Dr. Heath Honored with Distinguished Leadership Award

Oct. 17, 2023 (Silver Spring, MD) – Advance CTE awarded the State Career Technical Education (CTE) Distinguished Leadership Award to Dr. Sarah Heath, Colorado Community College System Associate Vice Chancellor for Career and Technical Education (CTE) and State CTE Director during its annual fall meeting yesterday. 

The State CTE Distinguished Leadership Award recognizes current and former state CTE leaders who have a distinguished history of service and have demonstrated the highest level of commitment to advancing a vision for high-quality CTE at the state and national levels. 

“Dr. Heath is a passionate and impactful national champion for CTE. Not only did Sarah provide confident, steady leadership as President during the coronavirus pandemic and the historic events facing our nation, she didn’t hesitate to serve again when our organization faced an unexpected vacancy,” said Advance CTE Executive Director Kate Kreamer. “Sarah has fully leveraged Advance CTE’s technical assistance and member benefits to transform the Colorado CTE brand as a go-to example for career advising, learner supports, and systems collaboration. She is truly a team player and goes above and beyond to support her peers, particularly our new state leaders.  It is an honor to recognize her through this award.” 

Dr. Heath has led oversight of secondary and postsecondary Career Technical Education for Colorado since 2015. She began her career in CTE as a computer science and business educator, and prior to her current role served as a  state program director and local system administrator. In her role, Sarah has created a statewide vision for diversity, equity, and inclusion; launched efforts for statewide data-sharing agreements, and developed a data-centered culture for local planning and CTE program review.  From 2020 to 2022, Dr. Heath served as president of Advance CTE’s Board of Directors. 

“I joined the CTE community as a computer science and business educator because I felt it provided meaningful benefits for every learner. In doing so I have truly found a national CTE family who has not only provided me an immensely rewarding professional and leadership journey, but who pushes each other every day for our model of learning to be the go-to solution for education and workforce needs,” said Dr. Heath. “I am deeply appreciative of this recognition from Advance CTE. With their support, Colorado has developed statewide structures for learner voice, data-sharing, and alignment to the CTE Without Limits vision as an anchor for the Colorado CTE Strategic Plan that has made us a national leader in access, equity, and inclusivity in CTE.” 

###

About CCCS

The Colorado Community College System (CCCS) is the state’s largest system of higher education, delivering more than 1,000 programs to over 115,000 students annually through 13 colleges and 35 locations across Colorado. Our open access mission ensures all Coloradans who aspire to enrich their lives have access to quality higher education opportunities. The System Office provides leadership, advocacy, and support to the colleges under the direction of the State Board for Community Colleges and Occupational Education (SBCCOE). Join us in changing the way Colorado goes to college. Learn more at www.cccs.edu.

About Advance CTE

Advance CTE is the longest-standing national non-profit that represents State Directors and state leaders responsible for secondary, postsecondary and adult Career Technical Education (CTE) across all 50 states and U.S. territories. Established in 1920, Advance CTE supports visionary state leadership, cultivates best practices and speaks with a collective voice to advance high-quality CTE policies, programs and pathways that ensure career success for each learner.