FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Kaaryn Keller, Director of Communications
November 13, 2012 E-mail: press@caepnet.org

Announcement of Strategic Planning Committee

(WASHINGTON) We are pleased to announce the establishment of the CAEP Strategic Planning Committee. We believe that this group represents diverse perspectives, expertise, affiliations, and experiences.

The following staff members received a high number of nominations by their colleagues to serve on this committee:

  • Christine Carrino Gorowara, Vice President for Audits and Research
  • Deb Eldridge, Senior Vice President of Accreditation and Administration
  • Kaaryn Keller, Director of Communications and Public Relations
  • Mark LaCelle-Peterson, Senior Vice President of Outreach and Research & Development
  • Dana Leon-Guerrero, Accreditation Associate

In addition, we have appointed the following CAEP Board Members to the Committee:

Jillian Kinzie, Indiana University at Bloomington/Indianapolis

Dr. Kinzie has served on the CAEP Board of Directors, the TEAC Board of Directors, and the TEAC Accreditation Council. She is the Associate Director of the Center for Postsecondary Research & NSSE Institute at Indiana University at Bloomington/Indianapolis. There, she analyzes effective educational practice, facilitates the use of student engagement data, and manages research projects to support improvement activities.

Blake West, Blue Valley High School, Overland Park, Kansas

Dr. West has served in a number of roles within CAEP, including the CAEP Operations Committee and the Board of Directors. He has also served NCATE in a variety of roles since 1998, including on the Unit Accreditation Board and its Standards and Process and Evaluation committees; the Board of Examiners; and the Executive Board. He is the immediate past president of the Kansas National Education Association and has been a teacher for 30 years. Most of those years were spent teaching mathematics and computer science at the high school level. Since 1983, he also provided technology staff development, served as a district technology curriculum coordinator; helped establish the mentoring, peer assistance, and collaborative Masters Degree programs for Blue Valley High School; and taught courses for Baker University, Mid-America Nazarene University, the University of Kansas, and the University of Missouri at Kansas City.

The composition of the committee reflects a board-staff partnership that ensures inclusivity and agreement on a common direction that will lead to a high level of commitment and investment. The strategic plan will span three years, from 2013–2016, in order for the new organization to revisit goals after testing the structure and plan. The President and the Chair will work closely with Shirley Sagawa, a strategic planning consultant (please see attached biography), providing leadership and management of the process. The CAEP Chief of Staff will serve as the staff liaison to the committee.

Timeline and Process

There will be a number of opportunities to provide input and feedback during CAEP’s strategic planning process. Following is a summary timeline of the strategic planning:

Dates Milestones
October–November 2012 Consultant to (1) conduct one-on-one interviews with CAEP Board members; (2) facilitate focus groups with staff teams; (3) administer electronic survey of staff, boards, membership, and stakeholders.
December 13, 2012 Consultant synthesizes and presents information from interviews, focus groups, and surveys to the CAEP Board and discusses the strategic planning process.
December 13, 2012–January 13, 2013 Strategic Planning Committee develops draft strategic goals.
January 13–February 13, 2013 Committee seeks feedback from stakeholder groups on draft strategic plan.
February 13–March 1, 2013 Committee finalizes mission, vision, and strategic goals.
March 2013 Staff integrate goals into FY14 budget development; departmental goals; performance management system; and branding, marketing, and communication plans.
March–April 2013 Staff teams develop objectives and metrics.
June 2013 CAEP Board formally adopts strategic goals, objectives, and metrics.

Shirley Sagawa Biography

Sagawa is the author of the recent book, The American Way to Change: How National Service and Volunteers are Transforming America (Jossey-Bass 2010). She is co-founder of sagawa/jospin, a consulting firm that has, since 2001, provided strategic counsel to nonprofits and foundations. Sagawa also serves as a visiting fellow at the Center for American Progress, where she is a leading expert on national service policy.

Sagawa served as a presidential appointee in both the first Bush and Clinton Administrations, and led the Obama Transition for the Corporation for National and Community Service. As Special Assistant to President Clinton for Domestic Policy, she drafted the legislation that created AmeriCorps and the Corporation for National and Community Service. After Senate confirmation as the Corporation’s first managing director, she led the development of the new agency and its programs. She also served as Deputy Chief of Staff to First Lady Hillary Clinton.

Sagawa was the founding executive director of the Learning First Alliance, a partnership of national education associations. She served as the Chief Counsel for Youth Policy for the Senate Labor Committee and as senior counsel to the National Women’s Law Center. She serves on numerous nonprofit boards and advisory councils.

In addition to The American Way to Change, Sagawa co-authored the award-winning books The Charismatic Organization: Eight Ways to Grow a Nonprofit that Builds Buzz, Delights Donors, and Energizes Employees (Jossey-Bass, 2008) and Common Interest, Common Good: Creating Value through Business and Social Sector Partnerships (Harvard Business School Press, 2000). She blogs regularly for the Huffington Post.