Mr. Russell Weikle serves as Director of the Career and College Transition Division at the California Department of Education (CDE). He oversees secondary education, college preparation and postsecondary relations, career and technical education (CTE), adult education, and workforce preparation programs. Russell also works at the federal level designated as the California State Director of CTE.
Prior to joining the CDE, Russell served over twenty years as a CTE teacher, middle school principal, high school counselor, and administrator.
Russell joined the CDE in 2001 and was the catalyst in the development and implementation of the 2008 State Plan for CTE. He led the effort to revise the CTE Model Curriculum Standards. Currently, Russell is implementing the California Career Pathways Trust, a 500 million dollar competitive grant for the development of regional career pathways.
In 2011, the Association of California School Administrators recognized Mr. Weikle as the California CTE Administrator of the Year in recognition for his long time dedication to the improvement of CTE in California.
In 2014, Mr. Weikle was honored with the first-ever State Director “Rising Star” award by the National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education.