Welcome back from summer break! Now that we are all together again, we'd like to share several clock-hour professional development opportunities, access to new, innovative tools to make your job easier, and upcoming events for students and educators. We hope you enjoy the newsletter! 

The Career Connect NW Team, pictured above, left to right: Donovan Tate, Mary Powers, Vanessa Woo, and Sinead Fitzpatrick Plagge

Career Connect NW connects industry, education, and community partners to meet career development needs of Northwest Washington’s youth in an equitable and
accessible way. 

We focus on increasing awareness and access to High Wage/High Demand
career opportunities in the 5-county region.

We use data to ensure we are connecting young people to careers in an equitable way, including people who are historically underrepresented in STEM fields, students of color, women, students living in rural areas, and students living in poverty.  

Jenny Veltri (left) and Sinead Fitzpatrick Plagge (right) together at the NWESD 189. 

We are pleased to announce two leadership transitions that build upon strong partnerships and support the region. Jenny Veltri has joined the NWESD 189's Strategy, Growth, and Innovation Team and Sinead Fitzpatrick Plagge is now the new Director of Career Connect NW! Find out more details about their new roles! 

The High School & Beyond Community of Practice is open to everyone to get updates on the High School and Beyond Plan.

Join us for the virtual High School & Beyond Community of Practice on Tuesday, November 17, 2026 from 8:30 am - 10:30 am. Topics include the FutureReady initiative and information on upcoming events for students and educators. Check out the presenters and register now to hold your spot! Two standard clock hours are available for this online professional development.  

Career Connected Learning Specialist Donovan Tate presents the database at the May 28, 2026 High School & Beyond Community of Practice event as part of the CTE Dual Credit Summit. 

Students, families, educators, advisors, counselors (anyone!) can now access the Regional CTE Dual Credit Database to look up courses offered at high schools in the region eligible for CTE Dual Credit and more! Learn more about the project and how you can use the database in your work and with students.

We are seeking opportunities to share the database with students and families, too. If you have upcoming events with students and families interested in learning about CTE Dual Credit options in the region, contact Mary Powers at mpowers@nwesd.org.

Students at WAVE Tour^SM in 2025 at the Snohomish Public Utility District station.

We are excited to announce the return of the Washington Apprenticeship Vocational Education (WAVE) Tour^SM for high school students in the region to experience construction trades and manufacturing careers through this hands-on event at the Skagit County Fairgrounds October 20-October 22.

Learn more about who's coming so far and how to request a pre-event or post-event Apprenticeship 101 Student Seminar Presentation. 

Thank you to HF Sinclair for community grant funding, Northwest Workforce Council for providing lunch and volunteers, and to Skagit PUD for in-kind sponsorship.

Invites to schools went out in early September. The deadline to register is September 17 at 5 pm. Questions? Email Donovan Tate at dtate@nwesd.org. 

Kimberly Ingram from Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) facilitating process mapping with the CTE Dual Credit Proviso group at the Summer Convening.  

On July 14, 2026 Career Connect NW at the Northwest Service District 189 hosted representatives from the CTE Dual Credit Expansion Proviso Process Group for a full-day, in-person summer convening to continue their work on the CTE Dual Credit alignment process. Find out who participated, topics covered, and what the group has planned next! 

Tulalip Tribe Education Division’s Indian Boarding School awareness ceremony and event September 30, 2025.

Photo Citation: Tulalip News. (2025, September 30). National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Retrieved September 14, 2026, from Tulalip News Post.

Vanessa Woo, Workforce Diversification and Equity Administrator, created two professional development opportunities open for registration: Orange Shirt Day: The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (September 30/virtual) and the Regional Educators of Color Affinity Space, which is an ongoing Community of Practice. Learn more and register for these events. 

Participants engaging in a Listening Circle while creating at Three Sisters Salad at the Teachers for the People: Grounding Indigenous Ways of Being Using the Culturally Responsive Framework workshop.

Educators and community members engaged in the professional development Teachers for the People: Grounding Indigenous Ways of Being Using the Culturally Responsive Framework the first week of August at Skagit Valley College's Mount Vernon Campus. Find out who attended, who presented, and who to contact if you are interested in learning more about Teachers for the People Program!  

July 14: CTE Dual Credit Proviso Summer Convening 

Several members of the CTE Dual Credit Proviso workgroup posing at the July convening at the Northwest Service District 189 in Anacortes. 

July 31: Volunteering at FuturesNW Secret Garden Gala 

Career Connect NW staff Mary Powers volunteered at the FuturesNW Secret Garden Gala to support their efforts to empower students as they explore careers, navigate financial aid, and take steps to secure their futures with confidence. This photo shows Executive Director of Programs at FuturesNW Ashley DeLatour sharing all the ways the organization helps students in the region. 

Photo Credit: Mary Powers

August 1 - 4: Washington Association for Career & Technical Education (WA-ACTE) Summer Conference 

Career & Technical Education (CTE) Dual Credit Proviso group presented at WA-ACTE 2026 Summer Conference in Spokane, Washington. Left to Right: Kimberly Ingram, Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges; Sinead Fitzpatrick Plagge, Career Connect NW; Tim McLain, Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction; William Belden, Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges.

August 4 - 6: Teachers for the People Program Summer Professional Development Workshop

Participants attending the Teachers for the People: Grounding Indigenous Ways of Being Using the Culturally Responsive Framework 3-Day Workshop doing group work. Vanessa Woo from Teachers for the People Program, along with Saara Kamal from Center for Strengthening the Teaching Profession, were co-leads for the workshop.

September 9: Workplace Ready: Shop Safety & Industry Best Practices Workshop

Industry professional Kelcey Archambault from Hypertherm at Lynden High School's weld shop doing a shop walk-through and safety presentation to CTE teachers from Whatcom and northern Skagit counties during the Workplace ready: Shop Safety & Industry Best Practices workshop. A full recap of this safety workshop for woodworking and welding shops, which included presenters from Central Welding Supply, Hypertherm, and Technic Training Center, will be shared in the Career Connect Northwest November newsletter.

Students at the WAVE Tour^SM last year in October 2025 making toolboxes at the Western Washington Sheet Metal Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee (JACT) station.  

Tuesday, October 20 - Thursday, October 22, 2026: Washington Apprenticeship Vocational Education WAVE Tour^SM event registration is open for high schools in the NWESD 189 region. The deadline for schools to register to attend is September 17 at 5 pm. Schools can contact Donovan Tate at dtate@nwesd.org to sign up students for this event taking place at the Skagit County Fairgrounds in Mount Vernon. 

Image taken by Mary Powers at a past FuturesNW Learning with Leaders event at Skagit Valley College.  

Tuesday, November 10, 2026: Hold the Date! FuturesNW Learning with Leaders career exploration event at Skagit Valley College's Mount Vernon location. This is for all  schools in Skagit and Whatcom county for grades 9-12. Registration opens mid-October. 

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay. 

Saturday, May 8, 2027: SAVE the DATE! Skagit Valley College is hosting a Hack-a-thon event for college and high school students to participate and work in teams to problem solve. No coding experience required! Watch environmental conservation-themed video from last year's Hackathon. Registration and flyers will be offered in the next CCNW newsletter in late November, so for now tell students to Save the Date!

Looking for Clock Hours?

Photo/Image Credit: NWESD staff

Wednesday,  October 14 - Thursday, October 15: 2026 School Safety Symposium, Circle of Trust

Keynote Speakers: Carly Posey and Reichen Posey

Time: 8:30 am - 4:15 pm 

Location: Seafarers' Memorial Park Building

Clock Hours: 15 clock hours available

Learn more and register now! 

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Friday, October 16, 2026: Cyber Education Pathways Advisor Workshop: Connecting K-12 Educators, Advisors, and Colleges to Strengthen Washington's Cybersecurity Talent Pipeline.

Guest Facilitator: Nichole Schmitt

Time: 11 am - 1 pm (with optional networking from 1 pm - 2 pm) 

Location: Skagit Valley College, Mount Vernon Campus

Clock Hours: 2 STEM clock hours available

Download the flyer, learn more and register now! 

Image by Buffik from Pixabay

Wednesday, October 21, 2026: Cybersecurity Community of Practice: Connect, Learn, and Share - The Intersection of Cybersecurity and AI 

Guest Speaker: Karl Hubbard, Cybersecurity Analyst

Time: 4:00 pm - 6:30 pm 

Location: Skagit Valley College, Mount Vernon Campus, Cardinal Room 

Clock Hours: 2.5 STEM clock hours available

Learn more and register now! 

Image courtesy of Kristina Young

Thursday, November 5, 2026: Manufacturing, Engineering & Welding Community of Practice: From Competencies to Careers - Aligning Industry Hiring Requirements with Educational Outcomes

Guest Speaker: Kristina Young, Lead Instructional Designer, Future Workforce from The Boeing Company

Time: 4:30 pm - 6:30 pm 

Location: Edmonds College 

Clock Hours: 2 STEM clock hours available

Learn more and register now! 

Image (logo) created by Donovan Tate from Career Connect NW

November 17, 2026: High School & Beyond Community of Practice. Future Focused with the FutureReady Initiative and more!  

Time: 8:30 am - 10:30 am 

Location: Virtual on Zoom 

Clock Hours: 2 standard clock hours available.

Learn more and register now! 

Check out these fully asynchronous Canvas course options! 

Image by sandeep darji from Pixabay

If you are having an event and would like us to share it widely, you can enter your event in this form. We review each event and then add them to our "Upcoming Events" webpage tab and the next newsletter. It makes it easier to for people see what's happening in the region and when! 

Thank you for reading our newsletter! To learn more, visit our website: www.nwesd.org/ccnw

Sign up for the Career Connect NW e-newsletter here! 

©Career Connect NW Network. All Rights Reserved. 

Career Connect NW

Northwest Educational Service District 189

1601 R Avenue, Anacortes, WA 98221 US