Terri Helvey’s career is proof of the very promise she has spent 35 years championing: that Career and Technical Education changes lives. Her recognition with the 2026 OkACTE Lifetime Achievement, Administration honors a journey that began in 1990 as a non-degreed Teacher's Assistant at Mid-America Technology Center and has led to her current role as Associate Superintendent of Instruction at Moore Norman Technology Center (MNTC), a path she considers her greatest professional accomplishment.

While working full time at Mid-America, and with the encouragement of her colleagues and administration, Terri earned both her bachelor's and master's degrees, serving as an instructor and Adult Programs Coordinator over seventeen years. From 2007 to 2013, she led Lexington High School as principal, where she championed student achievement and equity, and worked deliberately to remove barriers that kept students from CTE opportunities at the partner technology center. She returned to the CareerTech system at MNTC, rising from assistant director to director of Career Programs, executive director of instruction, and chief officer of instruction to her current district-level leadership role as associate superintendent.

At MNTC, Terri’s innovations have reshaped how CTE serves students and industry. She led MNTC to become the first technology center in Oklahoma to offer the Basic Peace Officer Certification program, which has since produced more than 150 cadets and established a statewide model. She guided the launch of MNTC's FAA-approved Aviation Maintenance Technician Program, earning Part 147 certification and opening a fully renovated training facility within two years, with partnerships creating seamless aviation pathways for students. Terri expanded high school cosmetology into esthetics and nail care pathways, opening enrollment to 30 additional students annually, and helped spearhead the practical nursing select program for high school seniors entering a field facing critical shortages. Her Workforce and Economic Development Program Integration Model, including a customized Surgical Technology partnership with a regional hospital now benchmarked by hospitals nationwide, delivers full instructional rigor in condensed, flexible formats. Under her leadership, MNTC's overall enrollment has grown by nearly 20 percent without sacrificing quality.

Terri’s service to the profession runs just as deep. Within OkACTE, she has served as president-elect, president, and past president of the OkACTE Administration Division, where she also chairs the Awards Committee, and she has contributed nationally through the National and Oklahoma Councils of Local Administrators. She has supported Career and Technical Student Organizations since 1990 as an advisor, contest chair, and judge for SkillsUSA, BPA, and HOSA earning SkillsUSA Advisor of the Year in 1998. Her honors include the Journal Record's Woman of the Year Award in 2022, the Arch Alexander Award in 2024, and OkACTE Administrator of the Year nominations in 2018 and 2022.

Beyond her professional roles, Terri has volunteered countless hours with Cleveland County Special Olympics, Moore Strong, and the Cleveland County Junior Livestock Organization, where she served as President, and she was a founding member of the Lexington Education Foundation.

Through it all, Terri credits her colleagues, her family, and the Oklahoma CareerTech system which she proudly calls the best in the nation. Her lifetime of leadership, innovation, and service has ensured that high-quality, industry-aligned CTE is accessible to all learner.