Rick Aman

President, College of Eastern Idaho

Rick Aman was selected in December 2017 as inaugural president of College of Eastern Idaho, Idaho Falls, created by citizen vote in May 2017. Previously Aman had been president of Eastern Idaho Technical College since July 2015 and interim vice president of student services at Umpqua Community College. He was vice president of instruction and student affairs at the College of Western Idaho from 2008-12, Aman led the then-startup CWI in instruction, curriculum development, and student affairs areas. Aman’s community college administration career began in 1992 at Portland Community College with 16 years of teaching and administrative responsibilities at various campuses around Portland. Originally from Oregon, Aman was commissioned as a U.S. Air Force officer after college and spent four years as an active duty pilot before returning to the Portland area as an Air Force Reserve instructor pilot. He retired as a lieutenant colonel with 21 years of service and 5,000 flight hours. Aman has a doctorate in community college leadership from Oregon State University, a master’s in business administration from Golden Gate University, and a Bachelor of Science in education from Western Oregon University. Aman and his wife of 39 years, Linda, have two grown sons living in Portland.

Matt Freeman *

WICHE Commission Chair, Executive Director, Office of the Idaho State Board of Education

Matt Freeman is the executive director of the Idaho State Board of Education and is the WICHE Commission Vice Chair. The board is constitutionally charged with providing general supervision, governance and control of all public education (K – 20) in the state. Previously, Freeman served as the board’s deputy director & chief fiscal officer for over five years. Prior to working for the board, Freeman spent nine years at the Idaho Legislative Services Office, Budget & Policy Analysis Division; the last four years as principal analyst for higher education. Freeman’s professional experience also includes private sector government relations and communications work, and time in Washington D.C. where he served as counsel/legislative assistant for a member of Congress. Freeman was awarded his J.D. from the University of Idaho and received his B.A. degree in political studies from Whitworth University in Spokane, WA.

Dave Lent

Senator, Idaho State Legislature

Senator Dave Lent represents District 33 in the Idaho State Senate, where he is a member of the education and agricultural affairs committees. He is sitewide training manager for Fluor Idaho at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), where he oversees both regulatory and facility-specific training programs and served as chair for the Energy Facilities Contracting Group. He received a Distinguished Leadership award from the Department of Energy for regulatory reform and cost-cutting initiatives, has consulted in the nuclear power industry in radiation protection and training, has managed several multimillion-dollar projects, and has participated in mission-critical activities at the INL since 1980. He served on the Idaho Falls School District 91 Board of Trustees, where he played a key role in replacing four elementary schools and transitioning a junior high into a successful project-based high school. A graduate of Eastern Idaho Technical College and Idaho State University, he and his wife, Terri, have five children and twelve grandchildren.

Kevin Cook

Senator, Idaho State Legislature

Dave Lent

Senator, Idaho State Legislature

Senator Dave Lent represents District 33 in the Idaho State Senate, where he is a member of the education and agricultural affairs committees. He is sitewide training manager for Fluor Idaho at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), where he oversees both regulatory and facility-specific training programs and served as chair for the Energy Facilities Contracting Group. He received a Distinguished Leadership award from the Department of Energy for regulatory reform and cost-cutting initiatives, has consulted in the nuclear power industry in radiation protection and training, has managed several multimillion-dollar projects, and has participated in mission-critical activities at the INL since 1980. He served on the Idaho Falls School District 91 Board of Trustees, where he played a key role in replacing four elementary schools and transitioning a junior high into a successful project-based high school. A graduate of Eastern Idaho Technical College and Idaho State University, he and his wife, Terri, have five children and twelve grandchildren.

Carrie Semmelroth

Senator, Idaho State Legislature

Julie Yamamoto

Representative, Idaho State Legislature