Hello, everyone! I am excited to join the LINCS team of moderators and look forward to the great discussions we will have here in the career pathways community. I want to thank Michael Cruse for the warm welcome and for the great leadership he has provided to this community.
I have a little over 20 years of experience in education, with about 12 of those years being in adult education. I started as a volunteer tutor, and over the years I have worn many hats including teacher, program administrator, and trainer. Currently, I am a Workforce Development Specialist at Penn State University's Institute for the Study of Adult Literacy. In this role, I support Title II adult education programs throughout Pennsylvania in their career pathways strategies and interventions. This has included creating and implementing materials aligned to various industry sectors, developing occupation specific bridge courses, working collaboratively with workforce partners to create career maps, and training and coaching adult educators in development and implementation of contextualized instruction that aligns to local career pathway initiatives.
Additionally, as a Certified Offender Workforce Development Specialist, I serve on the Pennsylvania State Workforce Development Board Reentry Ad Hoc Committee as a Title II representative, and facilitate a statewide community of practice around corrections education and reentry services that focuses on helping individuals touched by the justice system improve their education and move onto a promising career path. I also serve as the Assistant Chair for the Professional Development Committee for the Pennsylvania Association of Adult Continuing Education (PAACE), and I am pursuing my master's degree in Learning, Design, and Technology. Outside of my adult education work, I enjoy hiking and spending time with my family and our 5 dogs.
I look forward to connecting with all of you here and hope you will also connect with me on LinkedIn and Twitter (ChrissieKlinger).