The New York School Public Relations Association has named Holly Brooker, Director of Community Relations at Ulster BOCES, as its 2025 Communicator of the Year. This prestigious honor recognizes a communications professional who exemplifies excellence, leadership, ethics, and a steadfast commitment to advancing public education through strategic communication.

While the doors to the Ulster BOCES Career Academies at iPark 87 officially opened to more than 1,400 of Ulster County’s high school juniors and seniors in early September, nearly 200 educators, business/industry leaders, government officials, state education officials, and representatives from higher education were able to explore the new facility on Friday, October 3. The guests joined over 100 Ulster BOCES young professionals, staff, and administrators at its new state-of-the-art training center in the former IBM-complex on Enterprise Drive in Kingston for an official ribbon-cutting event with the Ulster County Regional Chamber of Commerce.

The Ulster BOCES Career & Technical Center, a regional leader in career and technical education, celebrated the achievements of 574 young professionals at its annual completion celebration on May 29.

Educational technology expert Dr. Julianne B. Ross-Kleinmann, supervisor of Instructional Services at Educator Edge at Ulster BOCES, has been selected as one of 12 educational professionals nationwide to be a lead trainer for the Building Capacity for Generative AI in K-12 Education initiative.

The career path that Ulster BOCES Director of Technology Silas Whittaker has traveled has traversed almost every part of Ulster BOCES, from student to manager of the Mid-Hudson Regional Information Center (MHRIC), uniquely equipping him for his latest role as Ulster BOCES director of technology.