years of experience. She started as an instructor in her facility and quickly rose to the role of Site Coordinator. Recently, she decided to focus on workforce development and gave up instructing to focus on her passion. Abbie is confident in improving the services offered to students and community members. She deeply values everyone and advocates for her students to ensure they achieve successful outcomes. Abbie’s program has recently partnered with WorkOne to meet their growing needs, and she is excited to adapt to the changing community needs and plan for the future.



Ty Mungle
Ty is a seasoned public educator with three decades of dedicated service to advancing public education. With a diverse background encompassing roles as a Teacher, Elementary Principal, Junior High Principal, Assistant Superintendent, and 12 years as a Public School Superintendent in Indiana, Mungle has demonstrated unwavering commitment and leadership in fostering academic excellence and student success. Throughout his career, he has been a staunch advocate for public education, actively involved in various professional organizations such as the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents and the Indiana Association of School Business Officials. Recognized for his contributions, Mungle was elected to the prestigious Southern Indiana Superintendent’s Club in 2012, highlighting his impact and influence within the educational community.



David Shepherd
David is a proud member of an organization that changes people’s trajectories in life. He started teaching 27 years ago with no idea what adult education was, and he’s now one of its many great supporters. During his tenure, he was Portage Adult Ed’s first PDF. During the pandemic, he took on the role of leading their first fast-track class, a position he still holds, and today, he’s called upon to mentor teachers new to NEO Adult Ed. His leadership experience has included a three-year position as his parish council president as well as a stint as treasurer and then president of a college organization. In his spare time, he loves to do genealogy research, jump rope, travel, and read non-fiction.



Maeve Warrick
Maeve began her education career in 2018 by teaching fifth-grade English and Social Studies. She began working part-time at Wayne Township Adult Education in 2020, teaching English Language classes. Prior to 2020, Maeve was unaware of the great need, purpose, and impact of Adult Education. She quickly fell in love with Wayne’s mission and student population. In September 2022, Maeve began as the HSE Supervisor for WTAE. In this position, she has been able to further the mission of Adult Education by building a strong social media presence for WTAE. She remains focused on supporting her program’s students in advancing their educational status and confidence as lifelong learners. Maeve enjoys digging into her program’s data and creating systems that ensure student and teacher success.


Treasurer
Dustin Bentz, Treasurer Nominee
Dustin Bentz is the Adult Education Director for Jennings County Schools Corporation. 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 Special Education from Indiana University Southeast. He is a current IAACE Board Member. He enjoys engaging with his peers and advocating for Adult Education in Indiana. Dustin spent 15 years working in Special Education before moving to Adult Education in 2021. He spent time in self-inclusive rooms, as well as in behavior management, behavior consulting, and administration. Dustin has been a long-time wrestling coach and spends most evenings and weekends either coaching or officiating wrestling. He also writes for IndianaMat. Dustin resides in Madison, IN, with his wife, Dr. Gina Bentz; two kids – Sofia, 16, and Brendan, 14, and one dog – Skywalker!
President-Elect
Caroline Foster
Caroline has been working in Adult Education since the Summer of 2010. She began her career in Adult Education after completing her Master’s in Public Administration. The Department of Workforce Development (DWD) hired her as an Adult Education Coordinator. When she began, Indiana had just moved Adult Education from the Department of Education to DWD. The goal of her position was to connect DWD to the local Adult Education Programs. In her time with DWD, they rolled out InTERS, created new policies, organized professional development events, and helped create partnerships. In 2016, she became the Assistant Adult Education Director for Impact Institute. She has worked for the organization since. In her role, she gets the honor of working with over twenty-five employees and providing services to six counties. In the time since she has been with Impact they have expanded their coverage, created new programming, exceeded state expectations, expanded employee partnerships, and added new class locations. Last year, Impact earned the honor of being named a Program of Excellence. Impact’s Teachers and Staff are why they succeed, and she could not be prouder of their work. She currently serves on the IAACE Board as a Board Member. She also serves on the PTA for Croninger Elementary and the Nell’s Softball Board. She is a proud Mom of two children, one husband, and one dog, and they live in Fort Wayne.
Amy Richmund
Amy has served in a wide variety of educational roles, from teaching to leadership, across a wide variety of socioeconomic, age, grade, and ability levels, the most recent of which in adult education, in the capacities of teaching, intake/orientation/testing, career pathways, and supervision.

With her husband Neil Richmund, Amy co-founded ConnectAble, a nonprofit organization that supports and serves the unique needs of adult education all over the US through technology solutions, resources, professional development, scholarships, and monetary donations. Amy’s work in adult education has included helping adult education programs to streamline processes, implement best-practice strategies, develop curricula, and utilize online tools to accomplish these goals. She has a passion for supporting adult education, helping programs to reach more students than ever before, and helping educators regain the time to connect with students and impact lives.