Meet the Presenter

NCPN's Technical Assistance workshops are delivered by Debra Mills,
Vice President for Partnerships, CORD (Center for Occupational Research and Development).

Debra Mills serves CORD as the Vice President for Partnerships and focuses on transitions between secondary and postsecondary experiences.  She has expertise in curriculum development (4+2), staff development, linkages between secondary and postsecondary institutions and partnerships with business, industry and labor.  Significant accomplishments at CORD include:  the development of standards-based curriculum in manufacturing, construction, and transportation service career clusters at a state level; assisting community colleges (including Vanguard Learning Colleges and CCTI grant awardees) with strategic professional development plans for staff and faculty; building partnerships in communities; and numerous keynote speeches for state education conferences. 

Mills is an experienced classroom teacher (secondary & postsecondary) and a former workforce development grant administrator at the postsecondary level.  As the Tech Prep Director for Danville Area Community College in Danville, Illinois (1992-2000), Mills coordinated three Tech Prep grants, a state STW grant, and a community college workbased-learning grant.  A significant accomplishment has been her involvement with over 100 businesses, including the development of apprenticeships programs at 24 business sites.  Under Mills' leadership, the Danville consortium won the American Association of Community College’s Dale Parnell Tech Prep Award and the U.S. Department of Education’s Excellence in Tech Prep Award in 1998.  Before joining CORD, Mills authored Tech Prep: The Next Generation Planning Guide, which is currently used as a strategic planning reference tool in Tech Prep consortia across the country.  She also co-authored chapters in Career Pathways: Education with a Purpose and Adult Career Pathways: Providing a Second Chance in Public Education.

Debra Mills may be reached at (217) 247-9930.

View a testimonial to the effectiveness of Debra's Professional Development workshops created by the Kentucky Tech Prep Coordinators.

Workshops delivered by Debra Mills and other CORD trainers:  2009

Career Pathways Leadership Certification; Oakland School, Michigan; June 2009.

Career Pathways Leadership Certification; South Carolina Education & Business Summit; Greenville, South Carolina; June 2009.

Career Pathways Leadership Certification; National Association of State Directors of Career & Technical Education (NASDCTEc); Career Cluster Institute; June 2009.

Career Pathways featured session; Wyoming ACTE Conference; June 2009.

Career Pathways Leadership Certification; Region 7 Louisiana Technical College; Bossier Parish Community College, Louisiana; June 2009.

One-day Counselor Workshop; California State Center Consortium; June 2009.

Career Pathways Leadership Certification; State of Wyoming; Jackson, Wyoming; May 2009.

Career Pathways Leadership Certification; Thomas Nelson Community College and Tidewater Community College; Virginia; May 2009.

Career Pathways Mini-Conference Keynote; Louisiana Technical College; Tallulah Campus; Louisiana; April 2009.

Career Pathways Leadership Certification; Pima County Joint Technological Education District; Arizona; April 2009.

Career Coaching in a Career Pathways System; Chippewa Valley Technical College; Wisconsin; April 2009.

Career Pathways Leadership Certification; Indiana Association for Career and Technical Education Districts (IACTED); Kendallville, Indiana; March 2009.

Career Pathways Leadership Certification; Indiana Association for Career and Technical Education Districts (IACTED); Indianapolis, Indiana; March 2009.

Career Pathways Leadership Certification; Indiana Association for Career and Technical Education Districts (IACTED); Bloomington, Indiana; March 2009.

Adult Career Pathways; Spokane Community College; Washington; March 2009.
Career Pathways Leadership Certification; Wasatch Front Consortium; Salt Lake City, Utah; March 2009.

CCCAOE Annual Conference Luncheon Keynote; California Community College Association for Occupational Education (CCCAOE); San Francisco, California; March 2009.

Career Pathways Leadership Certification Workshop; Butte College; California; March 2009.

Career Pathways Leadership Certification; State of Wyoming; Casper, Wyoming; February 2009.

Career Pathways Leadership Certification; Southwest Virginia Career Pathways Consortium; Cedar Bluff, Virginia; February 2009.

Career Pathways Leadership Certification Workshop; Career and Technical Association of Texas; Education Open Source Conference; Houston, Texas; February 2009.

Career Pathways Leadership Certification Workshop; Southern University at Shreveport (SUSLA); Region 7 Louisiana Technical College; January 2009.

Career Pathways and Adult Career Pathways Overview two-day workshop; City Colleges of Chicago; January 2009.

Workshops delivered by Debra Mills and other CORD trainers: 2008

Career Pathways Leadership Certification; developer; Luzerne County Community College; Pennsylvania; December 2008.

Career Pathways; developer; New River Community College; Dublin, Virginia; November 2008.

Career Pathways Leadership Certification; State of New Hampshire; November 2008.

Permian Basin Tech Prep Consortium Career Pathways Workshop; Midland College, Texas; November 2008.

Career Pathways Leadership Certification; State of Wyoming; Cheyenne, Wyoming; October 2008.

Career Pathways Leadership Certification; NCPN Conference; Cincinnati, Ohio; October 2008.

Career Pathways Leadership Certification; Georgia Department of Education; CTAE Directors; October-December 2008.

Career Pathways Leadership Certification; St. Louis Community College; October 2008.

Career Pathways Leadership Certification; State of Wyoming; Laramie, Wyoming; October 2008.

Career Pathways workshop for Pasadena City Colleges faculty and management; October 2008.

Introduction to Building Blocks for Improving Student Mathematics Performance 1.5-day workshop; Ivy Tech Wabash Valley; Terre Haute, Indiana; October 2008.

Career Pathways Leadership Certification; State of Wisconsin; September 2008.

Career Pathways Leadership Certification; Bay Area Tech Prep Consortium; San Francisco, California; September 2008.

Career Pathways; Boerne Independent School District; Boerne, Texas; August 2008.
Contextual Teaching & Learning; Page Unified School District; August 2008.

Career Pathways Leadership Certification; State of Alabama; July 2008.

Model Schools Conference; Career & Technical Education Strand; June 2008.

Career Pathways Leadership Certification; St. Johns River Community College; St. Augustine, Florida; June 2008.

Career Pathways Leadership Certification; State of Louisiana; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; May 2008.

Business and Education Partnerships Training; Mitchell Community College; NC; May 2008.

21st Century Workforce Transitions Forum Keynote; Blue Ridge Community College; Weyers Cave, Virginia; May 2008.

Career Pathways Leadership Certification; San Antonio Consortium; San Antonio, Texas; April 2008.

Career Pathways Leadership Certification; South Suburban College; Illinois; April 2008.

Career Pathways Leadership Certification; State of Arkansas; Little Rock, Arkansas; April 2008.

Career Pathways Training; Central Illinois Career Pathways Consortium; Decatur, Illinois; April 2008.

Career Pathways Training; Southwest Virginia Career Pathways Consortium; Cedar Bluff, Virginia; March 2008.

Connecting Education & Employment Conference; Kansas Board of Regents;  February 2008.

9th Annual Golden Crescent Tech Prep Winter Conference; Victoria College; Victoria, Texas; February 2008.

Career and Technology Association of Texas Conference; Austin, Texas; January 2008.

Workshops delivered by Debra Mills: 2007

Keynote speaker and facilitator, State of Montana Career Clusters Institute, Kalispell, Montana.

Keynote address, Career and Technology Association of Texas Conference, Austin, Texas.

Mercer County Career Center in Mercer, Pennsylvania.

College and Career Development Conference for the Blue Ridge Tech Prep Consortium, Weyers Cave, Virginia.

Olive Harvey College, Chicago, Illinois.

Georgia Tech Prep Coordinators, Atlanta, Georgia.

Virginia New Tech Prep Coordinators Workshop, Charlottesville, Virginia.

Implementing Career Pathways for the Region 10 Education Service Center, Richardson, Texas.

Preparing Tomorrow's Workforce:Who, What, and How; Collaborative Southern Illinois Career and Technical Education Conference, Whittington, Illinois.

Competition in a Global Economy: The Career Pathways Solution; Career Cluster Institute, Phoenix, Arizona.

Administrators workshop and opening session for teachers; Mississippi Educational Summit.

Keynote Address, Career Pathways: Redesigning Education for the 21st Century, Mississippi Vocational Administrator's Leadership Institute.

Keynote Address, Montana Career Cluster Conference, Kalispell, Montana.

Dual Enrollment, Southern Legislative Conference of The Council of State Governments, Williamsburg, Virginia.

Education & Career Partnership in conjunction with the GACTE Conference, Atlanta, Georgia.

Workshops delivered by Debra Mills: 2006

Program Advisory Committees Workshop, Northland Technical and Community College, Thief River Falls, Minnesota.  Part of the Minnesota Program Advisory Committee Project joint venture between the Academic and Student Affairs Division of the Office of the Chancellor and the Minnesota State College Faculty (MSCF).

Program Advisory Committees Dinner, Northwest Technical  College, Bemidji, Minnesota. 

Keynote presenter for Program Advisory Committees Dinner, Minnesota State Community and Technical College (Moorhead Campus and Detroit Lakes Campus).

Trainer, annual Kentucky Tech Prep Coordinator’s Meeting, Louisville, Kentucky.

Presented “Career Pathways: A Map for Every Student!” for Central Southern Tier Tech Prep/CCTI and Elmira City School District, Corning Community College, New York.

Trainer, State of Iowa Career Pathways Strategic Improvement Coalition (CPSIC) Workshop, Ames, Iowa.

Trainer, Career Pathways Pre-conference workshop, California Conference: Educating for Careers, Anaheim, California.

Presenter, 7th Annual Golden Crescent Tech-Prep Winter Conference, Victoria, Texas.

Presenter, North Carolina College Tech Prep Conference, Charlotte, North Carolina.

Trainer for Career Pathways Partnership Workshop, New River Tech Prep Consortium, Dublin, Virginia.

Keynote speaker, 2006 CAPER/PEER Counselors’ Institute, Richmond, Virginia.

Trainer at two events for Mitchell Community College, North Carolina (Planning Today=Opportunities Tomorrow for business partners and Creating a Solid Foundation for Career through Academics for Secondary and Postsecondary Educators, Parents, & Students).

Trainer, Tech Prep Partnerships: Opportunities Abound! workshop, Alaska Tech Prep Consortium, Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau.

Trainer, Fairbanks North Star School District.

Trainer, College of Lake County, Grayslake, Illinois.

Trainer, Validating & Improving your Advisory Committees, Tidewater Community College, Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Career Pathways Workshop, Big Sandy Community & Technical College, Pikesville, Kentucky.

Staunton City Schools, Staunton, Kentucky.

Opening session panel, Illinois Center for Specialized Professional Support, Springfield, Illinois.

Campbell County School District, Gillette, Wyoming.

Presenter, Tech Prep in a Career Pathways System: Two Emerging Models; Competing in a Global Economy: Survival is Not Mandatory!; and Minnesota Advisory Committee Project, NTPN Conference, Dallas, Texas.

Integrated Learning: The School-to-Career Connection, Pennsylvania Department of Education.

Career Pathways for the Rockwall School District, Rockwall, Texas.

Madison Area Technical Center, Madison, Wisconsin.

Career Pathways workshop, Kaskaskia College, Breese, Illinois.