JAG National

06/04/2026

Some people grow out of their childhood dreams. Dair Grubb dove straight into hers.

She's training to work with dolphins at Eckerd College, volunteering on a marine search-and-rescue team, and carrying the leadership skills she sharpened as a JAG Career Association officer into every part of it.

This is just a glimpse. The full Faces of JAG story (our first long-form video profile) is live now on our YouTube channel.

🎥 Watch Dair's full story: https://youtu.be/2wH6QJMwJKM

What childhood dream did you refuse to let go of? Tell us below. 👇

05/28/2026

Your students are already using AI. The question is whether your curriculum is keeping up.

Melissa Winter isn't here to sell you on artificial intelligence or scare you away from it. She's here to help you design learning experiences that treat AI as what it is: a tool students will use every day in careers that don't exist yet.

AI to ROI isn't a tech demo. It's a framework for building ethical, career-connected learning that prepares young people for a workforce reshaping itself in real time. Think less "robots are coming" and more "how do we equip the humans who'll work alongside them?"

Join us for this timely lab and save your seat!
EDGE 2026 | July 14–16 | Long Beach Convention Center
Register at jag.org/edge

Kuder

05/27/2026

Here's a gap that shows up in workforce programs everywhere: they say they're employer-aligned, yet employers still can't find job-ready candidates.

Thomas Covington, CTE and Workforce Development Instructor at Tennessee College of Applied Technology, has spent his career trying to close that gap, and at EDGE 2026, he's sharing a field-tested framework for doing it. His workshop covers labor market analysis, employer co-ownership, credential alignment, and how to track placement outcomes rather than just enrollment numbers.

If you're tired of building pipelines that don't hold water, this one is for you.

EDGE 2026 | July 14–16 | Long Beach Convention Center
Register at jag.org/edge

05/20/2026

"If you can see it, you can be it."

That's what X'Zaeviun Sims told us, and it's exactly the kind of leadership he's bringing to his new role as JAG Career Association President.

Nine months. That's how long X'Zaeviun had officially been part of JAG when he won his first office. From chapter president to national officer, his story is proof of what happens when young people are seen, supported, and invested in.

Now he steps into a role representing 88,000 JAG students across the country, and he's not stepping in alone. He's bringing his family, his community, and every chapter that believed his story was worth telling.

Welcome to the role, Mr. President. The future of JAG is in remarkable hands.

05/18/2026

What a week at NCDC!

JAG students from all over the country converged on Salt Lake City April 29 through May 2 for our annual National Career Development Conference, and the energy was something else.

Opening and closing ceremonies. The College and Career Expo. Competitive events where students stepped up and stood out. And the very first performance of the JAG Anthem — a moment we'll carry with us for a long time.

Watch the highlights below.

JAG students from across the U.S. converged in Salt Lake City, Utah April 29-May 2 for our annual National Career Development Conference - watch the highligh...

05/15/2026

The conversation around AI in education usually goes one of two directions: either it's going to fix everything, or it's a distraction from what actually matters. Dr. Pamela Donnelly of Americanaccessinstitute is more interested in what it can do for specialists right now.

Her workshop at EDGE 2026 demonstrates Catapult, a framework that pairs AI-powered mentorship with real career-pathway mapping — across trades, the military, tech, entrepreneurship, and beyond. Attendees will see a live demo of the platform and walk away with a clearer picture of how to use it without adding to their workload.

If you're curious about AI in a practical, no-hype way, this is the session to be in.

EDGE 2026 | July 14–16 | Long Beach Convention Center
Register at jag.org/edge

05/13/2026

JAG doesn't live in the ZIP codes most national workforce programs target.

Sixty percent of its programs sit in suburban and rural communities. The other forty percent scatter across urban centers. Thirty-three state affiliates operate 1,753 programs across 996 communities: Kentucky hollers, Nebraska plains, Arkansas delta towns, Newark blocks, the U.S. Virgin Islands.

That geographic range matters. Workforce development gets framed as a coastal conversation. It isn't. It's a main-street conversation. A county-seat conversation. A kid-in-third-period conversation.

The places with the fewest high school options benefit most from a program that stays. JAG stays. For twelve months after graduation, Specialists keep showing up, helping graduates move into jobs, postsecondary programs, or military service.

Local talent pipelines get built one community at a time.
996 communities, and counting.

05/13/2026

Construction has some of the highest rates of stress, burnout, and su***de of any industry — and it's still one of the least likely places to hear someone talk about it openly.

Tony Glover Sr. of Clayco Inc. is bringing that conversation to EDGE 2026. Drawing on Clayco's own mental health research, his workshop provides educators, employers, and mentors with a practical framework for recognizing early signs of burnout in young workers and creating safer environments before anyone reaches a breaking point.

The students heading into skilled trades need adults who know how to see them. This session helps you get there.

EDGE 2026 · July 14–16 · Long Beach Convention Center
Register at jag.org/edge

05/11/2026

Asking a question in a meeting. Telling a manager you need help. Sharing an idea when you're still new.

These are the moments young workers freeze, and AI coaching can help them practice before it counts.

Eric Shepherd of the Foundation for Talent Transformation is running a hands-on sandbox at EDGE 2026 where you can try the technology yourself and see exactly how it works with students.

Drop in. Try it. EDGE 2026 · July 14–16 · Long Beach
Register at → jag.org/edge

05/07/2026

What does it actually look like to get hands-on at a conference?

At EDGE 2026, it looks like four different pathways: Sandboxes. Workshops. Labs. Immersions. Each one is designed to close the gap between learning and doing, because that's the gap that matters most to the young people we serve.

We'll be sharing more about each track in the coming weeks, spotlighting different session offerings for EDGE attendees. Stay tuned, and when you're ready, registration is open at jag.org/edge.

July 14–16. Long Beach Convention Center

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