Shauna King-Simms, Director, Transitions Programs, Kentucky Community and Technical College System
Ms. King-Simms is the Director of Transitions Programs at the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS), where she works with policy and program development targeting economically disadvantaged and educationally under-prepared students. Prior to joining the KCTCS staff in August, 1999, Shauna administered post-secondary education TANF contracts for the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services and served as staff for the Cabinet’s task force on post-secondary education. Ms. King-Simms spent 10 years as a state level administrator of Kentucky’s adult basic education and literacy initiatives and 7 years as a student services administrator in a two-year college. She was also a regional administrator for the Job Training Partnership Act program.
Shauna initially joined the KCTCS Chancellor’s office staff to implement a statewide TANF funded initiative aimed at recruiting, transitioning and supporting Kentucky’s public assistance recipients in the Community and Technical College System. This nationally recognized effort, “Ready to Work”, proved so successful that the state TANF agency requested a parallel initiative targeting the state’s adult education population. This transitions model integrates campus-based targeted case management with a TANF funded work study component. Additionally, she has assisted in the design and supported implementation of innovative transitioning collaborations among KCTCS colleges and local adult education providers statewide. Shauna also supported and facilitated the KCTCS statewide Career Pathways pilots developed as Kentucky’s strategy to support the Ford Foundation Bridges to Opportunity Initiative. All sixteen KCTCS colleges developed and implemented at least one Career Pathway in an employment sector identified in collaboration with their local stakeholders. As part of this process, Shauna facilitated the statewide Developmental Education Pathways faculty workgroup and currently supports the Transitional Reading and Writing Curriculum Committees.
Most recently Shauna is representing KCTCS on several state work teams charged to develop strategies and outcomes around reducing the need for remedial education and increasing the success of students who enter postsecondary with remedial needs.
Shauna has a BA from Eastern Kentucky University and an MA from the University of Cincinnati in Organizational Behavior and Communications
Sessions with Shauna King-Simms:
