By David Johnson, ACPE President

I was sitting at my desk last week when I was interrupted from reading emails by a call from an Atlanta area code.  Trace our ED was out of town so I knew that it would not be him.  I wondered as I paused to pick up the receiver what crisis was taking place in the national office because those are the only calls I get with a 404 area code.  Much to my surprise a voice that I did not recognize said "hello" back to me in response to my initial "hello."  The person introduced herself as Jasmine Terry Okafor the new ACPE Development Specialist.

Jasmine told of her quest to contact the leadership of ACPE to hear what their dreams were for the organization and how the FCPE might fit into those dreams.  We chatted a while and I shared about the funds needed for hardware and software to assist with possible distant learning projects from the national office, electronic accreditation process, and the desire for creative national and international CPE programs.  It was wonderful to hear the excitement in her voice.  I reflected on how far we had come in the last year at the national level with the new office and the staff Trace Haythorn had pulled together.  I was proud to be the president of such a vibrant organization.

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By Marc Medwed, ACPE Program Manager 

We are in a three phase process for updating ACPE Standards and manuals:

• Interim revisions to the 2010 manuals - on the ACPE website now and in effect through December 31, 2015;
• 2016 manuals - to be published September 2015 and go into effect January 1, 2016;
• Revisions related to work of Certification task forces when work completed, presented to the Board and members, with ample time for review and implementation.

We would like to extend a big thank you to Jerry Williamson for her continued work on our manual revision process. The Interim revisions to the 2010 manuals are now posted on our website.  These interim revisions to the 2010 manuals include clarifications of various policies and procedures as well as an update to the Certification Manual highlighting the shift in policy adopted by the Board of Representatives related to becoming an ACPE Supervisor.  Please note that substantive changes are highlighted in yellow throughout the text. These manuals will be in effect for the remainder of 2015.

The ACPE membership will vote on the following Bylaw Amendments at its Annual Member Meeting in Atlanta, GA on May 8, 2015. Please contact your board representative with questions or comments regarding the proposed amendments.

During the Board of Representatives' fall 2014 meeting, the Representing and Nominating Committee (RANC) proposed the following edits to the bylaws.  Most of the edits align the bylaws with current practice. However, one proposed change would allow the entire ACPE membership to participate in elections for secretary and treasurer.  The election for secretary and treasurer would be held electronically in conjunction with the election for president-elect.  Currently, only members at the annual meeting can vote for secretary and treasurer. 

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By David Rumbold, ACPE Standards Chair

ACPE is involved in a rich time of creativity and review. The Standards Committee has felt the need to look at the standards we have for CPE objectives and outcomes (level I and level II) and we believe now is the time to talk about what we of ACPE have collectively learned over the past 50 years, and what we envision for the next 50.  We have heard from many people who have worked with what we have, or have sought to develop outcomes based upon their center's uniqueness as well as their own wisdom and theoretical perspective. What we would like is to create a conversation among us to hear what people are excited about so that we might build a broader understanding and perhaps co-create the vision for what will be our legacy to ACPE. 

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Jasmine Terry Okafor joined the ACPE national office as our Development Specialist at the end of March. ACPE Foundation President Stu Plummer said, "We are excited to have Jasmine join the team as it marks another transition for the foundation that supports the ACPE."

Jasmine is a native of the Atlanta area and is a 2014 graduate of Candler School of Theology, where she completed a Master of Divinity degree with a Women, Theology & Ministry certificate and Justice, Peacebuilding and Conflict Transformation concentration. While at Candler, Jasmine coordinated student-led strategies to endow a scholarship fund for African American students, co-chaired a successful Senior Class Gift Campaign that exceeded its participation goal, worked in the school's Office of Student Programming as both a Student Life and Orientation Coordinator, and taught theology courses to incarcerated women as part of the Arrendale Theological Certificate Program.

Prior to Candler, Jasmine completed a two year fellowship with the Jessie Ball duPont Fund, a national foundation with assets totaling close to $300 million dollars. Jasmine is a 2009 graduate of Agnes Scott College where she studied religion and social justice, and also holds non-profit executive leadership certificates from the United Way of Atlanta and Georgetown University. Jasmine resides in Decatur, Georgia with her husband Nnamdi and pets Romeo and Tubby.