VOTE411 Voter Guide

If elected to the LBCC Board of Education, my top priorities will be to strengthen career and technical education (CTE) programs, expand high school partnerships for affordable college credit, and keep tuition low while ensuring LBCC’s long-term financial sustainability. I am also committed to increasing outreach to underserved communities and strengthening partnerships with four-year universities, particularly Oregon State University, to create clear, affordable pathways to successful careers in our community.

I am a public health epidemiologist and global health project manager with extensive experience overseeing federal programs funded by CDC and the U.S. Department of State. I also serve as an instructor at Oregon State University, where I educate future public health professionals. I bring a combination of teaching, public sector management, and community-based leadership that reflects both the operational and educational mission of LBCC.

I believe LBCC must continue to invest robustly in both CTE and transfer programs—but we must also ensure that resource allocation reflects student needs and local economic opportunities. I support expanding CTE programs where there is clear demand and growing interest, while simultaneously working to make transfer pathways to four-year institutions more affordable and accessible. Strategic collaboration with local employers and university partners can help us do both more effectively, without creating a false choice between them.

• Make LBCC accessible to everyone, providing prerequisites as needed for student success • Ensure LBCC classes are transferable to OSU and other 4-year colleges • Expand and improve career technical education programs • Promote continuing education and extended learning classes • Outreach to rural communities, with online access where attendance is infeasible • Maintain high school partnership programs, improving outreach and providing no-cost access to college classes • Keep tuition low and LBCC financially solvent while growing to serve this vibrant community

For experience, I have actively represented the Voters in Zone 5 on the LBCC Board since 2021. This involved spending several hours before each monthly board meeting reading descriptions of current work and being prepared to vote on relevant decisions that come before the Board. Having a doctorate degree in Environmental Science and Engineering and having attended several different community colleges along the way, as well as taking courses at LBCC and supporting one child who attended LBCC taking career-technical and another taking 4-year college-prep classes, I have acquired the skills needed to support those decisions.

I am satisfied with the current balance between career-technical education (CTE) and other programs at LBCC, having heard from faculty at Board meetings and having one child attend career-technical (CTE) classes and another attend 4-year college-prep classes. If an adjustment is needed in the future, I’d summarize the concern(s) before the entire Board, then ask that the Board request the President to offer her perspective at the next Board meeting with a proposed plan of action. The full Board could then vote on setting an alternative path if warranted.