Bettina Celis

Alliance Executive Committee, Maricopa Community Colleges

Bettina Celis serves as the acting Vice Chancellor and Provost of Academic and Student Affairs for the Maricopa County Community College District. In her role, she provides leadership for the multi-college system in the areas of Academic and Student Affairs, Faculty Affairs, Institutional Effectiveness, and the transformational work of Guided Pathways. In addition to collaborating across the MCCCD system on teaching and learning, academic and student focused initiatives and systems change, she provides leadership for strategic partnerships and is engaged in equity, completion, and transfer work nationally and with Arizona’s statewide transfer system.

A native of Arizona, she has over 24 years of experience in higher education, serving in a number of leadership roles across Academic Affairs, Student Affairs and Information Technology; and is a certified change and project management professional. As a first generation college student, she understands the positive impact of higher education on families and communities, and is an advocate for increasing college completion, student success, and systemic change centered on equity.

Aisha Lowe

Executive Vice Chancellor for Equitable Student Learning, California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office

Dr. Aisha Lowe is a passionate educator who has dedicated her life to improving education for all students and communities. As Executive Vice Chancellor of Equitable Student Learning for the CA Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, Aisha provides leadership for Educational Services division activities including transfer and articulation, curriculum chaptering and approval, equity programs and grants, innovations in teaching and learning, special project management, and system wide technical assistance delivery. Prior to joining the Chancellor’s Office in 2020, Dr. Lowe served as Associate Professor of Education at William Jessup University, where she oversaw the thesis research of future teachers in training. She also served as the Dean of the Office of Academic Research, leading the university’s Strategic Academic Research Plan and academic grant making. Additionally, Aisha served the students of the Los Rios Community College District, Sierra College and CSU Sacramento as an adjunct professor for over eight years. Dr. Lowe received her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and her Master’s in Sociology from Stanford University where she also received her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology.

Sarah Heath

Vice Chancellor of Academic and Student Affairs , Colorado Community College System

As vice chancellor of academic and student affairs, Dr. Sarah Heath provides strategic leadership related to academic affairs, student affairs, and institutional research at CCCS. Heath works closely with college leaders to improve, scale, and evaluate practices that promote academic success and excellence and oversees systemwide diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

Heath previously served as CCCS’ associate vice chancellor for career and technical education and the state director for career and technical education and has dedicated her career to advancing opportunities in higher education. She served as the national president of the Association for Career and Technical Education and in 2023 was named an Equity Champion by the Colorado Association for Career & Technical Administrators.

A proud “Triple Dawg,” Heath holds a bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degree from the University of Georgia.

Della Teraoka

Alliance Executive Committee, University of Hawai‘i System

Della Teraoka has been with the University of Hawaiʻi Community Colleges (UHCC) system since 2020 and began serving as the acting vice president in May 2023. Teraoka provides leadership and support for seven community colleges. Before moving to the system office, Teraoka worked at Leeward Community College where she held positions ranging from professor to vice chancellor for academic affairs. Prior to joining UH, Teraoka worked in private industry for seven years as an accountant and manager. Teraoka earned her MBA from the University of Washington and a BBA in accounting and management information systems from Texas Tech University.

Angela DeWolf King

Alliance Executive Committee, Montana University System

Angela DeWolf King serves as the director of transfer and special projects for the Montana University System.  In this role, DeWolf King leads strategic initiatives in a variety of areas including efforts to develop streamlined, statewide transfer processes, development of Prison Education Programming, and management of academic planning and policy.  Prior to joining the Montana University System, DeWolf King worked for the University of Wyoming where she held different roles in enrollment management; specifically working to build collaborative relationships with Wyoming’s post-secondary and secondary partners, creating policies to transform transfer student success and fostering positive relations with Wyoming’s Tribal Nations and American Indian students.

Denise Aberle-Cannata

Alliance Executive Committee, College of Western Idaho

Joining the College of Western Idaho (CWI) in April 2019 as provost, Denise Aberle-Cannata has been a leader in continuing to carry the College forward in transformative education. Cannata holds a M.S. in education from the University of North Dakota. Before CWI, Cannata served in several leadership roles at higher education institutions across Colorado, New Jersey, and North Dakota. Starting her higher education work in the community college sector at Bismark State College, she was a pioneer in creating online courses and degrees for the institution. Serving more than 36,000 students, she has led forward-thinking campus initiatives at CWI on retention and student experience, expansion of business and industry partnerships for credit and non-credit programs, and new multi-learning modalities to support students’ needs in an ever-changing educational landscape.

Jeffrey Alexander

Alliance Executive Committee, Truckee Meadows Community College

Jeffrey Alexander has served as vice president of academic affairs at Truckee Meadows Community College since June 2021, and he represents Nevada’s 2-year public institutions as vice chair of the Western Alliance of Community College Academic Leaders (Alliance). Previously, he served for 6 years as dean of arts and sciences at Pueblo Community College, prior to which he taught history at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. Alexander is an historian of modern Japan and has published three books on Japanese consumer product manufacturing, sales, and consumption. He holds an M.A. and a Ph.D. in history from The University of British Columbia in Vancouver.

Orlando Griego

Alliance Executive Committee, New Mexico Military Institute

Orlando Griego is the chief academic officer/dean of academics at the New Mexico Military Institute.  Previously, he served as the dean at the University of St. Francis, associate dean at Azusa Pacific University, senior faculty at the Federal Executive Institute in Charlottesville, VA, and professor at Colorado State University.  He has co-authored four books, 70 publications, scholarly presentations, and conference proceedings.  He is a former Air Force Officer who served in Desert Storm.  Griego earned his Ph.D. in human resource development at Colorado State University in 1997, his M.S. in human resource management at Golden Gate University in 1987, and his B.A. in social service at San Jose State University in 1982.

Kaylyn Bondy

Alliance Executive Committee, Bismarck State College

Kaylyn Bondy, Ph.D., has served as the vice president for student affairs at Bismarck State College since 2020.  Previously, she served Williston State College as vice president for student affairs from 2015-2020 and as registrar/director for institutional research & effectiveness from 2011-2015. She has taught as adjunct faculty and for other organizations. Bondy earned a B.A. in French from the University of North Dakota (UND), a master’s in international business from l’Institut d’Administration des Entreprises à Caen, an M.B.A. from the University of St. Thomas, and a Ph.D. in higher education from UND. She was also selected as an Aspen Presidential Fellow in 2020-2021.

Donna Lewelling

Alliance Executive Committee, Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission

Donna Lewelling is the interim director of the office of community colleges and workforce development at the Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission. She has been involved in state-level higher education policy since 2006. In her role at the state, she as the privilege of leading a team that works every day to create pathways to success for Oregon’s students. Lewelling is passionate about community colleges and the students they serve. In 2018, she was awarded the Howard Cherry Outstanding Community College Advocate Award by the Oregon Community College Association for her outstanding contributions and advocacy for Oregon’s Community Colleges. Lewelling holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a major in human resources and a master’s degree in management and leadership.

Tiffany Howe

Alliance Executive Committee, Western Dakota Technical College

Tiffany Howe has served as the vice president for teaching and learning at Western Dakota Technical College in Rapid City, SD since 2014. In this capacity, she leads academic programming, instructional support, assessment, simulation, and corporate education. Previously, she held the positions of program director and program chair for surgical technology from 2007 to 2014. With almost three decades of experience as a certified surgical technologist, Howe also served on the Education & Professional Standards Committee with the Association of Surgical Technologists from 2014 to 2020, co-authored a pharmacology textbook, contributed to multiple core curriculum revision committees, and recently concluded a four-year term as president of the South Dakota State Assembly of Surgical Technologists. Howe holds a bachelor’s degree in organizational leadership, a master’s in business administration degree in healthcare management, and a master’s in business administration degree in project management.

Jason Pickavance

Interim Provost for Academic Affairs , Salt Lake Community College

Jason Pickavance currently serves as interim provost for academic affairs at Salt Lake Community College (SLCC). He has previously held various administrative roles at SLCC, including associate provost for academic operations and director of faculty development and educational initiatives where he led an open educational resource initiative. He also served as faculty senate president. Before moving into administration, he was associate professor in the English department. He earned his master’s in English from Western Washington University and his Ph.D. in American studies from the University of Utah.

Valerie Sundby

Director of Transfer Education, Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges

Valerie Sundby, Ed.D. serves as the director of transfer education at the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges. She provides leadership for Washington’s 34 community and technical colleges in the areas of transfer and applied baccalaureate degrees and works collaboratively with higher education partners around the state. She has worked in higher education for the past 20 years, including more than ten years as an academic dean. Sundby holds a Doctorate of Education in higher education leadership, a Master’s of Education in educational policy and leadership, and a Bachelor’s of Science in cell and molecular biology, all from the University of Washington.

Kari Brown-Herbst

Alliance Executive Committee, Laramie County Community College

Kari Brown-Herbst is the senior vice president of academic affairs at Laramie County Community College (LCCC) in Cheyenne, Wyoming. As the college’s chief academic officer, Brown-Herbst provides executive oversight and strategic guidance in the planning, development, and implementation of all aspects of academic programming as well as instructional support services.  Brown-Herbst also serves as a representative to the LCCC Foundation Board, is the Wyoming Passport State Facilitator, and is also a member of the Peer Review Corps of the Higher Learning Commission. She received an Ed.D. in instructional technology from the University of Wyoming, her master’s in education technology from Marian University (Wisconsin) and her bachelor’s in sociology with an education endorsement from Kalamazoo College (Michigan).