MT. HOOD DISTRICT BOARD CANDIDATES
Four District Board positions are open for the May 2019 special election. Ballots are due by 8 p.m. on May 21. Board members serve on a voluntary basis and are responsible for tuition, the college budget, properties, managing taxpayer dollars, and more.
ANDREW SPEER | ZONE 3 (Unopposed)
by Jennifer Salazar
Andrew Speer’s primary drive for running to be a District Board member is his desire to give back to the college that was part of his life when choosing a career path.
“I have always appreciated [the] community college model, I’m at a point in my life where I have the time and a big drive to give back to the college,” said Speer, a Mt. Hood alumnus.
Running to represent Zone 3, Speer has been collaborating with local K-12 school districts, including Parkrose, David Douglas, and Reynolds. He has held meetings with superintendents of those districts to build more connections between them and Mt. Hood, especially in order to understand their needs in programs and career technical offerings.
Speer balances his own family and career, he said. As he looks for way to give back to the community through careful time management, he said he wants potential voters to know, “I’m just a normal person looking to give back. I’m excited to have a say and represent my community at the college in a way that is meaningful.”
Speer believes a good board member should have the relatability and connection to a community college to fully understand the needs of students and faculty. He graduated from Mt. Hood in 2005 with an associate’s degree in economics. He said he is familiar with the needs and concerns of students at MHCC, which allows him to understand students on a higher level.
As a person who spends a lot of time with numbers, Speer also believes he can bring a different perspective to concerns or ideas the board might have, he said. If elected, Speer said he hopes to bring quality decision-making processes, and be able to weigh financial consideration with the goal to maintain tuition affordability for students.
He also believes that sometimes certain decisions are not popular but might be necessary for the success of the school, he said.
KENNEY POLSON |ZONE 5 (Unopposed)
by Omar Saradi
Kenney Polson is many things – smooth jazz musician, composer, educator, and a current member of the MHCC District Board of Education.
Representing Zone 5 since 2015, Polson is looking to continue his contributions to the board in the next four years with the goal of “striving for equality and inclusion in the decision making at MHCC,” he said.
This time around Polson is running unopposed for the Board seat, so his focus is to continue his duties and work through changes he sees as fit to improve MHCC.
On top of family and music responsibilities, Polson said he looks to plan and serve the college while balancing things “very carefully.” He said his 30-year experience as an educator has shown that he’s capable of this.
Currently, he said thinks MHCC is doing well with keeping the costs of college level education down. He added that it’s “not an easy task, especially when the support from the state is minimal,” which is an ongoing topic surrounding the funding of community colleges in Oregon for many years now.
When it comes to what changes or improvements he’d like to see at MHCC, Polson said more staff diversity is needed.
“I would like to see the faculty demographics look like the student demographics. Students need to see people who look like them,” he said. “It’s motivational and it is necessary for those who need someone in which they can relate.”
This has been a common issue brought up by the Mt. Hood community, so Polson aims to be that voice on the board the next four years, he said. He noted he has gained cultural awareness from living in South America, Asia, and traveling to more than 50 countries.
Polson thinks that a good board member for a community college is “someone who has intelligence and who has not forgotten where they have come from. Someone who is sensitive and tolerant of needs of other cultures,” a quality that lines up with his vast experience, he said.
DIANE NORIEGA | POSITION 6, AT-LARGE
by Megan Phelps
Running for Position 6 (at-large) for a second term on the board, after serving on the MHCC Foundation board for the past four years, Diane C. Noriega brings years of higher education experience at various levels.
Noriega’s experience in higher education ranges from professor to interim college president, along with the positions of provost, academic vice president, and dean, all of which took place in California.
She said she believes her experience is her best contribution: “I can speak the language with the administration and translate with fellow board members who may come from different backgrounds (like private business or public service).” She added that it’s important to understand the groups the board is serving – faculty, students, and unions, for example.
Her motivation to run again, after a four-year gap, is to stay connected to the college. She and her late husband have continued to donate to MHCC and her involvement keeps her going, she said. “I love it. I get as much out of it as I give … the college has my heart.”
(In fact, she is a Silver donor, as recognized by the Foundation, this year.)
Noriega hopes to maintain the quality of programs offered at Mt. Hood while in a negative budget situation, she said. Based on her Foundation work, she understands the importance of going beyond the Legislature to partner with industry professionals and utilize fundraising efforts.
She noted the college’s aging infrastructure and equipment, and said a general obligation bond measure needs to be passed in order to update infrastructure. “(W)e’ve got to make the connection between all of our communities and how we’re preparing their employees far more than four-year institutions,” she said about building local support.
Noriega said she also hopes to improve enrollment by having new energy directed toward a grades K-14 system, saying that when students graduate from high school, they should turn to local institutions like MHCC to gain focused job preparation. She also hopes to improve accessibility, meaning serving more low-income individuals, diverse groups, and people who most need training.
If elected, she offers her own skills as a Latina, Spanish-speaking individual, she noted.
Noriega said she believes the college has “fabulous faculty and outstanding programs” and that it’s been doing the best it can with the little it has. But she was saddened by tuition rates rising again, stating “We can’t continue to keep this place going on the backs of the students.”
She said being a good board member requires someone who “is always prepared, does their homework, makes sure they’ve studied the agenda, asks questions and thinks big-picture… (and doesn’t) simply focus on one issue at the expense of everything else.”
COURTNEY HELSTEIN | POSITION 6, AT-LARGE
by Megan Phelps
Running for Position 6 (at-large) on the MHCC District Board, Courtney Helstein hopes to bring her political campaign experience, educational background, and passion for change to the panel, if elected.
Helstein said she knows what it’s like being a student today, having graduated eight years ago with $40,000 of student debt. Her priorities include student-focused initiatives like ensuring affordability; ensuring programs are preparing students for the workforce with corresponding jobs that offer a family wage with benefits; that campus safety practices are trauma informed; and that the college recognizes the nontraditional students’ needs.
She said she thinks Mt. Hood can improve by transforming how it offers services and programs by better fitting the needs of students. This includes the times that services are available, offering childcare, and basic healthcare, including reproductive care.
When asked what makes a good board member Helstein said, “It goes back to the word ‘community’ … at the end of the day, the college is a reflection of the needs of students, faculty, and community, as an economic engine for East (Multnomah) County.” Based on her experience, she said, she knows she might not always have answers, but the willingness to listen and “be the change” has a real impact.
As a board member she would go to students first, stating that she believes an educational institution needs two things: educators and students. Gaining student input gives them the opportunity to be a part of solutions.
Helstein’s first experience on campus was as an organizer with the Oregon Student Association, registering students and young adults to vote. This led her to be a community organizer for Oregon’s Tuition Equity policy in 2013, then campaign manager and later chief of staff for Oregon state Rep. Carla Piluso, D-Gresham, among other public policy efforts.
Laverne Lewis|Position 7, At-Large
By Cassie Wilson
Currently a part-time instructor at MHCC, LaVerne Lewis plans to resign from her teaching position if she’s elected for Position 7 (at-large seat) on the college’s District Board.
Lewis has taught accounting and criminal justice at MHCC since 2011, and she’s just wrapping up her doctorate degree in education and online learning from Northcentral University. She’s also a small business owner, doing accounting and taxes, and director at the Rockwood Center, a faith-based community arts, service and outreach organization.
On top of that, she is a retired Multnomah County Sheriff’s deputy.
The three things that inspired Lewis to run for a board position were her desire to keep tuition affordable, her concern with campus safety, and her passion for student success, she said. While student success is broad, she more specifically wants to see there be more options for students in having pathways from MHCC to a job related to their degree, by partnering with the community and industry leaders to get more internships for students, she said.
Lewis hopes to be a voice in Salem for improved community college funding, a supporter of the vision of the college president, and advocate for the college in any other way the board decides as a unified body, she said.
Lewis said she believes a good community college board member understands their role as a board member and public servant, should be a leader and team player, be flexible, and never forget the mission of the college they serve.
In terms of what stands out to Lewis about MHCC right now, she said the college’s presence in the community is one that is strong and full of pride.
With a background in education and accounting, Lewis hopes to bring her perspective as a faculty member and as someone who understands fiscal responsibility. She’s been a part of many boards in the past, and was also previously appointed to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, Oregon Advisory Committee, for three years.
If elected, Lewis hopes to continue teaching elsewhere, and feels comfortable managing her other responsibilities along with being a board member.
“There’s a lot of pride in Mt. Hood Community College. Students feel proud to say, ‘This is where I go.’ It’s well-represented. It has a good, established reputation that is visible,” she said.
Teena Klawa-Ainslie|Position 7, At-Large
By Cassie Wilson
Current District Board member Teena Klawa-Ainslie is running for what would be her third term on the panel – this time running for Position 7 (at-large), since selling her long-time home (in District 3) and moving into an assisted living facility, still within the MHCC service district.
Aside from the current four-year term wrapping up, Klawa-Ainslie also served on the Mt. Hood board from 1996-1999. She said she’s been working in education for 40 or 50 years, and also has taken many classes at MHCC which earned her a vocational education certificate.
Klawa-Ainslie said she’s enjoyed her current term on the board and has loved working with former President Debbie Derr and current President Lisa Skari.
She’s also passionate about the role community colleges play in the local economy and in preparing residents with the education they need to get great jobs, she said.
She hopes for another term on the board to continue to keep working as a team, and to see through the current projects she’s involved with, such as the 102nd and Pacific/Generations Gateway Project – a proposed plan for a new community building in Portland’s Gateway neighborhood where more nursing and medical assistant classes would be held.
“I’ve been working on that for 45 years with Frieda Christopher from David Douglas (school district),” Klawa-Ainslie said. “I guess they’re going to break ground in about a year.”
When it comes to what makes a good community college board member, she said, “Paying attention to detail and listening to what’s going on and being open to talk to any community member who wants to talk about community college education.”
Throughout the 2018-19 academic year, Klawa-Ainslie has often participated in board meetings and work sessions by telephone, when she doesn’t have a ride to the college, she said. She said she feels just as involved and is kept informed on agenda items via email.
Tamie Tlustos-Arnold|Position 7, At-Large
By Cassie Wilson
Current MHCC District Board member and Mt. Hood graduate Tamie Tlustos-Arnold is ready to continue working hard for the college she loves if elected for another term, she said.
Tlustos-Arnold received her associate of science from MHCC, was ASG president during her time as a student, and has taught in MHCC’s nursing program. She’s currently wrapping up her first term serving on the Board.
“There was something about Mt. Hood. It gave me my start, it inspired me, it was small enough that I knew my teachers and they were supportive of me,” said Tlustos-Arnold.
“I know as a long-time member of the community the value of education and the importance of this college to our community. It just seemed natural that it had given me so much that I wanted to give back to my community and the college that I love so much,” she said.
Her time as ASG president fueled her passion for advocacy at MHCC and moving forward in all aspects of her life, she said.
In deciding to run for another four-year term, Tlustos-Arnold said, “I feel like I’ve made a difference. I feel like I’ve had something positive to contribute to the board. I wanted to continue that momentum.”
Some of the ideas Tlustos-Arnold hopes to work on if elected include pushing for expanded use of Open Educational Resources (OER) to make college more affordable. She also wants to take a serious look at the college infrastructure and all possible options that MHCC has to make things safer and more updated, she said.
“This is a big investment for this community and we need to take care of it,” she said.
Other ideas include looking into the idea of creating affordable student housing options and working to make sure the college staff and faculty reflect the diversity of its students.
She said some characteristics of a good community college board member include being engaged, giving time, speaking up, being prepared for meetings, and being an active board member beyond the twice-monthly meetings.
“I’ve lived in East County almost all my life. I went to Mt. Hood Community College and have a passion for it,” she said.
Leave a comment