COLORADO
ASSOCIATION FOR
CAREER & TECHNICAL
EDUCATION
CACTE STAFF
CACTE Staff - All Part Time! ​
As a non-profit professional association, the Colorado Association for Career and Technical Education (CACTE) relies on a few paid staff members and a whole lot of volunteers to make things happen. Meet our hard-working staff! The Executive Director has a contract with the CACTE Executive Committee. The Assistant Director also has a contract. Note that the Assistants are paid a small stipend - it's a glorified volunteer job!
Debbie Nelson
Executive
Director
Debbie Nelson has been a member of CACTE since 1982, during her senior year at Colorado State University. She believes passionately in the power of professional association involvement! Benefits such as networking, leadership development, sharing/learning, and personal growth are myriad. Debbie taught Family & Consumer Sciences for 30 years. When she’s not doing CACTE work, she likes to swim, hike, scrapbook, travel the globe, read and spend time with two generations of her nieces/nephews.
Debbie has been CACTE ED since 2017.
Sheri Bryant
Assistant
Director
Sheri Bryant has been a member of CACTE since 2005 and an educator in Colorado since 1998. From subbing in a kindergarten class (#iykyk) to advocating for CTE programming at all levels, she is passionate about career-connected learning, strategic partnerships and strong CACTE member involvement. Sheri’s own first entrepreneurial / WBL experience in fourth grade was selling eggs to her teachers while growing up on her family’s farm. When not doing “all things CTE”, she likes to not only expand her skills in quilting, camping, and photography, but also to explore through world travel and the beautiful landscape of Colorado with her husband, Dave.
Sheri has been CACTE Assistant Director since February 2025.
Janet Brophy
Summit
Assistant
Janet Brophy serves as the Program Director for High School of Business™ at MBA Research & Curriculum Center. A former business educator with more than 20 years of experience, she has taught at both the high school and community college levels. Janet earned her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Wyoming and her MBA from the University of Phoenix. Prior to her teaching career, she worked in human resources and later as support staff for an education consortium before completing an alternative licensure program. In addition to her professional roles, Janet has served as an FBLA adviser and currently holds the position of Treasurer for the Colorado Business and Marketing Educators Association, business division of CACTE.
Janet has been the CACTE Summit Assistant since February 2022