OCCA Annual Conference
OCCA Annual Conference
Thanks for joining us on the coast!
Click here for the 2024 conference program
Mark your calendars for the 2025 OCCA Annual Conference:
November 5-7, 2025
Best Western Plus Hood River Inn, Hood River, OR
2024 Breakout Sessions
OCCA had a fantastic lineup of breakout presentations and presenters from your community college colleagues at the 2024 Conference!
Thursday, November 7
Building Equitable Access & Inclusive Prosperity: Advanced Manufacturing & Fabrication in Rural OR
In 2021, Columbia Gorge Community College (CGCC) launched its Advanced Manufacturing and Fabrication (AMF) degree program in its brand new Regional Skills Center. In this presentation, Robert Wells-Clark, Instructor, and Dr. Jarett Gilbert, Vice President of Instructional Services, will share how the CGCC AMF program creates equitable access, supports student success, and builds inclusive prosperity by serving community, engaging industry, braiding funding, and modernizing curriculum.
Presenters:
- Robert Wells-Clark – Instructor, Advanced Manufacturing & Fabrication, Columbia Gorge Community College
- Dr. Jarett Gilbert – Vice President, Instructional Services, Columbia Gorge Community College
Free Expresion on Campus: Navigating the Landscape of Speech in Today's Turbulent Environment
Pop-up protests! Encampments! Walk outs! Occupations! Free expression is one of the hottest issues on our college campuses, and doesn’t show signs of cooling down anytime soon. Come to this session to learn key First Amendment legal principles, how those intersect with civil rights protections, and how to navigate this in your community college context.
Presenters:
- Josh Peters McBride – Associate Vice President, College Operations Chief of Operations, Portland Community College
- Jollee Patterson – Partner, Miller Nash
Leveraging and Aligning Strategies to Meet Oregon's Adult Education Attainment Goal
Community colleges in Oregon are using strategies like Integrated Education and Training (IET) to help adult learners advance in education and careers by combining basic skills, career pathways, and technical education with employer partnerships. This approach integrates academic support and wrap-around services, leveraging multiple funding streams to enhance student success. In this session, panelists will discuss federal and state resources, strategies, and examples of how colleges have collaborated to develop effective programs and improve student outcomes.
Presenters:
- Shalee Hodgson – Policy Advisor, Higher Education Coordinating Commission
- Cindy Lenhart – Instructional Outreach Dean, Central Oregon Community College
- Kelley Keith – Dean of Adult Basic Skills and Career Pathways, Mt. Hood Community College
- Kristen Kulongoski – Manager of Adult Basic Skills and Career Pathways, Mt. Hood Community College
- Holly Nelson – Chief Workforce Innovation and Community Success Officer, Chemeketa Community College
- Britany Ellerbrook M.Ed – Career Pathways Grant Director, Clackamas Community College
Community Bridges: College boards help connect institutions with K-12 partners
Oregon’s lack of statewide education systems for secondary and postsecondary education exacerbate disconnection between colleges and their high school feeders, resulting in less than optimal outcomes. To combat this disconnect and build partnerships, community colleges in the state employ creative strategies to forge connections with K-12 partners in their service areas. This session presents strategies in place involving Board members at some of Oregon’s colleges, and invites input and discussion to surface other promising practices from around the state.
Presenters:
- Jessica Howard – President, Chemeketa Community College
- Neva Hutchinson – Board Member, Chemeketa Community College
- Lisa Skari – President, Mt. Hood Community College
- Diane McKeel – Board Chair, Mt. Hood Community College
- Stephanie Bulger – President, Lane Community College
- Zach Mulholland – Board Chair, Lane Community College
The Board's Role in Addressing 2024's Emerging Legal Issues
Emerging legal issues related to Title IX (sex discrimination, gender identity, and protections for pregnant students and employees), religious freedom, and challenges to scholarships present unique challenges for board members to strike the right balance as policy-makers and to avoid creating additional liability. This scenario-based presentation will provide practical tips for navigating sensitive legal issues your campus may face, which will include a discussion of applicable public meetings law.
Presenters:
- Karen Smith – Senior Policy Advisor & General Counsel, OCCA
- Jollee Patterson – Partner, Miller Nash
- Rebekah Jacobson – Attorney, Garrett Hemann Robertson
What we didn't know about Bond Preparation!
Pursuing a bond measure is a complex consideration. This session focuses on how one college pursued a people-focused approach to input, design, and cultivating support for its passage.
Presenters:
- Jessica Howard – President, Chemeketa Community College
- Holly Nelson – Chief Workforce Innovation & Community Success Officer, Chemeketa Community College
- Mark Stoller – Principle, Opsis Architecture
Uncovering Hidden Influences in High-Level Decision Making: Enhancing Our Awareness of Bias
This presentation explores the impact of implicit bias on decision-making, governance, and community relationships for community college leaders. Attendees will learn how implicit biases can influence issue framing, policy, and resource allocation, and gain strategies to address these biases in order to enhance equity, belonging, and well being for all at their institutions and the communities they serve.
Presenters:
- Lisa AbuAssaly George – Executive Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Columbia Gorge Community College
- Christy Walker – Dean of Equity & Well-Being, Central Oregon Community College
Oregon Community College Hispanic Serving Institution Aspirations
Community colleges can weather the “enrollment cliff” by focusing on their mission of providing access to higher education to vulnerable populations. The decline in high school graduates starting in 2025 will allow colleges to focus on students more likely to enroll in their community college. Adults over 25 and the Latino/a/x population are enrolling in college at higher rates, and immigration may offset some declines. This session will explore what it means to be a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and efforts at Linn-Benton, Chemeketa, and Columbia community college.
Presenters:
- Lisa AbuAssaly George – Executive Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Columbia Gorge Community College
- Vivi Caleffi Prichard – Chief Diversity Officer, Chemeketa Community College
- Jason Dorsette – Executive Director, Institutional Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, Linn-Benton Community College
Friday, November 8
Navigating the Funding Maze: Strategic Budget Advoacy for Community Colleges
Learn strategies for advocating for the Community College Support Fund (CCSF) and how OCCA and colleges are working together on the issue.
Presenters:
- John Wykoff – Deputy Director, Oregon Community College Association
- Colette Tipper – Government Relations Manager, Portland Community College
- Sage Learn – Chief of Staff and Executive Director of College Relations, Portland Community College
- Dina Farrell – Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Portland Community College
- Jonah Liden – Community & Government Relations Coordinator, Rogue Community College
Strategic Planning for Equity: A Framework for Implementing Transformational Change
Mt. Hood Community College located east of Portland, is in the most economically-challenged and culturally diverse part of the state. Situated in the east suburb of Gresham, the surrounding community has changed dramatically since the college’s founding. Over time the college has built a planning culture to effectively and strategically advance the mission of the college to meet the needs of its growing community. This interactive session will provide actionable strategies to create and implement an equity-centered strategic plan. As we sit in a moment of backlash to diversity, equity, and inclusion, we must find strategic ways to move forward our organizational missions to collectively advance economic and educational attainment to Oregonians in most need.
Presenters:
- Traci Simmons – Associate Vice President of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion, Mt. Hood Community College
- Andrew Speer – Board Vice Chair, Mt. Hood Community College
Navigating the Media: How to survive a rogue wave of interviews and more
Developing top interview skills for those interacting with today’s fast-moving world of reporting is crucial. Learn what reporters are looking for, how to avoid traps and how to most effectively deliver your message.
Presenters:
- J. Mark Browning – President, Blue Mountain Community College
- Abby Lee – Executive Director, OCCA
- Lisa Skari – President, Mt. Hood Community College
PERS Basics & Side Accounts
PERS is often in the news, yet it is generally not well understood. Further, changes are coming to the administration of “side accounts” which could have direct implications for Community College budgets. What are the basics? Why are the costs associated with the pension program so high and why do they only seem to increase? What are the implications for community college budgets going forward? What are “side accounts”, why did jurisdictions borrow to set them up, and what changes is PERS anticipating making to their administration? These questions and more will be answered in as clear a way as the topic of PERS allow!
Presenters:
- Carol Samuels – Managing Director, Piper Sandler
- Brendan Watkins – Vice President, Piper Sandler
2024 Conference Planning Timeline
Sponsorship Opportunities Available: March 5 – July 19
Call for Presentations: May 31 – August 16 (due by 5:00 p.m. PST)
Call for Howard Cherry Award Nominations: May 31 – August 16 (due by 5:00 p.m. PST)
Keynote Speakers Announced: June 7
Early Bird Registration: September 4 – October 4
Breakout Presentation Presenters Notified: No later than September 16
Breakout Presentations Announced: No later than September 27
Hotel Room Block Bookings Close: October 4
Regular Registration Closes: October 18
Late Registration Closes: October 30
Thank You, 2024 Conference Sponsors!
The 2024 OCCA Annual Conference would not be possible without the support of our sponsors! Thanks to their generosity, OCCA was able to keep conference registration rates affordable for our members even as expenses continued to climb in cost.
Interested in becoming a sponsor for the 2025 OCCA Annual Conference? Contact casey@occa17.com for more information!
DIAMOND Sponsor
GOLD Sponsor
SILVER Sponsor
BRONZE Sponsor
Howard Cherry Awards Banquet
The annual Howard Cherry Awards celebrate the contributions that local advocates, administrators and board members have made to the benefit of Oregon’s community colleges. The awards are named for the late Dr. Howard Cherry, a lifelong advocate for education and community involvement. Dr. Cherry was also a founding member of the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) and was a trustee of the American Association of Community & Junior Colleges.
The Howard Cherry Awards Banquet is included with OCCA Conference Registration (additional tickets also available), and will took place on Thursday, November 7, 2024. It also included recognition of dedicated service awards for community college board members. Attire for the banquet is business professional or formal.
The 2025 Howard Cherry Awards will take place on Thursday, November 6, 2025, at the Best Western Plus Hood River Inn in beautiful Hood River, OR! Be on the lookout in late-spring 2025 for the opportunity to nominate someone for a 2025 Howard Cherry Award!
Congratulations to the 2024-25 Dedicated Service Award winners! Click here for the list of winners
Congratulations to the 2024 Howard Cherry Award winners! Click here for the press release.
