Biography

Jason Van Nus, Georgia’s 2023 ACTE Teacher of the Year, ACTE’s 2024 Region 2 Teacher of the Year, and a finalist for ACTE’s 2025 National Teacher of the Year, serves as CEO of the Workforce Innovation Network (WIN) College and Career Academy in Valdosta, Georgia. With more than 22 years of experience teaching Career, Technical, and Agricultural Education (CTAE) in Georgia, Jason is a content expert across multiple instructional areas of Career and Technical Education. His experience teaching Business Education, Business and Computer Science, Graphic Communication, and Work-Based Learning has given him a uniquely diverse perspective on CTAE. He combines his content expertise and passion for technology with his strengths as a recruiter, gifted communicator, and diligent networker to serve as a tireless promoter and advocate for CTE.

Prior to joining WIN, Jason spent eight years coordinating the Work-Based Learning and Youth Apprenticeship (WBL/YA) programs for Lowndes County Schools. Under his leadership, WBL/YA enrollment grew 435.29%, from 51 students to 273. In a county with a population of 117,406, Lowndes County’s WBL/YA program generated more than $11.4 million in student wages during the first six school years under Jason’s direction, creating a total economic impact of more than $45.8 million during that same period. Jason’s local community recognized the impact of his work by selecting him for the 2022 Leadership Lowndes cohort. Following graduation, he accepted a seat on the Leadership Lowndes Board, serving from 2023 to 2026 as Vice President of Programs.

On the national stage, Jason is a Founding Member of the CTE Collective, as well as a member of ACTE’s Work-Based Learning Policy Committee, serving as the Region II representative. He also serves on the Advisory Board for the CTE Research Network 2.0, established by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) and the American Institutes for Research (AIR), and was recently appointed to Jobs for the Future’s Career Navigation Practitioner Advisory Committee (CNPAC). In 2024, Jason was named YouScience’s Innovative Educator of the Year. That same year, he was selected for the 2025 Harbor Freight Leadership Lab cohort. Jason’s Youth Apprenticeship program and creative industry partnerships have garnered national awards and attention, resulting in invitations to present and speak on his best practices in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Ohio, Iowa, Mississippi, New York, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Utah, Maryland, Washington, Kansas, Texas, California, and Virginia. His unique data-tracking techniques were featured in a national research project by the American Institutes for Research titled Building Robust District Work-Based Learning Data Collection Systems. Jason’s work with Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been featured in two Education Week articles, and he is frequently a featured guest on the Disrupt Education Podcast.

At the state level, Jason was selected for Georgia’s elite LEAD CTAE program for Career Education leaders in 2019. That same year, he was recognized as Work-Based Learning Coordinator of the Year for the Southwest Region. He was also named the overall “TopGun” of the 2020 TopGun cohort, a professional development program for Georgia’s leading Work-Based Learning coordinators. In 2021, Jason was honored as a Distinguished WBL Coordinator in Georgia. Supreme, in Jason’s eyes, to all of these accomplishments, however, is the impact his work has had on students in his community, students who have gained new opportunities, robust training, increased earning potential, and stronger career outlooks through the Work-Based Learning program at Lowndes High School.

Jason’s academic journey reflects his commitment to continuous learning and professional development. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Education and a master’s degree in Adult and Career Education from Valdosta State University, as well as a specialist degree in Business and Marketing Education from Auburn University. He is currently in the final stages of completing his Ph.D. in Career and Technical Education at Auburn University, with a research focus on workforce development, economic development, and the impact of Work-Based Learning on CTAE.