Four educators in Eastern Oregon were recently recognized with 2025 InterMountain CTE Educator Excellence Awards. CTE stands for Career and Technical Education. Caitlin Russell, InterMountain ESD’s Regional CTE Coordinator, said these are new awards for the region. “We started these awards to increase recognition of the amazing work our educators are doing in CTE programs in our schools, which also increases awareness of the great opportunities our districts provide,” Russell said.
The awards given were:
CTE Administrator of the Year – Curt Thompson, Assistant Principal, Pendleton High School
CTE Teacher of the Year – Teresa Veach, Business/Math Teacher, Ukiah School District
CTE Career Guidance of the Year – Karen Demianew, Counselor, Pendleton High School
CTE Post-Secondary Teacher of the Year -- Velda Arnaud, Business & Leadership Faculty Instructor, Blue Mountain Community College
The recipients received their awards during February, which is National CTE Month.
Two of the winners also received statewide awards through Oregon ACTE (Oregon Association for Career and Technical Education):
BMCC’s Arnaud was named the 2026 Post-Secondary Educator of the Year for the state of Oregon.
Pendleton High School’s Demianew was named the 2026 Counseling and Career Professional of the Year for the state of Oregon.
Arnaud and Demianew will receive their statewide awards at Oregon ACTE’s annual conference in Seaside in April. They are both now eligible for the Region V award, an area that includes multiple states. If they win the regional award, they are eligible for the national-level award.
Career and Technical Education (CTE) is a broad approach to education that combines academic and technical skills with the knowledge and training needed to succeed in today's labor market, preparing students for various careers through hands-on, real-world experiences.
Curt Thompson
Teresa Veach is pictured on RIGHT.
Karen Demianew
Velda Arnaud