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Team
Leah Parsons Simpson - Ed.D
Dr. Leah Parsons Simpson has served as the System Director for Distance Learning at KCTCS since May 2018. And has led the KCTCS VALLO team since July 2018. From 2014 – 2018, Leah served as Director of Assessment and Curriculum Development at the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy, and for the five years prior, as an assessment specialist in the UK Office of Assessment. Her research interests lie in the areas of autonomy support and faculty development. Leah previously served on the board for the Association for the Assessment of Learning in Higher Education and served as the conference director prior. In her 13-year span in higher education, Leah has worked with numerous faculty and staff to lead professional development efforts and curricular reform.
Shannon Brodbeck - M.A.
Shannon Brodbeck is the Curriculum Support Specialist for the Department of Labor (DOL), Veterans Accelerated Learning for Licensed Occupations (VALLO) Grant at the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS). Successful outcomes have been achieved in areas such as Nursing, HVAC, and Welding, which required working closely with faculty, licensing boards, and the military. Shannon has been serving the military community in various roles, living on different military bases both in the United States and abroad, for more than 16 years. VALLO is the second military-affiliated DOL Grant she has taken part in, the first being the Military Spouse Career Advancement Account, which she helped propel out of the pilot stage into a fully implemented program that is now used worldwide by qualifying military spouses.
Aimee D. Neal – B.A.
Aimee Neal is the Veterans Accelerated Learning Student Support Specialist for the VALLO grant at KCTCS. Prior to this position, Aimee worked with two federal programs administered by the Department of Labor (DOL) for nine years – Workforce Innovation & Opportunity Act (WIOA) and Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA). She facilitated the transition of dislocated workers into training and educational opportunities leading to employment in high demand careers like healthcare, advanced manufacturing, information technology, and transportation/logistics. Her caseload consisted primarily of individuals coping with the loss of their jobs due to foreign trade, a population requiring intensive guidance. Her skills and work experience have readily transferred to addressing the needs of the Transitioning Servicemember. She has conducted extensive research on Student Veteran Services and developed a system-wide improvement initiative to better serve Veterans. Projects include the design and delivery of training content for staff professional development, the creation of a SharePoint site of Veteran resources for faculty and staff, the development of a student-facing system website for Veterans, and the reorganization of Veterans websites at all sixteen colleges.