Mindi Heitland Wins ACTE Work-Based Learning National Award
Mindi Heitland, career services coordinator at Waukee Community School District, has been named the winner of the 2025 Brightpath Work-Based Learning Professional of the Year Award by the Association for Career & Technical Education (ACTE). The national honor recognizes her long-standing impact on students, educators, and workforce development across Iowa and beyond.
Connecting Students to Careers
Heitland led the Waukee High School School-to-Work internship program for more than 15 years, helping thousands of students gain real-world experience through internships, mentorships, and career exploration. This work allowed Heitland to build strong connections with local businesses and industries, ensuring Waukee’s programs aligned with workforce needs and statewide efforts.
“We are so lucky our district had the foresight to invest in creating this internship program for our students over 25 years ago. Our model of preparing students prior to their internships has led to such great partnerships for our students and business partners,” Heitland said.
She is also credited with co-creating the District’s first online and hybrid courses in partnership with Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC). The program is growing and thriving in our schools today.
Michelle Hill, director of work-based learning, reflected on Heitland’s impact, saying, “Over the past 20-plus years, I have had the privilege of working closely with Mindi and witnessing firsthand her unparalleled dedication to fostering student success, driving innovation in work-based learning, and advocating tirelessly for high-quality career and technical education.”
Now serving as the District’s career services coordinator, Heitland launched the Career Services office to broaden students’ access to career readiness resources through events like career days, workshops, off-site visits, and student-led initiatives.
“Career Services provides another layer of support for our students to not only prepare for future employment, but also identify different career pathways. We are excited about our new student job board where employers and students can connect more easily to post and find part-time job opportunities,” Heitland explained.
Leading Beyond Waukee
Heitland’s leadership has extended beyond Waukee. She co-founded the Iowa Work-Based Learning Coordinators group, which now includes more than 200 educators and hosts a national conference. She also teaches certification courses at the University of Northern Iowa and mentors new work-based learning coordinators across the state.
“Work-based learning, when done well, is such a benefit to the student and the business. It’s been so rewarding to work with others across the state who are so driven to build quality programs,” Heitland said.
Heitland received the distinguished award at the National Work-Based Learning Conference in Bellevue, Washington, in April. Nominated by a colleague at Waukee CSD, Heitland received a perfect score from the award committee.
Heitland’s national recognition underscores a career devoted to preparing students for success beyond the classroom and equipping educators with the tools and inspiration to elevate work-based learning across the state.
