About This Event

AAEE's annual conference and education career fair provides the following for members:

• Keynote and general session speakers focused on current trends
• Updates and key information for districts and universities looking to hire educators
• Networking (structured and informal) opportunities to meet other talent experts
• Attendees within the PK-12 educator preparation, recruitment, and retention.
• Education Career Fair with 50+ hiring institutions and local education candidates

You can expect to find the best in human resources, school operations, university recruitment, personnel and more!

Below are some of the professional job titles that have been represented at previous conferences.

Call for Speakers - Open here

Our annual conference covers professional development and networking opportunities for professionals from: career services, Colleges of Education, academic advising, K-12 recruitment, school system administration, non-profit and for-profit education-related organizations, and state departments of education.

Venue / Lodging

Event activities and lodging will be at the Marriott Country Club Plaza.

Featured amenities include a business center, express check-out, and complimentary newspapers in the lobby. Event facilities at this hotel consist of conference space and meeting rooms. Self parking (subject to charges) is available onsite.

Located in Kansas City (Midtown - Westport), Kansas City Marriott Country Club Plaza is a 5-minute walk from Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art and 10 minutes by foot from Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. This hotel is 3.7 mi (6 km) from Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts and 4 mi (6.4 km) from T-Mobile Center.

$189/night  - Reserve your room here

Catina K. Taylor, JD is an education and workforce-aligned leader with more than 25 years of experience working at the intersection of K–12 education, family engagement, and career readiness. She spent 15 years teaching across the full K–12 continuum in public, charter, and independent schools, with a particular focus on literacy, student advocacy, and preparing young people for life beyond the classroom. Her work has consistently centered students and families navigating systems that were not designed with them in mind.

In addition to her classroom experience, Catina has led educator recruitment, onboarding, professional development, and leadership selection efforts, including serving on founding principal hiring teams and supporting schools through periods of transition and growth. As a co-founder of Elements of Education, she led work focused on the recruitment, retention, and sustainability of African-American female educators—addressing burnout, career longevity, and leadership pathways within the profession. Her work recognizes educators as essential workforce contributors whose stability directly impacts student outcomes.

Catina is the founder and Executive Director of DREAMS KC, a nonprofit social enterprise focused on literacy as a workforce issue, grounded in the belief that early and sustained literacy development is foundational to long-term employability, economic mobility, and civic participation. Through parent literacy training, curriculum development, and community partnerships, her work supports families in building the skills students need to access postsecondary education, training programs, and meaningful employment.

Trained as an attorney and educator, Catina brings systems thinking, policy fluency, and practical experience to conversations about talent pipelines, family engagement, and the future of work—making her a trusted voice for audiences focused on employment,

education, and opportunity.

Charles King is Founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer of The Educator Academy, where he leads organizational strategy, policy engagement, and long-term sustainability efforts to strengthen the educator workforce. As CEO, he oversees strategic planning, board governance, fundraising, and operations, guiding a multi-million-dollar organization and securing more than $3 million in new philanthropic investment to expand impact annually.

Charles brings deep expertise in education policy and systems change, with a focus on teacher preparation, talent pipelines, and sustainable workforce models. He previously served as Program Director at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, where he helped design and launch a teacher residency program and navigated state policy and accreditation processes. Earlier in his career, he spent more than a decade at KIPP Houston Public Schools as a teacher and school leader, building high-performing teams and driving student achievement.

Charles is currently pursuing a Doctor of Education in Higher Education Leadership and Policy at the University of Kansas and holds degrees from Houston Baptist University and Morehouse College. He is passionate about advancing effective leadership, shaping policy solutions, advancing educational equity, and building resilient education systems that support educators and communities.

Dr. Trinity Davis is an award-winning educator, curriculum design expert, and national advocate for educational equity who has served as a teacher, professor, and district leader committed to disrupting systemic inequities in urban education. As Founder and President of Teachers Like Me, she advances equity-centered solutions that expand pathways and improve outcomes for Black students and communities.

More information coming soon!