2023 Lifetime Achievement Award

Cathie Raymond

For 49 years, Cathie Raymond has been a part of CTE. She began as a CTE teacher, and then became a school district director before becoming the Arizona state CTE Director. Ms. Raymond is an extremely strong leader in Arizona and the nation.

She moved CTE forward with a focus on the High Quality CTE Framework and has led Arizona through two strategic plans and Perkins V implementation. She served as ACOVA Vice President and President and served at ACTEAZ’s Vice president. She served on numerous committees for the national CTE Directors’ Organization, while mentoring new state directors across the US. She worked with the Arizona Quality Commission influential business leaders, who approve state standards.

Ms. Raymond has been a huge cheerleader for various initiatives in the state. She fully supports Arizona’s Premiere Series Program and the Arizona CTE Curriculum Consortium.

She has worked extremely hard to build relationships with workforce development and has them participating in multiple committees to enhance Arizona CTE. One of Ms. Raymond’s most amazing attributes is she surrounds herself with people who are experts in areas and gives them the wings to build more amazing opportunities for students.

Ms. Raymond’s actions truly incorporate the High Quality CTE Framework. She is a huge supporter of CTSO’s. She has worked to build relationships with the community colleges and post-secondary education. With the ADE assessment team, she has built a solid-state assessment that is recognized by many employers, which gives students a leg up when interviewing. She is responsible for the state having a certification for every single CTE program in the state. Ms. Raymond was able to secure a full-time CTE counselor at the state level to help schools in the field. Ms. Raymond helped districts incorporate career explorations in our lower grade levels to help students make informed decisions when moving onto high school. She is an avid supporter of Pipeline Arizona.

ADE CTE is a partner for ACTE’s CTE Summer conference. ADE’s willingness to participate and have CTE staff participate is unique. ADE holds the quarterly meeting with ACOVA and ACTEAZ fall and spring conferences to connect with administrators statewide. ADE has a huge presence at both of those conferences with either presenting or staff available. She lives and breathes CTE. She is always looking for ways to tell people about CTE.