Partners

Kratos Learning (Kratos) manages and supports education- and workforce-related program initiatives for both the government and the private sector. Principal services include social learning, training and professional development, website development, and communications and outreach. For over 13 years the Kratos team has worked on high-profile projects with the Department of Education’s Office of Vocational and Adult Education. These projects include STudent Achievement in Reading (STAR), Policy to Performance (P2P), and English Language Learner University (ELL-U). Kratos is located in Arlington, VA. For more information, please visit www.kratoslearning.com or email info@acp-sc.org.

Laura Lanier
Laura Lanier
Bio

Laura Lanier is the Director of Education Services for Kratos Learning. She has over 15 years of experience in complex project management, government contracting, client solutions, education reform, and technical assistance. Ms. Lanier has led over 15 local, state and national level education and workforce development projects as a Project Director. She is manager of an education group that implements national projects supporting education policy reform and technical assistance. She has served as a consultant to state and local education agencies as well as national education reform offices, such as the Office of Vocational and Adult Education, in the areas of project implementation, strategic planning, professional development, and evaluation design. Ms. Lanier is the previous project director for America’s Career Resource Network. Ms. Lanier holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a Master’s degree in clinical counseling. She has expertise in organizational development, group dynamics, and strategic facilitation.

Michelle M. Carson
Michelle M. Carson
Bio

Michelle M. Carson has spent the majority of her career administering programs and support services for adults in career and technical education, higher education, and adult education at both the institutional and state level. Prior to her role as deputy project director of the Designing Instruction for Career Pathways project, Ms. Carson was the associate state director of adult education at the Kansas Board of Regents, where she re-envisioned the professional development system, invigorated workforce development partnerships at the state and local level, and piloted and scaled up successful adult education standards, career pathways, and numeracy initiatives. Before her work with the Kansas Board of Regents, she served as assistant director of financial aid at Washburn University and as director of enrollment services at Wichita Area Technical College, the largest urban technical college in Kansas.

“For adults, it is all about a better future financially – whether it is for themselves, their children, or even grandchildren. They know a better future means increasing their knowledge so that they can find a job, get a better job, or go to school to train for a new job. For the majority of adult learners in an adult education program, the primary reason always links back to finding a career that can help them and their families do more than just survive,” said Ms. Carson.

Ms. Carson holds degrees from Benedictine College and Kansas State University. She is currently pursuing a doctorate in adult and continuing education from Kansas State University.

Jacob Mullin
Jacob Mullin
Bio

Jacob Mullin has over five years of experience as an instructor and professional development manager in public, private, charter, and international education. He is currently an education analyst for Kratos Learning and serves in multiple roles on the Designing Instruction for Career Pathways project including community manager. His prior experience includes teaching in Japan as well as domestically in a variety of secondary institutions, including two years in a California low-income public school as a Teach For America corps member. In 2011, Mr. Mullin moved from the classroom to join Teach For America staff in Washington, DC where he managed, supported, and assisted the professional development of over 30 first- and second-year secondary teachers in all subject areas with an emphasis in special education. His experience includes program design and implementation, teacher monitoring and evaluation, teacher recruitment and hiring, instructional planning and delivery, and adult professional development. He holds a degree in history and environmental studies from St. John’s University in Minnesota.

 

The Center for Occupational Research and Development (CORD) is a national nonprofit organization recognized for innovative educational programs that empower faculty and prepare students of all ages for success in careers and postsecondary education. CORD’s work over the past 30 years has focused on several core tenets: contextual teaching, seamless transitions from secondary to postsecondary education, and training solutions to help America’s technicians remain globally competitive. CORD has established national networks for educational improvement and innovation, including the National Career Pathways Network. For more information please visit www.cord.org or email acp-sc@cord.org.

David L. Bond, EdD
David L. Bond, EdD
Bio

David L. Bond, EdD is the senior vice president of CORD, director of the National Career Pathways Network (NCPN), and the co-author of Thriving in Challenging Times: Connecting Education and Employers through Career Pathways, in conjunction with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for a Competitive Workforce. He led the Tennessee Board of Regents’ study on barriers to postsecondary articulation and is currently providing technical assistance to the Southwest Oklahoma Impact Coalition’s regional career pathway planning project. Dr. Bond holds a doctorate in educational psychology from Baylor University.

 

Ann-Claire Anderson
Ann-Claire Anderson
Bio

Ann-Claire Anderson is a senior research associate at CORD. She has served on the curriculum development teams for Transformations, an integrated academic and workforce adult bridge program; Workforce Mathematics; the Manufacturing Workforce Collaborative’s Necessary Skills Now; and the ED’s STEM Transitions, a curriculum project integrating science and mathematics with career and workforce content. In addition, she co-created and taught Teaching Career Guidance Contextually, a 13-week online course for career coaches and counselors, and currently facilitates online faculty professional development on strategies for reaching adult learners. Ms. Anderson holds a master’s degree in English from Georgetown University.

Hope E. Cotner
Hope E. Cotner
Bio

Hope E. Cotner is the vice president for community college initiatives at CORD. She has provided technical assistance to the U.S. Department of Education’s (ED) Adult Basic Education Career Connections project and for the Adult Career Pathways Institute offered by the ED at the Adult Education State Directors Meeting as well as leadership of ED’s STEM Transitions – a curriculum development project showcasing science and math in workplace contexts. Ms. Cotner currently works in partnership with the State of New York’s Policy to Performance (P2P) leadership team to design programs for transitioning low skilled adult learners to community college programs and regional workforce development opportunities. She also directs the North Carolina Network for Excellence in Teaching, a statewide professional development network for community college faculty.

Debra Mills
Debra Mills
Bio

Debra Mills is the vice president of partnerships at CORD. She focuses on transitions between secondary and postsecondary experiences and community engagement for the success of adult learners. Ms. Mills has expertise in curriculum development, staff development, linkages between secondary and postsecondary institutions, and partnerships with business, industry, and labor. Ms. Mills holds a master’s degree in technology from Eastern Illinois University.