Dr. Lisa Skari, MHCC and Dr. Jessica Howard, PCC will discuss the state of community colleges in East Portland.
Dr. Lisa Skari serves as the ninth president of Mt. Hood Community College. She has worked in community colleges for the last 27 years and began her career as an adjunct faculty member at Highline College in Des Moines, Washington. Prior to that, she served in management within the textiles industry.
During her tenure at Highline, Dr. Skari worked as the college’s inaugural Vice President of Institutional Advancement, as well as the Director of Instructional Budgeting and the Director of Cooperative Education and Internships. As Highline’s chief advancement officer, she was instrumental in growing external funding to $35 million and in increasing foundation assets by 700 percent. As the chair of the Faculty and Staff of Color Recruitment and Retention Council at Highline, Dr. Skari led efforts that resulted in the college achieving the highest percentage of full-time faculty of color in Washington.
Dr. Skari earned her Doctor of Education in Higher Education Administration from Washington State University (WSU), her Master of Business Administration from Pacific Lutheran University, and her Bachelor of Arts from WSU. She has received a Communicator of the Year award (Region VII) from the National Council for Marketing and Public Relations; a 2007 Rising Star, Women of Influence, recognition award from the Business Examiner Newspaper Group; and a Distinguished Service Award from the Washington Association of Community and Technical Colleges. She’s a former commissioner of Alumni Relations for the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.
Jessica Howard is a campus president at Portland Community College. She holds
a Ph.D. from New York University and, from Rice University, a Master and two Bachelor degrees. Her doctoral work was interdisciplinary and based in the humanities.
Prior to joining PCC in 2012, Dr. Howard enjoyed a long tenure at San Antonio College in San Antonio, Texas. There she worked as an adjunct instructor, a full-time assistant and associate professor, an online course developer and a department chair, Interim Executive Vice President (over student and academic affairs), and ultimately as the Vice President for Academic Affairs. Dr. Howard’s administrative experience also includes being Director of Fine Arts for a K-12 college preparatory school.
While at PCC, Dr. Howard has presided over the college’s workforce and community development operations. She is now leading the development of the college’s newest comprehensive campus, located in Southeast Portland. The Southeast Campus is PCC’s most diverse, housing lower-division transfer and career/technical programs, as well as the college’s alternative high school programs and its signature “aspirations to college” program, Future Connect.
Dr. Howard grew up primarily in San Antonio, but was born in Bombay, India and lived as a child in Bangkok, Thailand. She also spent a year abroad at King’s College in London during her college years. She considers her international experiences to be formative, as well as her lifelong efforts in the arts.
Coffee and breakfast goodies sponsored by EPCC. Facility sponsored by Adventist Health.
Directions: We meet on the Lower Level in Education Room A. Go in the main entrance of Adventist Health's main hospital, walk down the hallway and take the elevator or stairs to the lower level, walk down the hallway toward the cafeteria, we are on the right and you will see a Chamber sign outside the door. Adventist Main Hospital Map
