Mary Ellen Spennacchio-WagnerMary Ellen Spennacchio-Wagner, director of the BOCES 2 Center for Workforce Development (CWD), has been elected to serve a three-year term on the Commission for the Council on Occupational Education (COE). She was elected at the COE Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia on November 3.
The COE, originally founded in 1971 as a regional accrediting agency of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, is the successor to the Commission on Occupational Education Institutions (COEI). In 1995, the Council became a national accrediting agency. In 2006, the Council celebrated its 35th year of assuring quality and integrity in career and technical education. The Council’s accreditation process is conducted on behalf of more than 360,000 students across the nation who pursue careers in a variety of technical fields.
Spennacchio-Wagner started her career in adult education when she joined BOCES 2 in 1989 and has served as CWD director since 2006. She believes that blending literacy and career education is the only way to serve the adult learner. “We’re helping to rebuild our country’s workforce and helping to bring non-traditional learning opportunities to the adult student,” she said. Spennacchio-Wagner also serves as a NYS Regional Coordinator for the New York Association for Community/Continuing Education (NYACCE) and is the first person in the Northeast to be asked to serve on the COE Commission.
