Community College Professionals Selected for 2025-2026 ATE Future Leaders Fellows Program

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 14, 2025
Contact: Martha M. Parham, Ed.D.
Cell: 714-932-3694
mparham@aacc.nche.edu

National initiative brings together two-year college professionals to advance their leadership skills and raise awareness of STEM technician education programs

Washington, DC - The American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) is pleased to announce the 2025-2026 cohort for the ATE Future Leaders Fellows program with funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) through its Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program.

The ATE Future Leaders Fellows program focuses on serving two-year college professionals seeking to advance their leadership skills and contribute to a national dissemination effort on STEM technician education and capacity building.

The program enables ATE community college professionals to participate in the AACC's John E. Roueche Future Leaders Institute (FLI) or Future Presidents Institute (FPI) and serve as program ambassadors to help raise awareness of the STEM technician education landscape, and the opportunities and resources available through the NSF ATE program.

The ATE Future Leaders Fellows program aims to develop community college leaders with the competencies to support business and industry relationships, build STEM capacity, and support a campus culture of innovation to prepare students for the future of work.

The five Fellows selected for the 2025-2026 program are:

• Aron Kamajaya, Program Director, Biotechnology, Los Angeles Pierce College, CA
• Ellie Koss, Assistant Director, Grants Office, Columbus State Community College, OH
• Mason Lefler, Associate Vice President for Educational Innovation, Bridgerland Technical College, UT
• Kenie Moses, Department Head of Engineering & Technology, Southern University at Shreveport, LA
• Tony Wohlers, Vice President and Dean of Academic Affairs, SUNY Corning Community College, NY

AACC has successfully partnered with the National Science Foundation through its ATE program for more than thirty years and hosts an annual ATE Principal Investigators' Conference and Community College Innovation Challenge, as well as MentorLinks, a mentoring program designed to help colleges strengthen training programs in STEM fields. These activities coupled with the ATE Future Leaders Fellows program serve to broaden the impact of community college leadership in advancing STEM technician education; create venues for providing STEM professional and leadership development opportunities for two-year college administrators, faculty, and students; cultivate innovation and entrepreneurship; support institutional STEM capacity building; and raise awareness of the valuable contributions and resources of community colleges working in STEM technician education.

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About AACC
As the voice of the nation's community colleges, the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), delivers educational and economic opportunity for more than 10 million students in search of the American Dream. Uniquely dedicated to access and success for all students, AACC's member colleges provide an on-ramp to degree attainment, skilled careers, and family-supporting wages. Located in Washington, D.C., AACC advocates for these not-for-profit, public-serving institutions to ensure they have the resources and support they need to deliver on the mission of increasing economic mobility for all. https://www.aacc.nche.edu/