Expanding the NIU Illinois CTE Project Team
The NIU Illinois CTE Project, one key component of the larger Illinois P-20 Network Team, is contracted by the Illinois State Board of Education’s CTE & Innovation Team to collaborate with ISBE and educators across Illinois in leading CTE-related professional learning; evaluating, identifying, creating, and sharing instructional resources; supporting the goal of having high-quality and diverse CTE educators in classrooms across Illinois; and implementing ISBE’s annual Career Connections Conference.
As schools across Illinois begin the 2023-2024 school year, we are excited to announce two new members of our NIU Illinois CTE Project Team:
Brian Rick – Brian joins the team with a background having served as a high school CTE teacher as well as having worked in CTE at the community college-level and in the Regional Office of Education setting. Brian has extensive experience in construction and engineering classrooms, with Perkins V and its related processes, in implementing and leading Skills USA within a school district, and with leading efforts to close opportunity gaps for all students. Most recently, Brian has served as the CTE Navigator at Southeastern Illinois Community College having also previously worked at Vienna High School, ROE 20, Shawnee Community College, and at Carbondale High School. Brian has been involved in IACTE, and this past year, Brian was also part of ACTE’s IAED Diversity Cohort.
Betsy Westergreen – Elizabeth (Betsy) Westergreen joins the team having most recently served as the Career and Community Services Coordinator at Pontiac Township High School. In addition to teaching in this role, she was actively involved in leading schoolwide efforts to implement the PaCE Framework and the Work-Based Learning Continuum as well as serving as a liaison with community and business partners and the community college. Prior to her most recent role, Betsy also worked on the Innovative Curriculum Resource Project at Illinois State University under contract with ISBE, and Betsy served for many years as a CTE teacher in Flanagan-Cornell Unit School District 74 in which she taught classes across the Arts and Communications, Finance and Business Services, and Information Technology Career Pathways as well as leading a range of student activities.
Over the coming weeks and months, we look forward to the opportunities that teachers, counselors, and administrators across Illinois will have to collaborate with Brian and Betsy alongside current NIU Illinois CTE Project Team members Shavina Baker and Bill Rose.
