Jean Fleming began her career in adult education as a volunteer literacy tutor in 1975 at the Volunteers Clearing House in Ft. Collins, Colorado. She then had the opportunity to serve in a variety of positions in the field, and thus the opportunity to experience and learn about adult education from a variety of perspectives. She went on to become an ABE/GED Program Coordinator, the Education Director for the Boulder County Jail, a state teacher trainer for the Colorado Department of Education, and Executive Director of the Community Technical Skills Center in Denver. She later became an assistant professor of adult education at Ball State University, followed by additional opportunities to serve as a graduate faculty member in both a full-time and adjunct capacity.

Jean received a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology in 1973 and a Master’s Degree in Adult Education in 1975 from Colorado State University, and then her doctorate in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in 1996 from the University of Northern Colorado.  In 2013, she became a registered nurse and worked as a patient advocate at her local hospital. Since 2015 she served as Executive Director/CEO of Calvert Hospice in Prince Frederick, Maryland, where she worked on a community education initiative focused on developing a continuum of care for the last chapters of life.

Her work in professional associations has also spanned a period of nearly 40 years. She served in every capacity with both the former Colorado Association for Continuing and Adult Education and with the Mountain Plains Adult Education Association. She served on the board of AAACE three times, most recently as President in 2014—2015. Through her life, she remained committed to the vision of the association as the professional home for adult, community, and continuing educators, where both the common purposes and great diversity of the field can be fully supported and honored. Her legacy and impact at AAACE and the field of Adult Education continue to live on.