CAEL Conference Wrap-up

Opening Address

CAEL's 51st annual conference made for an opportune setting for revealing the next chapter of its 51-year (and counting) mission. During his welcome remarks, CAEL President Earl Buford announced that effective January 2025, CAEL will resume operating as an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

In 2018, CAEL joined an alignment of Strada organizations working to improve student success and strengthen college-to-career pathways. The partnership, during which CAEL's national nonprofit designation was consolidated within the Strada network, helped scale CAEL's work. CAEL's time as a Strada affiliate included a period of growth that saw its membership triple and its revenue and impact double. CAEL also partnered with hundreds of colleges and universities and dozens of workforce organizations to help them improve their effectiveness in serving adult learners and, by extension, employers and the communities that depend on them to link adult learners to learning and work.

Strada provided significant resources and shared infrastructure that helped CAEL improve the way it operated, Buford told the audience, assisting the organization in taking a more holistic approach serving adult learners and workers. The partnership included several complementary initiatives with Strada and its affiliates, including research publications, regional and national grant-funded programs, and educator-employer partnerships. Buford thanked Strada for its support and announced that CAEL is already finalizing partnerships that will be in effect under its return to an independent national nonprofit, including funding from Strada that will support CAEL's independent structure and commitments and offers of support from other funders.

Keynote

Buford's welcome was followed by keynote speaker Jessica Gibson, senior director of adult learner initiatives at the Tennessee Higher Education Commission. Gibson emphasized that partnerships across workforce development, education, community organizations, government, and employers are essential to building systems that truly serve adult learners. She drew upon the success of Tennessee Reconnect, a state initiative supporting Comebackers, to share personal reflections and perspectives as well as actionable strategies.

Arguing the importance of the CAEL community grounding its work in the student experience, she recounted the impact Tennessee's Reconnect program had on an adult learner struggling to feed her family. By connecting her to numerous wraparound services, Tennessee Reconnect helped the 51-year-old student enter a paralegal program. Today, she has a 3.5 GPA and plans to follow her bachelor's degree with law school. On top of that, she became a connector herself, introducing her son and his wife to the Tennessee Reconnect program, which resulted in both enrolling in college.

"When we're talking today about policies and practices, let's remember that behind each of those is a person," said Gibson. She said that Tennessee Reconnect Navigators, who offer a single point of contact to adult learners, currently serve about 10,000 people. About 6,000 have already graduated thanks to their services.

Keynote Luncheon & Awards Ceremony

Learner of the Year

Ragan Oglesby Phillips, a popular TV personality, acclaimed chef, published author, and successful entrepreneur, was honored with CAEL's Learner of the Year award. Oglesby Phillips had achieved these successes despite much adversity, which also had prevented her from pursuing a degree. Determined to do so, she decided to return to the University of Memphis to complete her bachelor's degree some 17 years after she had had to cut short her academic plans. Helping to crown her achievement, she walked across the stage with her daughter, a fellow member of the class of 2024.

"Thank you for seeing me not as a returning student, but a woman reclaiming her destiny," said Oglesby Phillips. "This award is not just for me. It is for adult learners who thought it was too late. For every mother who put her dreams on hold, for every survivor who still hears the whisper of doubt, I want you to know it's never too late to rise again."

Morris T. Keeton Award

Dr. Nan Travers, consultant, Intrascope, LLC, received the 2025 Morris T. Keeton award. Travers, who recently retired as the director for the Center for Leadership in Credentialing Learning at SUNY Empire State University, has dedicated her work to focus on research, policies, and practices of the recognition, validation, and credentialing of learning, nationally and globally. She is the co-lead for the Credential As You Go national initiative. She has been the principal investigator for numerous additional grants and projects focused on innovative strategies for prior learning assessment and credentialing. Travers also serves as founding co-editor for the journal: PLA Inside Out, is a co-founder of the Prior Learning Assessment Network (PLAN), and led the development of the Learning Recognition Toolkit, an open source website for institutions on prior learning processes.

"The Morris T. Keeton Award is very meaningful for me," said Travers, who worked closely with Keeton and described him as her mentor. "One thing I remember clearly is that Morris would emphasize that we need to keep effectiveness and efficiency in balance, and effectiveness should not be compromised to be more efficient."

Adult Learner Impact Award

The Center for Regional Economic Enrichment (CREE) at the University of Memphis received CAEL's 2025 Adult Learner Impact Award for its sustained commitment to breaking down educational barriers and driving economic mobility across West Tennessee. Since partnering with CAEL in 2012, CREE has built a robust ecosystem designed to meet adult learners wherever they are, strengthening the connection between education and employment. For example, following collaboration with CAEL, CPL participation grew from just 30 students annually to more than 300 students in 2024. CPL is now accepted across every college on campus, and CREE pioneered graduate-level CPL, a first for a public university in Tennessee.

"To be recognized here in our own hometown at a time CAEL is returning to its roots as an independent organization feels like a full-circle moment," said Tracy Robinson, executive director of the Center for Regional Economic Enrichment at the University of Memphis, who accepted the award on behalf of the university. "We are so grateful to CAEL. Your guidance and the support of this entire community helped us build the programs that you just heard about that have changed lives, as evidenced so eloquently by Ragan just a few moments ago."

Pamela T. Rise Award

Cynthina Proctor, director of communications and academic policy development at the SUNY System administration provost office, received the 2025 Pamela T. Rise award for her groundbreaking, systemwide work at SUNY, where she has fiercely championed the connection between academic credentials and workforce needs for adult learners.

As a dedicated "office of one" at SUNY System, Cynthia led the movement to expand microcredentials (compact academic credentials with clear employment value) from a handful of offerings in 2018 to more than 500 microcredentials across 52 SUNY campuses today, spanning community colleges to R1 research universities. Her work is explicitly focused on ensuring these credentials provide learners with the skills necessary to "get a job, advance in a job, and/or earn academic credit."

During her remarks, Proctor shared two important lessons she has learned in the course of her work. "One is transparency matters. Please, with every credential you offer, let transparency be your guide," said Proctor. "Do not make adult learners fill out an online information form or watch a 10-minute video to get the crucial information they need to know about whether or not this credential is right for them. Tell them the cost, tell them the estimated time to completion, and tell them how they can use this credential. When they're done, what jobs can they apply for? What specialized skills will they have gained?"

Secondly, Proctor called for more attention on supporting adult learners through completion. "Too often we cite enrollment numbers or registration numbers and short-term credentials rather than completion," she said. "Join together with me in ensuring that we create new and adapt existing student success models so that we can meet adult learners where they are and ensure that they persist and complete."

Community Impact Award

The Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare Associate Advancement Program (MAAP) was recognized with the 2025 Community Impact award. MAAP is a premier workforce development initiative designed to cultivate career growth and economic mobility among MLH associates in Memphis and the surrounding area. In partnership with the University of Memphis, MAAP provides a direct pathway for employees to earn academic credentials while working.

Since 2019, MAAP has been a catalyst for change in the Memphis workforce. With more than 150 associates graduating from MAAP, the program has produced 28 bachelor's degree holders and 36 certification holders (as of fall 2024). Notably, graduates have seen a 93% average hourly rate increase in salary, with 64% advancing into new positions within the organization, instrumental in filling critical health care roles. MAAP is actively transforming the lives of MLH associates and strengthening the economic future of the Memphis community.

"Each associate's journey reflects their hard work, resilience, and the belief that with the right support, anything is possible," said Dexter McKinney, director of workforce development for Methodist Le Bonner Healthcare, who accepted the award on behalf of the organization. "Together, these stories remind us that investing in people creates lasting impact within our organization and throughout our community."

Keynote Session

During her keynote speech, award-winning author, international speaker, and S.O. What success coach Summer Owens challenged attendees to adopt a reimagined "so what?" mindset in response to challenges. When considering a challenge, she advises asking yourself one question: "Can I change it?" For those occasions when the answer is "yes," Owens shared her "no excuses, S.O. What!" philosophy that has helped her excel through a 15-year corporate career and today inspires others to achieve their own successes.

Keynote: The Red Pill or the Blue Pill: The Transforming Workforce in the Age of AI

Tamera Maresh-Carver, managing director, global capability strategy, for FedEx, delivered the day-two keynote, offering a middle-ground perspective between dueling dystopian-utopian AI prognostications. She highlighted the increasing urgency of replacing a "one and done" degree paradigm with a framework of lifelong learning. To illustrate the importance of strategic employee and educator partnerships, she shared some details about FedEx and the University of Memphis’ Learning Inspired by FedEx (LiFE) program). The education benefits initiative has significantly boosted promotion and retention among participating employees.

Maresh-Carver applied a red pill/blue pill allegory from The Matrix to distinguish rote or repetitious tasks from deep work that requires human skills that AI cannot parrot. Workers may be tempted by the "sweet nectar" of shallow work, said Maresh-Carver, because it may impart a sense of control and offer an immediate reward. However, it puts workers at greater risk of replacement. In contrast, she suggested that human skills, such as judgment, creativity, emotional intelligence, critical thinking, and physical dexterity in trades, allow complementary thinking about AI and how to leverage it as a tool to unlock greater opportunities.

Closing Keynote: Navigating the Crossroads: Higher Ed and Workforce Policy in the Trump Era

In the final keynote of the conference, Earl Buford moderated a panel discussion enriched by participants' diverse perspectives and based on their unique professional backgrounds. Panelists included Lindsay Fryer, the founder of Lodestone DC and a former senior education policy advisor for the U.S. Senate HELP Committee; Dr. Steve Taylor, senior fellow and policy director at Stand Together Trust; and Katie Spiker, chief, federal affairs, at the National Skills Coalition.

With Buford noting that the past few years have seen a reshaping of higher ed and workforce development that has been at times harmonious and contentious, panelists agreed that the current landscape is favorable for cross-sector collaboration, building on- and off-ramps for adult learners, and aligning education with workforce needs.

Fryer called attention to three major federal policy changes: adjustments to federal student loan limits, Workforce Pell, and a shift from institution-wide to programmatic assessments of institutional efficacy. While Workforce Pell expands access to short-term credential programs, they must be aligned with in-demand occupations, a process Fryer said CAEL can help navigate. "I do think CAEL is positioned with the experience that you have in this space to really help governors figure out what it is they want on that list and not just have it become a political exercise and who's the loudest voice in the room, but what credentials can lead to high-demand, high-growth jobs," she said.

Fryer added that the policy changes are pointing toward a greater focus on adult learners. "Your expertise in adult learners, prior learning assessments, stackable credentials becomes even more relevant, and you can really help design these pathways because there is a question of quality and how this will all roll out," she said.

Those who attended the conference--virtually or in person--can access recordings of the above events at the attendee hub through mid-February.

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