Senate Confirms U.S. Career Technical Ed Secretary

A longtime leader in education, Amy Loyd, was confirmed this week by the U.S. Senate as assistant secretary for the Office of Career, Technical and Adult Education (OCTAE). The 57-42 bipartisan vote — with all Democrats, two independents and seven Republicans voting in favor, and the GOP accounting for all 42 against — comes nearly two months after President Joe Biden nominated Loyd to the post, elevating her from acting assistant secretary to the more permanent role.

“I am thrilled by the Senate’s confirmation of Amy Loyd, whose expertise in the intersection between education and workforce development will make her an excellent assistant secretary for the Office of Career, Technical and Adult Education,” U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said in a public statement.


A native of Albuquerque, N.M., Loyd earned a bachelor’s degree from St. John’s College and a doctorate in education leadership, public policy and business from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, according to her LinkedIn page. She went on to design and lead programs to better education and workforce across the country. After spending nine years at Arkansas-based Cook Inlet Tribal Council as its director of education, Loyd spent more than a decade in various roles including vice president at Massachusetts-based Jobs for the Future, an organization that strives to better workforce and education systems to create equitable economic advancement. She joined the Department of Education in April 2021 as the acting assistant secretary and deputy assistant secretary of policy and strategic initiatives at the OCTAE. Since August 2021, Loyd has served as senior adviser at the department.

“Amy has demonstrated a commitment to providing students of all ages, backgrounds and career stages with equitable opportunities to acquire new skills and secure good-paying jobs,” Cardona said. “At the Department of Education, Amy will continue to drive our efforts to grow the middle class by expanding career-connected learning and better aligning our K-12 and postsecondary systems with the needs of our workforce.”

Jobs for the Future President and CEO Maria Flynn penned a farewell blog to Loyd upon her taking the role at the department last year, noting that her “commitment to public service has always driven her work, and she will only further her positive impact on people, places and systems by leading at the federal level.”

The June 8 confirmation was also applauded by the Association for Career and Technical Education and the nonprofit Advance CTE in a joint statement.

“As key legislation and funding negotiations with implications for career technical education (CTE) and workforce development persist in Congress, it is crucial for leaders at the intersection of education and work to have a seat at the table,” ACTE Executive Director LeAnn Wilson and Advance CTE Executive Director Kimberly Green said in the joint statement. "(Loyd’s) leadership at OCTAE will be instrumental in preparing our nation’s workforce to obtain and advance in high-skill, high-wage and in-demand careers.”