Kelly Zinck’s Commitment to Democratizing Data for All

Part of the Fellow Feature Series

CTE Voices
• May 27, 2025

Considering outcomes data on completion, employment, and earnings, program leaders can make informed decisions, including strategically allocating resources, that directly impact outcomes and have the potential to improve results.

Kelly Zinck is an education team research analyst in the Office of Community Colleges and Workforce Development at the Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission and a Fellow in the third cohort of the Postsecondary State CTE Leaders Fellowship at Advance CTE – Sponsored by ECMC Foundation.

Q: Let’s start with your journey into CTE. How did your background shape your path into this field?

A: While my undergraduate and graduate degrees are in national resource and environmental law and policy, I’ve been in the higher education and workforce development sector as a proud public servant for over 10 years. A self-described “policy wonk” and “quantoid,” my education granted me the opportunity to build a strong foundation in statistical analysis, research methods, and public policy. I am grateful I can incorporate key aspects of my personal self into my work, specifically, a passion for equal access, visual creativity, attention to detail, and an appetite for continuous learning. I take pride in my work as a pivotal part of statewide programs that are changing lives.

Q: Postsecondary CTE data is seen as a barrier in some states to improving programmatic outcomes. How do you address or plan to address this challenge in Oregon?

A: I believe the crux of addressing this challenge is in demystifying data at every stage throughout the inquiry cycle, including translating federal definitions and compliance metrics into plain language, providing professional development opportunities focused on data literacy, and creating a culture of data-informed decision-making. The data ecosystem or datasphere can be complex, from data governance, collection, and validation to data analysis, visualization, and interpretation, but the key is to lead from where you are. Anyone can be a leader, and you don’t need a title, credentials, or someone’s permission to be a leader.

I conduct mini-analyses and regularly bring a “data snippet” to internal team meetings or publish in statewide program newsletters. The data snippet is designed to briefly examine an interesting aspect of programs and either inform a 10 to 15-minute conversation at team meetings or spark curiosity and conversation among program staff and newsletter recipients.

In my current role, this might look like modifying my analysis, intentionally disaggregating data for specific data requests, improving visualizations, and sharing insights with colleagues and collaborative partners. For example, I conduct mini-analyses and regularly bring a “data snippet” to internal team meetings or publish in statewide program newsletters. The data snippet is designed to briefly examine an interesting aspect of programs and either inform a 10 to 15-minute conversation at team meetings or spark curiosity and conversation among program staff and newsletter recipients. Another example is the Oregon CTE Data Academy: quarterly, virtual convenings with facilitated conversations in identifying opportunity and performance gaps, conducting root cause analysis, and identifying actionable steps to address disparities.

Q: You’ve been vocal about how data can be disaggregated and thoroughly analyzed to identify and understand the characteristics and needs of each population, allowing the opportunity to customize interventions and initiatives for the greatest potential impact. Why do you think this is such a crucial issue?

A: Paired with a critical eye and an equal access mindset, intentional disaggregation and analysis can reveal hidden underrepresentation, improve resource allocation, promote accountability and transparency, drive innovation, and empower communities. Aggregated data often masks disparities but disaggregating and taking a closer look allows for the opportunity to uncover variations unique to each group. Not only does this approach disrupt comparison conversations (e.g., have vs. have-not and high vs. low performing groups), it promotes person-centered policy discussions and more closely illuminates insights specific to each population. While I tend to focus on quantitative data, it’s important to acknowledge that numbers represent real people within communities and do not tell a complete story, ideally, quantitative analysis is paired with learner reflections and experiences.

Aggregated data often masks disparities but disaggregating and taking a closer look allows for the opportunity to uncover variations unique to each group.

Additionally, I am striving to not be the “gatekeeper” of data but, instead, “free the data” and make it more accessible to collaborative partners, learners and families, the public, and communities. Sharing data and analyses with communities reconnects them to the data collected from and about them, promoting informed decision-making, empowering individuals to advocate for their own futures, fostering trust, and building more effective, sustainable solutions. Returning data back to individuals and communities also reconnects data to the real, lived, human experience so we can be truly accountable to each other.

Sharing data and analyses with communities reconnects them to the data collected from and about them, promoting informed decision-making, empowering individuals to advocate for their own futures, fostering trust, and building more effective, sustainable solutions.

Q: You’ve spoken before about examining the programmatic and environmental factors that impact outcomes for postsecondary CTE learners, specifically postsecondary completion, employment, and earnings. Can you share how this commitment has shaped your leadership and actions in your current role?

A: Programmatic and environmental factors are influential in outcomes like completion, employment, and earnings. From a statewide perspective, I can provide the best information as it relates to the outcomes, illuminating local outcomes along with a statewide context. I view my role as being responsible for providing the most useful analysis and information possible to provide tools to help make informed decisions specific to programs, local context, and regional circumstances. Considering outcomes data on completion, employment, and earnings, program leaders can make informed decisions, including strategically allocating resources, that directly impact outcomes and have the potential to improve results. This responsibility is the driving force behind my work, including:

emphasizing actionable data essential for translating data into real-world improvements,
contextualizing data interpretation to promote a deeper understanding of the factors driving outcomes, and
empowering local decisionmaking, recognizing that local leaders are best positioned to understand the specific challenges and opportunities within their communities and make tailored adjustments to their programs.

Combined with centering learners in my work, this approach is an essential component of building a strong and responsive CTE system that meets the needs of all learners and communities.

Q: What do you see as the future of CTE in Oregon, and what challenges do you think need to be addressed?

A: Oregon’s vision for CTE is to “… reimagine and transform learner experiences to enhance learners’ future prospects, empower their communities, and ensure equal access in an inclusive, sustainable, innovation-based economy.” Data-driven insights play a vital role in envisioning this future: disaggregated data can identify disparities in CTE participation and outcomes across different demographics, uncover systemic gaps, inform exploration of root causes, and support the development and measurement of targeted, culturally responsive policies and interventions. Data-driven insights can also provide a tool to help maximize program effectiveness, including design, curriculum development, and instructional strategies, and data can be used to create more personalized learning experiences, including tailored instruction, individualized support, and flexible pathways.

Data-driven insights can also provide a tool to help maximize program effectiveness, including design, curriculum development, and instructional strategies, and data can be used to create more personalized learning experiences, including tailored instruction, individualized support, and flexible pathways.

Overall, data has the power to drive continuous improvement and lead to more opportunities for all learners. As is the case for many of us, the biggest challenge is limited resources, including time and capacity. I am continuously striving to improve the data analyses I provide, emphasizing clear visualizations, ease of interpretation, and actionability, combined with data expanding access promising practices and data literacy professional development opportunities.

Another opportunity for growth is the ability to track learner progress throughout their educational and career journeys, and further develop analysis of CTE’s impact on Oregon’s educational attainment goals and providing a skilled workforce for the state’s prioritized industries. While I do not have the time or capacity to make sweeping changes, I am finding ways to incorporate new approaches and analyses into my existing work and processes to make incremental progress on these goals.

Q: You’re clearly passionate about creating long-term change. What advice would you give to others who want to make a difference in CTE and postsecondary participation and attainment?

A: First, focus on expanding access for all learners. Ground yourself in the associated principles by noticing and questioning patterns in outcomes that reveal opportunity gaps and view underrepresentation in the context of transforming systems to accommodate all learners. Acknowledge and understand your own beliefs and how they affect your personal and professional self. Data are not neutral! Take a critical look at data and challenge your “default” analysis and visualization methods, including using thoughtful disaggregation and creating visualizations with data-expanding access promising practices (e.g., being mindful of how visualizations can perpetuate or exacerbate preconceived notions by reinforcing deficit narratives).

Second, center learners and communities in your work. Especially when considering historically and currently underserved populations, remember to consider who’s not represented in the data and question why. Strive to include representations of people in data and analyses by engaging with learners, families, and communities to highlight the variation in experiences and perspectives. Let data inform, but not replace, lived experience.

Third, challenge the status quo by providing meaningful and actionable insights. Engage with colleagues and collaborative partners to identify improvements to reports, visualizations, and analyses that can be used to inform expanding access policies, address disparities, modify programs, and improve learner outcomes. Grow your data storytelling skills and incorporate personal narratives into numerical analyses to communicate impactful insights to various audiences, including colleagues, partners, policymakers, and the public.

[D]ata has the power to drive continuous improvement and lead to more opportunities for all learners.

Q; As a participant in Advance CTE’s National Fellowship, what do you hope to gain from this experience?

A: The Fellowship will provide an opportunity for me to design and implement a framework and method of analysis that examines the outcomes for any postsecondary CTE population. Focusing on a specific population will provide greater insight into the CTE engagement and experience of these learners and uncover opportunities to create customized interventions and initiatives for the greatest potential impact, while also highlighting the intersectionality of CTE learners, allowing further customization of population-specific interventions and initiatives. My research is directly relevant to Oregon’s Vision for CTE (to “… reimagine and transform learner experiences to enhance learners’ future prospects, empower their communities, and ensure equal access in an inclusive, sustainable, innovation-based economy”) and can be used to propel strategic statewide efforts toward achieving this vision.

By consistently centering the needs of historically underserved learner populations in all decisionmaking, I can contribute to ensuring that every learner in Oregon has access to, and the opportunity to succeed in, high-quality CTE.

Additionally, I hope to connect and build relationships with a national network of CTE leaders, including current and past fellows, to share promising practices and expertise, and gain a richer understanding of the challenges, opportunities, and unique contexts shaping CTE across other states.

Finally, I hope to leave the Fellowship as a leader with a deeper understanding of systemic barriers and a sharper ability to identify, analyze, and address gaps within CTE programs and pathways. By consistently centering the needs of historically underserved learner populations in all decisionmaking, I can contribute to ensuring that every learner in Oregon has access to, and the opportunity to succeed in, high-quality CTE.

Kelly’s journey to CTE leadership is an exemplary and measured approach to becoming a leader with learner outcomes and data accessibility for all as the cornerstone of her ethos. Her insights are just one example of the incredible work being done by the Fellows of the Advance CTE National Fellowship. To learn more about Kelly and other inspiring state leadership Fellows, visit the Postsecondary State CTE Leaders Fellowship page, where you can discover how CTE can reshape the lives and career trajectory of all learners.