2019 Alliance Annual Meeting Program

Demarée Michelau

President, WICHE

303.541.0201dmichelau@wiche.edu

Demarée K. Michelau is the president of the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE). Located in Boulder, CO, WICHE was established through the Western Regional Education Compact and works to share knowledge, create resources, and develop innovative solutions that address some of society’s most pressing needs. From promoting high-quality, affordable postsecondary education to helping states leverage their technology investments and addressing behavioral health challenges, WICHE improves lives across the West through innovation, cooperation, resource sharing, and sound public policy. As WICHE’s president, Dr. Michelau serves as the chief executive officer of the organization and at the pleasure of the 48-member, gubernatorially-appointed WICHE commission. Prior to serving as WICHE’s president, Dr. Michelau was WICHE’s vice president of policy analysis and research, a role in which she managed WICHE’s Policy Analysis and Research unit and oversaw externally-funded projects. The author of numerous reports and policy briefs, she has experience in a variety of higher education policy issues, including those related to equity and attainment, governance, strategic planning, adult learners, transfer, accelerated learning options, affordability, and workforce. She currently serves on the board of directors for the Consortium for North American Higher Education Collaboration (CONAHEC) and the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA). Previously, she held positions with the National Conference of State Legislatures and with former Colorado Congressman David Skaggs. Michelau received her bachelor’s degree in public law from Northern Illinois University and her master’s degree and Ph.D. in political science from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Tanya Garcia

2019 Alliance Annual Meeting speaker, Georgetown University Center on Education and Workforce

Tanya Garcia is associate director of postsecondary policy research and associate research professor at the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce. She brings extensive higher education policy expertise to various projects, including non-degree credentials and supporting states integrating postsecondary and labor data to improve policy and practice. Previously, she served at Wiki Education Foundation, Lumina Foundation, State Higher Education Executive Officers Association, and New Mexico Higher Education Department. Garcia earned a B.A. in philosophy and a B.S. in biology at Florida International University; an M.A. in higher education administration from The George Washington University (DC); and a Ph.D. in public administration at American University (DC).

Beth Bean

2019 Alliance Annual Meeting speaker, Strada Institute on the Future of Work

Beth Bean is the director of the Strada Institute for the Future of Work, an institute dedicated to researching the future to advance our learning ecosystem. Prior to joining Strada in March 2018, Bean served as the chief strategy and research officer for the Colorado Department of Higher Education. Before joining the department in 2011, Bean served in several roles in higher education administration at public and private institutions. She is a proud first-generation student who received her Ph.D. in higher education from the University of Denver, her master’s degree from Saint Louis University (MO) and her bachelor’s degree from DePauw University in Indiana.

Holly Zanville

2019 Alliance Annual Meeting speaker, Lumina Foundation

Holly Zanville is senior advisor for credentialing and workforce development where she focuses on high-profile, large-scale projects with direct impact on the strategic operations and processes of Lumina Foundation. Her portfolio includes the cultivation of networks and partnerships essential to the emerging new landscape of credentialing; and the development and expansion of collective action initiatives that increase awareness of and solutions related to credentialing, workforce-education alignment, and quality assurance especially related to new credentials and learning pathways. Zanville received a doctorate in educational administration from the University of Minnesota; a master’s degree in English from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a bachelor’s in English and biology from Lindenwood University (MO).

Kurt Ewen

2019 Alliance Annual Meeting speaker, Houston Community College

Kurt Ewen is vice chancellor of planning and institutional effectiveness at Houston Community College where his areas of focus include: strategic and operational planning, regional accreditation, data and analytics, innovation and collaborative problem solving, entrepreneurial initiatives, and grants. Ewen previously worked at Valencia College (FL) where he led institutional effectiveness, learning assessment and planning efforts. Ewen’s educational background includes: Valencia Community College (FL), St. Meinrad College (IN), Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium, and Barry University (FL). Ewen is a recognized speaker on organizational change, learning outcomes assessment, student success and transfer readiness, ritualized data-use, and the role of analytics in higher education.

Jack Friedlander

2019 Alliance Annual Meeting speaker, President Emeritus, Santa Barbara City College

Robert “Jack” Friedlander has 40 years of community college experience in a range of research and senior level administrative positions from dean, to executive vice president of educational programs, to acting president. He contributed to Santa Barbara City College being named as the co-winner of the 2013 Aspen Prize for best community college in the nation, the number one community college by Value College in 2018, and College Choice’s selection as the best community college in the nation. Friedlander was selected by the Obama White House as one of 40 community college leaders, and as one of 30 people to help the Gates Foundation develop its plan to improve the effectiveness of community college developmental education programs. He received his B.A. in psychology from Florida International University, M.A. from University of California, Los Angeles in curriculum and instruction, and Ph.D. from UCLA in higher education.

Magda Rolfes

2019 Alliance Annual Meeting speaker, Education Advisory Board (EAB)

Magda Rolfes serves as a practice manager at EAB. She works with higher education leaders across the two- and four-year sectors overseeing research for the Community College Executive Forum and for leaders of continuing, professional, online, and adult education through the COE Forum. Her research focuses on employer partnerships, administrative effectiveness, resource and fiscal management, and promoting completion among all students. She has also served in leadership roles as a surface warfare officer in the U.S. Navy, a foreign affairs officer at U.S. Department of State and a manager of payment services at Western Union. Magda holds a B.A. in environmental sciences and geography from Northwestern University and an M.S. in environmental management from University of Maryland University College.

Steve VanAusdle

2019 Alliance Annual Meeting speaker, President Emeritus, Walla Walla Community College (WA)

Steven VanAusdle served as president of Walla Walla Community College from 1984 to 2016. During his tenure, WWCC was named co-winner of the Aspen Prize and he was credited for his shared leadership in transforming a rural community in economic decline into a thriving wine region. Previously he was an administrator and faculty member at WWCC since 1971.Upon retirement he was named president emeritus. In 2016 he accepted an appointment by the U.S. Senate to serve as a member of the Council for Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI). VanAusdle earned a B.S. and Master’s in agriculture economics at Washington State University and a Ph.D. from the Ohio State University in 1980.

Jack Friedlander

2019 Alliance Annual Meeting speaker, President Emeritus, Santa Barbara City College

Robert “Jack” Friedlander has 40 years of community college experience in a range of research and senior level administrative positions from dean, to executive vice president of educational programs, to acting president. He contributed to Santa Barbara City College being named as the co-winner of the 2013 Aspen Prize for best community college in the nation, the number one community college by Value College in 2018, and College Choice’s selection as the best community college in the nation. Friedlander was selected by the Obama White House as one of 40 community college leaders, and as one of 30 people to help the Gates Foundation develop its plan to improve the effectiveness of community college developmental education programs. He received his B.A. in psychology from Florida International University, M.A. from University of California, Los Angeles in curriculum and instruction, and Ph.D. from UCLA in higher education.

Steve VanAusdle

2019 Alliance Annual Meeting speaker, President Emeritus, Walla Walla Community College (WA)

Steven VanAusdle served as president of Walla Walla Community College from 1984 to 2016. During his tenure, WWCC was named co-winner of the Aspen Prize and he was credited for his shared leadership in transforming a rural community in economic decline into a thriving wine region. Previously he was an administrator and faculty member at WWCC since 1971.Upon retirement he was named president emeritus. In 2016 he accepted an appointment by the U.S. Senate to serve as a member of the Council for Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI). VanAusdle earned a B.S. and Master’s in agriculture economics at Washington State University and a Ph.D. from the Ohio State University in 1980.

Magda Rolfes

2019 Alliance Annual Meeting speaker, Education Advisory Board (EAB)

Magda Rolfes serves as a practice manager at EAB. She works with higher education leaders across the two- and four-year sectors overseeing research for the Community College Executive Forum and for leaders of continuing, professional, online, and adult education through the COE Forum. Her research focuses on employer partnerships, administrative effectiveness, resource and fiscal management, and promoting completion among all students. She has also served in leadership roles as a surface warfare officer in the U.S. Navy, a foreign affairs officer at U.S. Department of State and a manager of payment services at Western Union. Magda holds a B.A. in environmental sciences and geography from Northwestern University and an M.S. in environmental management from University of Maryland University College.

Kurt Ewen

2019 Alliance Annual Meeting speaker, Houston Community College

Kurt Ewen is vice chancellor of planning and institutional effectiveness at Houston Community College where his areas of focus include: strategic and operational planning, regional accreditation, data and analytics, innovation and collaborative problem solving, entrepreneurial initiatives, and grants. Ewen previously worked at Valencia College (FL) where he led institutional effectiveness, learning assessment and planning efforts. Ewen’s educational background includes: Valencia Community College (FL), St. Meinrad College (IN), Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium, and Barry University (FL). Ewen is a recognized speaker on organizational change, learning outcomes assessment, student success and transfer readiness, ritualized data-use, and the role of analytics in higher education.

Sachi Horback

2019 Alliance Annual Meeting speaker, Clark College (WA)

Sachi Horback serves as the vice president of instruction at Clark College in Washington. Previously, she was the district dean for business and social sciences at Pierce College (WA)and was a tenured faculty member in psychology at colleges on the east coast. She has given presentations and facilitated trainings regionally and nationally related to equity within organizational leadership, systems-thinking, assessment, and pathways. Horback’s most recent innovation was to spearhead the development of the Cross-Institution Faculty of Color Mentorship Program, an already successful statewide program beginning its third year. For her leadership, she was given the Bernice Joseph Award in 2018 by the Western Alliance of Community College Academic Leaders. Horback received her B.A. in psychology from Millersville University (PA) and her Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology from Chestnut Hill College (PA).

Kate Smith

2019 Alliance Annual Meeting speaker, Rio Salado College (AZ)

Kate Smith was appointed interim president of Rio Salado College (RSC) and Maricopa Corporate College (MCOR) in Arizona in August 2018. Rio Salado College is the largest of the Maricopa Community College District’s ten colleges and serves nearly 53,000 students each year with nearly 28,000 students accessing their courses online. Smith joined Rio Salado in 2016 as the vice president of academic affairs and chief academic officer. Before becoming a member of Rio Salado College’s Executive Team, Smith served as the dean of the Academic Foundations Division at Monroe Community College in Rochester, New York. She has a master’s degree in mathematical education from the University of Rochester and a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and German from William Smith College in NY.

Michelle Ware

2019 Alliance Annual Meeting speaker, MDRC

Michelle Ware, an associate in MDRC’s Postsecondary Education policy area, works predominantly on projects designed to reveal ways to improve college access, persistence, and success for low-income and underprepared students. Ware focuses on recruiting sites, managing the start-up of projects there, collaborating on program design, guiding implementation, and providing technical assistance. Her current projects include the ASAP demonstration in Ohio, the College Promise Success Initiative, Latino Academic Transfer and Institutional Degree Opportunities (LATIDO) and the Integrated Planning and Advising for Student Success (iPASS) study. Ware holds a master’s degree in adult and organizational development from Temple University (PA).

Randy Hanson

2019 Alliance Annual Meeting speaker, Mills Construction Inc (SD)

Randy Hanson has served as president and owner of Mills Construction, Inc., in South Dakota since 2003 and has taken the lead role for current and future workforce needs. Previously, he was employed as a civil engineer for the Dakota, Minnesota, and Eastern Railroad as a mechanical engineer for Hughes Aircraft Company. He serves the South Dakota Association of General Contractors as vice-president and as a workforce development committee member. He is a member of the Brookings workforce alliance and serves on the building trades’ advisory councils for Mitchell Technical Institute and Lake Area Technical Institute, both in SD. Hanson also served on the Governor’s Workforce Development Committee for six years. He received his B.S. degrees in mechanical and civil engineering from South Dakota State University.

Kyle Treadway

2019 Alliance Annual Meeting speaker, Kenworth Sales Company (UT)

Kyle Treadway has served as president and dealer principal of Kenworth Sales Company, a regional commercial truck dealership in Utah, since 2000. Previously, he served as legal counsel to Kenworth for 13 years. Board memberships include Continental Bank of Utah, NACFE (North American Council for Freight Efficiency), Utah New Car Dealers of Utah, Utah Diesel Technician Pathways Program, and Kenworth Dealers’ Management Association. Treadway received his B.A. and M.A. from Stanford University, and his J.D. from the University of Utah.

Chris Reilly

2019 Alliance Meeting Annual speaker, Tesla (NV)

Chris Reilly leads workforce development and education programs for Tesla, focusing on Nevada’s Gigafactory 1 expansion. Over the past two years, this team has launched programs for high school graduates to start full-time careers at Tesla, for college and university students in the state to get hands-on work experience as technicians at Gigafactory 1, and for Nevadans to learn advanced manufacturing fundamentals through partnerships with schools and the Governor’s Office of Economic Development. Most recently, Reilly has helped launch the first investments in a multi-year, $37.5M commitment to K-12 education from Tesla as part of the 2014 agreement to locate Gigafactory 1 in Sparks, Nevada. Prior to Tesla, Reilly worked at Apple for 8 years in San Francisco, Shanghai, and London in roles across product merchandising, program management, and finance.