Bios

Cliff Chuang, Senior Associate Commissioner

Cliff currently serves as Senior Associate Commissioner for Educational Options at the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (ESE). In this role, he is responsible for supporting and overseeing the wide range of educational options available to Massachusetts’ students, including charter schools; virtual schools; college, career, and technical education; adult basic education; and out-of-school time programs.

Cliff previously served as Director of the NY Education Department's Charter School Office and as the president of the board of American Chinese Christian Educational and Social Services, Inc. (ACCESS) in Boston's Chinatown. He started his career teaching middle and high school mathematics and science in Boston. He holds a bachelor’s in mathematics from Harvard University, and a M.Ed in Secondary Mathematics Teaching from Boston College.

Jolanta Conway, ABE State Director

Jolanta started her career in adult education 18 years ago teaching English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) to adult learners at ABCD Head Start in Roslindale and Mother Caroline Academy in Dorchester. She later became a program director for the Hudson Maynard Adult Learning Center.

In 2007, Jolanta joined the Adult and Community Learning Services (ACLS) unit at the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (ESE) as a program specialist. She then became a team leader, and as of August 2014 she assumed the position of ABE State Director. As a member of the ACLS leadership team, Jolanta has been actively involved in shaping ACLS policy and providing leadership for the unit and the ABE field. She is passionate about providing quality educational services to undereducated adults and English language learners.

Jolanta Conway is originally from Rybnik, Poland. She moved to the United States in 1997. She holds a master’s degree in English Language and Literature from the University of Silesia, Poland.

Robert LePage, Assistant Secretary of Career Education in the Executive Office of Education (EOE)

In his role he is primarily focused on secondary and post-secondary career pathway strategies to meet the talent and workforce needs of employers in the Commonwealth. He supports EOE’s Workforce Skills Cabinet initiatives in collaboration with Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development and Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development He serves as an EOE’s designated member of the Massachusetts Workforce Development Board and as an Advisory Board member for the Division of Public Licensure Private Occupation School Licensure.

Prior to joining the Executive Office of Education Mr. LePage served as Vice President of Foundation and Workforce Training for Springfield Technical Community College (STCC). In his role he lead Training and Workforce Options a regional initiative between STCC and Holyoke Community College focused on enhancing and accelerating the performance of industry in the Western Massachusetts region. Additional he provided leadership in creation of a partnership between the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, casino developers, and the Commonwealth’s fifteen community colleges to provide workforce development strategies for the emerging casino industry.

Mr. LePage holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Massachusetts and a dual Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing, and Finance & Insurance from Northeastern University.

Amy Dalsimer, Executive Director of the College and Career Pathways Programs

Amy Dalsimer, Executive Director of the College and Career Pathways Professional Development Institute at LaGuardia Community College/CUNY, is a national expert in comprehensive career pathways and bridge program design, sector-focused contextualized literacy, integrated career training, and postsecondary readiness initiatives designed to serve low skilled adults and out-of-school youth. With more than 20 years of experience teaching and leading career-focused high school equivalency, literacy, and college transition programs, Ms. Dalsimer was founding director of LaGuardia’s evidenced-based Bridge to College and Careers Program and has been at the forefront of leading LaGuardia's highly successful NY-BEST Integrated Training Programs. Serving more than 1000 students annually, these comprehensive career pathways models integrate rigorous academic skill development with professional sector content, enabling thousands of low skilled and underemployed young people and adults to advance in new career tracks and on to college.

Under Ms. Dalsimer’s leadership, the College and Career Pathways Professional Development Institute has contracted with more than 40 non-profit, government agencies, and higher educational organizations in 19 states to provide high-quality professional development to educators, advisors and program leaders seeking to improve college and career readiness programming for out-of-school youth and adult students.