Charman fills Klever’s big shoes for MHCC Foundation

The Mt. Hood Community College Foundation has a new development officer named Judi Charman, who replaced Sunny Klever in mid-November.

Charman brings a wealth of experience to the job . She worked for Portland Public Schools’ foundation for nine years, and then worked for Big Brothers Big Sisters of America with Al Sigala, executive director in charge of the Foundation and alumni relations at Mt. Hood.

“When a position opened here, I was eager to get back into education, especially at the higher-ed level,” said Charman about coming to work at Mt. Hood. She said she is happy to be working with Sigala again. “We were a great team at Big brothers Big Sisters, and it’s a good working relationship here, too. I think our skills complement each other’s.”

Klever retired after 16 years at Mt. Hood. Charman had the opportunity to work and develop a friendship with Klever after she arrived in September. “It’s bittersweet because I really liked working with her,” said Charman. “For the short time we worked together, we really bonded quickly and intensely.”

Klever left behind some “big shoes to fill,” said Charman.

Although Charman is dedicated to education fundraising and helping students with available resources for scholarships, she said her real passion is baking. “I’m a trained pastry chef,” said Charman, who previously had a bakery in San Francisco, where she studied at San Francisco City College.

She also attended Le Cordon Rouge in Sausalito, Calif.

Aside from baking and work, Charman enjoys camping on Mount Hood and hiking. One of her favorite activities is participating in dragon boat races.

Dragon boating consists of “long boats, (with) 22 people paddling on each boat with a caller in the front, (a) tiller in the back,” she explained. “They have a huge dragon head on them, and you kind of paddle on each side,” she said, describing the sport.

Charman has two children, a daughter, 20, and a son, 18. Both of them are students at the University of Oregon.

During the summers, Charman and her family spend their time camping, and they often visit Vancouver Island in Canada.

The diversity at MHCC and East County in general inspire Charman.

“I’m thrilled to be here, it’s a great staff, and I think that the college is serving… such a diverse population,” she said. “There’s young people, there’s old people, there are all kinds of people here. You can’t pinpoint it here, which is fantastic.”