Announcing Stacey Delcau, RJE, as our new Professional Development staff

SCHAUMBURG, IL: The American Conference of Cantors (ACC) <www.accantors.org>, a non-profit organization dedicated to the professional growth and development of cantors in the Reform Movement, is excited to announce the hiring of Stacey Delcau, RJE, in the newly created part-time staff position to assist and support ACC members in the area of professional development.

 "Professional development stands at the very core of the work of the American Conference of Cantors. As in all professions, continuous learning and collaboration with colleagues is fundamental to the long term career success of any cantor. Perhaps even more importantly, studies show that ongoing, engaging professional development is one of the most essential factors in keeping professionals satisfied and happy through retirement. Moreover, the ACC Executive Board recognizes the mandate from the work of our Strategic Planning Initiative regarding bolstering and refocusing our professional development offerings with a broad objective of fully equipping our membership with the tools and learning necessary for our ever changing and growing profession. "The Committee for Continuing Professional Development has worked hard over the years to fulfill the needs of our members on an entirely volunteer basis. CCPD programming has covered a diverse array of topics including musicology, liturgy, technology, professional skills, history, repertoire and much more. It has, however, become clear that the work of a volunteer committee is simply insufficient to meet the needs of today's Cantorate. Those needs require the services of a paid professional tasked with managing and developing the programs of professional learning and recognition that we offer to our members. It is for this purpose that we propose that the ACC create the position of ACC Professional Development staff member."After an exhaustive search and interviews with several high quality candidates, the Search Committee chaired by Cantor Seth Warner reached unanimous consensus to hire Stacey Delcau, RJE. The recommendation was brought to the ACC Executive Board at the ACC March Executive Board meeting and the motion to hire Stacey was also passed unanimously. Stacey will officially join the staff of the ACC in a part-time capacity in August 2016. Biography of Stacey Delcau, RJEAfter growing up in a suburb of Denver, Colorado and attending the University of Colorado at Boulder, Stacey received her MA in Jewish Education from HUC-JIR's Rhea Hirsch School of Education in 2001. She has since worked and lived all over the country in positions ranging from interfaith family education, teen engagement/travel, and synagogue education. Stacey's passion within each and every position has been focused on growth and development of her teaching staff as well as the participants. Currently Stacey also serves as the Director of Education at Congregation Keneseth Israel in Allentown, PA and works closely with the college students who serve as her teachers from Muhlenberg College. Stacey served on the AJRE (formerly NATE) board from 2007-2010 and on the operations membership, professional development, and advocacy teams for over 12 years. She most recently co-chaired the 2015 ARJE conference in Philadelphia. She is extremely excited to work in partnership with the ACC leadership and members to create meaningful and goal-oriented professional development opportunities. Stacey is a purple belt in karate, loves to spend time doing yoga and meditation as well as hiking with her girls Shira and Maya and her husband Rabbi Mitch Delcau (and their dog River).