About Us

The Washington State Community and Technical Colleges sponsors 10 Centers of Excellence.

A Center for Excellence is a college designated as a statewide leader in specialized workforce education and training for industry that help the state’s economy grow.

Centers serve as a point-of-contact and resource hub for industry trends, best practices, innovative curriculum, and professional development opportunities.

Centers maximize resources by bringing together workforce education and industry partners in order to develop highly skilled employees for targeted industries.

The Center of Excellence for Aerospace and Advanced Materials Manufacturing won the distinction as a Center through a competitive process based on rigorous criteria that seek to ensure all 34 Community and Technical Colleges are poised to provide statewide educational training and leadership.

The Center of Excellence for Aerospace and Advanced Materials Manufacturing of Washington state is a conduit for collaboration and engagement between industry and K-12 and post secondary higher education. We work to develop the talent pipeline and economic infrastructure to facilitate continuous innovation and growth for aerospace and manufacturing in our state and beyond.

Mary Kaye Bredeson, center director Mary Kaye Bredeson is the Director for the Center of Excellence for Aerospace and Advanced Materials Manufacturing. As Director, Mary Kaye provides leadership in promoting and maintaining the Center of Excellence for Aerospace and Advanced Materials Manufacturing as a recognizable and highly valuable component in Washington’s economic and workforce development initiatives. As the Center Director, Ms. Bredeson works to encourage educational programs to share “Best Practices” and resources as well as providing a clear point of contact for industry employers to share their workforce needs with education and training providers. As the CoE director, Mary Kaye has developed a variety of workshops and projects focusing on K-16 outreach and developing awareness around career opportunities in the aerospace and advanced manufacturing industry.

Susan Bradshaw, program coordinator Susan Bradshaw is the Program Coordinator for the Center of Excellence for Aerospace and Advanced Materials Manufacturing. Prior to joining the Center of Excellence team, Sue was Program Coordinator for an on-campus program located at Everett Community College and has worked as Office Manager at a middle school in the Edmonds School District. Sue’s position combines her passion for education and its role in the workforce and is vital to ensuring that the CoE runs smoothly, allowing the director to most effectively carry out the Center’s mission.