Speaker: Joel Floyd
What inspired you to become part of SAAEF?
Joel Floyd : Hello, everyone. Happy New Year. I am Joel Floyd and I serve as State Advocate Fellow at COABE right here in the state of Georgia, year 2024. I've been a champion of adult education for over a decade now, 10 years plus, and Adult education is the field that's near and dear to my heart, and as you know, adult education changes and transforms lives and the ultimate goal, ultimate goal for me has been to meet students where they are, meet my population of adult learners where they are, helping them and providing them with the tools to be successful in their personal lives and in their professional lives, helping them to establish voice and choice in their decisions and being able ultimately to become lifelong learners. In 2024 when I learned about the fellowship, I applied. I was inspired because I had the understanding that the fellowship would provide me with both practical and hands-on training outside or in addition to my already existing advocacy efforts. In addition, I wanted to connect with a passionate group of adult education leaders across the states who were interested in advocacy beyond our daily advocacy, but also at the state and federal level.
What were your biggest accomplishments during your SAAEF fellowship?
Joel Floyd : For me, the big accomplishment in my State Advocate Fellowship was being able to quickly put the theory of advocacy into practice. One of the big things about being an advocate in our fellowship is the hands-on and the practical training that we quickly received. And initially I was a little apprehensive and I was thinking, you know, I do advocacy daily in my own work as an adult educator, but it was a little different, taking advocacy to another level at the state and the federal level. And when I was able to obtain quick theory, the training, the hands on experience that we received as fellows, I was able to quickly overcome that fear and put it into action and so that training allowed me to quickly meet with local leaders here in Georgia, our governor, mayors, our commissioners and also our Legislative Champion is at the federal level. And I think that was a big accomplishment, being able to put that theory and practice and build a coalition right here in our local community where I serve as an adult education leader.
What would you like to say to someone in the field who is unsure if they have what it takes to be an advocate?
Joel Floyd : First and foremost, if you were serving in any capacity in the adult education field, you are an advocate, whether it's teaching in the adult classroom, whether it's leading an adult education organization, whether it's counseling an adult student proctoring GED exams, you are an advocate. And I think the ambiguity can come is when we really begin to think about what it means to be an advocate. But fundamentally, advocacy is about bringing awareness. Advocacy is about educating people about the critical work that we do as leaders in the adult education field. So there's no, there's no confusion about what it means to be an advocate. You are an advocate, and what we must continue to do is continue to be change agents and as long as we're being change agents and we are doing the work, that's what advocacy is all about.
