The 12th Annual ACE Professional Development Symposium was the largest in the series of outstanding professional development opportunities sponsored by the Arizona Correctional Educators, Inc. (ACE) since the series began in 2003. The theme for the 2014 symposium “Back To The Future: Making Hope Happen” continued the spirit of hope and future focus begun in previous symposia. The outstanding keynote speakers and workshop presenters provided a rich learning experience for the more than 350 attendees during the two-day event held at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort and Spa located on the Gila River Indian Community reservation in Chandler, Arizona, May 29-30, 2014.

Antwone Fisher, award-winning film and literacy writer who has worked in Hollywood for 20 years as a writer and producer delivered the Keynote Address at the opening Plenary Session relating a personal story of hope and resiliency, triumph and tragedy. Frantz Beasley, President and Co-Founder of AZ Common Ground, a re-entry Gold Standard Program in the Phoenix area and Commander Michael Kurtenbach from the Phoenix Police Department provided inspiration as the luncheon keynote speakers on Thursday. Rick Miller, Founder and Chief Treasure Hunter of Kids At Hope inspired and entertained with a humorous luncheon presentation to conclude the symposium on Friday afternoon.

Each year at the annual symposium, ACE recognizes individuals and programs that have provided outstanding service to the correctional education community in both the adult and juvenile categories. Marge Christensen Gould, Teacher/Coordinator of the Arizona Supreme Court LEARN Center at Catalina Magnet High School in Tucson for more than 27 years was honored with the ACE President’s Award for outstanding contribution and service to the field of Correctional Education. Mr. Chandra Shekhar, Detention Education Specialist for the Gila County Juvenile and Jail Program was recognized as the Outstanding Correctional Educator of the Year in the Juvenile Category for outstanding service and contribution to correctional students in Gila County. The Scaffold Literacy Approach Program implemented at the Arizona Department of Corrections ASPC Winslow/Apache Unit was honored with the Innovative Program of the Year Award in the Adult Category for having a positive impact on the field of Correctional Education. The Yavapai County Juvenile Detention School in Prescott, AZ was honored with the Innovative Program of the Year Award in the Juvenile Category. These awards were presented at the Annual Awards Luncheon on Friday.

The evaluations received from symposium participants confirmed once again that the annual ACE Symposium continues to fulfill the goal of being the premier professional development venue for correctional educators and related professionals that has drawn local, state, national and international audiences. The symposium is a highly regarded and anticipated annual event as is evidenced by the growing number of attendees each year.