On Thursday, April 19, Clark College’s 2018 Sakura Festival will honor the historic ties of friendship between the sister-cities of Vancouver, Washington, and Joyo, Japan.

The festival will begin at 1:00 p.m. with opening remarks near the Royce E. Pollard Japanese Friendship Garden, which is located next to the Beacock Music Hall on Clark’s main campus. Dignitaries who are scheduled to speak include Mayor Anne McEnerny Ogle, John Kageyama, and Clark College Japanese Scholarship recipient Suzuka Hitomi.

The opening ceremony will include a koto performance by Yukiko Vossen and a performance by the Clark College Women’s Choral Ensemble. The koto, a stringed musical instrument, is the national instrument of Japan.

From 2:30 to 3:30 p.m., the Sakura celebration will continue in the Gaiser Student Center, where guests will enjoy family-friendly cultural activities including performances by the Clark College Japanese Cultural Club, traditional dancing by Takako Hara, a greeting from the college’s Child & Family Studies program, and drumming by members of Portland Taiko. Cookies and tea will be served. Information about the Sakura Ceremony is available at www.clark.edu/cc/sakura.

All events are free and open to the public. The Sakura Festival is sponsored by Clark College, the City of Vancouver, and the Vancouver Rotary.

Clark College is located at 1933 Fort Vancouver Way, Vancouver. Driving directions and parking maps are available at www.clark.edu/maps. Individuals who need accommodation due to a disability in order to fully participate in this event should contact Clark College’s Disability Support Services Office at 360-992-2314 or 360-991-0901 (VP) or visit the Penguin Union Building room 013.

Nan Henriksen at the 2018 Iris Awards.

On March 8, while people around the world celebrated International Women’s Day, members of the local community gathered in Gaiser Student Center to honor four women’s contributions to Southwest Washington at the 2018 Iris Awards.

Guests enjoyed refreshments and light fare provided by Beaches Restaurant as they celebrated the honorees. Ceremonies began with a greeting from Clark College President Bob Knight, after which the evening was turned over to emcee Kelly Love, public and community affairs representative at Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center. Love introduced speeches by both the honorees and their nominators.

This year’s Iris Award recipients were:

• Julie Bocanegra of Columbia Credit Union
• Juliana Marler of the Port of Vancouver
• Nancy Retsinas of the Retsinas Collaborative Law Center
• Nan Henriksen, former Mayor of Camas and chair of the Clark County Board of Freeholders

This annual ceremony has a long tradition in this community. The event began in 1985 as a photography exhibit during Women’s History Week, which later developed into a larger awards program and ceremony known as the Southwest Washington Women of Achievement Awards. In 2012, the event was reintroduced as the Iris Awards with the same core mission: honoring the women of Southwest Washington for their outstanding contributions in the categories of public, private, philanthropic, and civic service.

The 2018 Iris Award Recipients

Julie Bocanegra

Julie Bocanegra accepts her 2018 Iris Award from John Deeder.

The first honoree to take the stage was Julie Bocanegra, Vice President and Branch Manager for Columbia Credit Union, where she began her career as a teller in 1994. Since 2012, she has also served on the Evergreen School District Board of Directors, where she has been instrumental in leading the district’s student equity and technology learning initiatives. She is also the former Board Chair of the Battle Ground Chamber of Commerce and is the former Board President for Evergreen Little League, along with many other volunteer commitments.

“She will volunteer till the cows come home because she wants this to be the best community in the world,” said recently retired Evergreen superintendent John Deeder, who nominated Bocanegra for the award and introduced her during the ceremony. “And because of people like Julie, I believe that it is.”

Bocanegra smiled as she took the podium, noting that this night reminded her of her first job as a teenager, sorting and packing flower bulbs and tubers, including those of irises. As a teenager, she said, she would never have imagined that one day she would be receiving an award named after that flower for her contributions to the community.

Bocanegra went on to describe her life’s unexpected trajectory, from a recent high school graduate trying to find her purpose to a bank teller to her current leadership position. Similarly, she recounted how a decision to coach her son’s Little League team led to greater and greater volunteer roles within her community, often focused around youth and education.

“What we want for our own children, we have to want for every child in our community,” she said.

Julianna Marler

Julianna Marler, right accepts her 2018 Iris Award from Lisa Lowe.

Next, an award was presented to Julianna Marler, the CEO of the Port of Vancouver USA. Marler is the first female CEO in the port’s 105-year history and one of just a handful of female port CEOs in the United States. In addition to her leadership role at the port, Marler serves on the Greater Vancouver Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, Great Portland Inc. Board of Directors, American Association of Port Authorities Board of Directors, and the Washington State University Vancouver Advisory Council.

“She has given women at the port a sense of pride and let them know that they can rise into position of leadership there,” said Lisa Lowe of the law firm Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt in introducing Marler. (Lowe was herself a 2013 Iris Award honoree.) “She applies a sense of humor to things that is intelligent and not always respectful—which is probably why I like her.”

Marler began her remarks by traveling back in time even farther than Bocanegra did. “Fifty years ago today, on March 8, 1968, my parents—who are here with me tonight—immigrated to the United States,” she noted. “They left Hungary because they wanted a better life and education for their children.”

Marler noted that the port is an important source of jobs and commerce in the region, and expressed pride in its vital place in Southwest Washington’s economy. “Fifty year ago today, my parents came to this country to provide a better future for their children, and today I get to be part of creating a better future for others,” she said.

Nancy Retsinas

Nancy Retsinas at the 2018 Iris Awards.

Nancy Retsinas was also introduced by a former Iris Award recipient, Lisa Schauer of PointNorth Consulting.

“Nancy has transformed the legal profession, aligning her practice to her values,” said Schauer.

Retsinas is a collaborative lawyer and family law mediator in Washington and Oregon, in private practice since 1991. She is co-founder and executive director of the Two River Institute for Dispute Resolution, a nonprofit educational organization. Retsinas currently serves as Northwest regional chair of the Global Collaborative Law Council, board treasurer of the Collaborative Professionals of Washington, board president for Cappella Romana Choral Ensemble, and board director for the Children’s Center.

Retsinas began her remarks by noting that she, like both Bocanegra and Marler, had attended Clark herself, and so “this place has always felt like home to me, so it’s really special to be receiving this award here.”

She went on to describe the arc of her career, which began in courtrooms doing traditional, adversarial law. “To swoop into court to defend the innocent or maligned—that felt pretty good,” Retsinas said, but added that eventually she became uncomfortable with this model of legal practice and “set out to find my superpower, so to speak.”

Through working with nonprofits, Retsinas said, she began to realize her purpose: to change the culture of conflict resolution in Southwest Washington. And, she added, she discovered that “true power lies in finding your purpose and expressing it to the world.”

Retsinas said that her current work at the Retsinas Collaborative Law Center, which she founded in 2015, allows her to do just that. And she offered this advice to young women in the audience: “Trust your gut, discover your own superpowers, harness them for good, and achieve your purpose.”

Nan Henriksen

Nan Henriksen accepts the 2018 Iris Legacy Award from Judie Stanton.

The final honoree of the evening, Nan Henriksen, was no stranger to awards ceremonies. Indeed, she had received a Women of Achievement Award (the original name of the Iris Awards) in 1995, and tonight was receiving the Legacy Award, bestowed on a previous awardee who has continued to make significant contributions to her community. Henriksen certainly qualifies: The former Camas mayor recently came out of retirement to lead the Clark County Freeholder Board formed to create the county’s first home-rule charter.

“She hasn’t slowed down a bit, probably because she gets up every day at 5:15,” said her friend Judie Stanton, herself the 2017 Legacy Award recipient. “She gets a lot done.”

Henriksen received the award with grace and humor, noting that she’d tried to force herself to start writing an inspirational speech for the evening, but instead became intimidated by the task and “ate my weight in popcorn and played solitaire on my phone for two hours.” Henriksen then pointed out the larger moral of that story: “Those of us working out in the community, we do the things we do in spite of these fears of inadequacy, not because we don’t have them.”

Henriksen also noted that people can contribute to the community in many different ways. While Henriksen is probably most known for her work in leading Camas through a difficult economic transition as one of its major employers began to shut down, she said that one of the accomplishments she is most proud of is becoming a foster grandmother to a girl who went on to successfully enter college.

“You can do it on a bigger scale or on a smaller scale,” she said. “What’s important is that you decide, ‘If I care enough and I’m brave enough, I can make a difference.’”

Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley. To see more photos from this event, visit our Flickr album. 

This article was updated March 29, 2018, to correct Lisa Schauer’s current position and to include a link for more photos.

Felicia Lewkowicz, front right, stands with her family before they were exterminated by the Nazis. Photo courtesy of the Holocaust Center for Humanity.

On March 13, Clark College hosts Matthew Erlich of the Holocaust Center for Humanity as he describes the journey of his mother, an Auschwitz survivor.

The event, which is free and open to the public, will take place at 1:00 p.m. in Gaiser Student Center on Clark’s main campus, located at 1933 Ft. Vancouver Way. For maps and directions, visit www.clark.edu/maps.

Matthew’s presentation begins with a slide of Felicia as a young girl surrounded by her large family. One at a time her sisters, brothers, and parents disappear, leaving only Felicia and one sister and connecting her family to the stories of millions during the Holocaust.
Felicia Lewkowicz was born in Krakow, Poland in 1923. In March 3, 1941, the Nazis established the Krakow ghetto and Jews were required to wear armbands.

Felicia and one brother were sent by the Nazis to the Krakow ghetto while her mother and other siblings were sent to Tarnow, 70 miles away. Conditions in the ghetto were terrible, with very little food. Illness and disease ranrampant. Luckily, Felicia was able to get work outside the ghetto, cleaning the offices of German officers. One day she did not return to the ghetto, escaping to a train that took her to Vienna, Austria. On the way, she stopped in Tarnow where she saw her family for the last time.

Erlich’s story travels with Felicia through her experiences during the Holocaust and ultimately to the United States, where she and her husband, also a Holocaust survivor, raised four sons.

“People need to see where hatred leads,” Erlich says. “Especially today with the rise of neo-Nazi groups, Holocaust deniers, and those who would attack others for their differences. My mother’s Holocaust experience shows what can happen – and offers ways to fight against it.”

This event is organized and sponsored by the Associated Students of Clark College. For more information, visit http://bit.ly/2thpmS5.

If you need accommodation due to a disability in order to fully participate in this event, contact Clark College’s Disability Support Services Office at 360-992-2314 or 360-991-0901 (VP), or visit Gaiser Hall room 137, as soon as possible.

About Clark College

Located in Vancouver’s Central Park and serving more than 12,000 students per quarter, Clark College is Southwest Washington’s oldest public institution of higher education. The college currently offers classes at two satellite locations: one on the Washington State University Vancouver campus and one in the Columbia Tech Center in East Vancouver. Additionally, its Economic & Community Development program is housed in the Columbia Bank building in downtown Vancouver.

About the Holocaust Center for Humanity

Connecting lessons of the Holocaust to a broad range of relevant themes for our time, from injustice and bullying to discrimination, the Holocaust Center for Humanity has been teaching students to become engaged citizens and to speak out against bigotry and prejudice since 1989. The Center works directly with teachers, students, and community groups across the Northwest to provide educational materials, curriculum,
and interaction with local Holocaust survivors who tell their stories to 20,000 students of all ages each year. In 2015, the Center opened its museum to the public. 15,000 students of all ages tour the Center’s exhibits during a school year.

Clark College Theatre continues its 2017-2018 season with the classic 1960s musical Hair.

This vibrant, trippy product of the hippie counterculture and sexual revolution features several songs that became anthems of the anti-Vietnam War peace movement. With book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni and music by Galt MacDermot, Hairbroke new ground in musical theatre by defining the genre of “rock musical.” It tells the story of the “tribe,” a group of politically active, long-haired hippies of the “Age of Aquarius” living a bohemian life in New York City.

The cast includes: Andrew Hallas, Jared Pengra, Tim Busch**, Zak Campbell**, Sammy Williams*, Breanna Kurth, Danielle Plesser, Kate Cummings, Christina Taft**, Moe Lewis, Tristan Colo**, Linda Owsley**, Ryan Larson*, Haley Phillips*. The director is Gene Biby and April Duvic provides vocal direction. (Note: Cast member names marked with a single asterisk are current Clark College students; double asterisks indicate Clark College alumni.)

Sets were decorated by the Clark Art Club.

Although the show premiered in 1968, it contains adult themes, language, and content. Brief nudity does occur. For more photos of the show, visit Clark’s Flickr album.

Show Dates: Feb. 23 and 24, March 2, 3, 8, 9, and 10. All show times are at 7:30 p.m. in the Decker Theatre, Frost Arts Center, on Clark College’s main campus.

Ticket Information: Students (with ID) $10; Alumni (with membership) $10; Senior Citizens $16; General Admission $20. Tickets may be purchased online at http://www.clarkbookstore.com/site_theatre.asp, or call 360-992-2815.

If you need accommodation due to a disability in order to fully participate in this event, contact Clark College’s Disability Support Services Office at 360-992-2314 or 360-991-0901 (VP), or visit Gaiser Hall room 137, as soon as possible.

Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley

On Thursday, March 1, specialists from Clark College’s Financial Aid Office, as well as representatives from local nonprofits, will be on hand to answer questions from prospective students and parents about navigating the world of financial aid.

Clark’s annual Financial Aid Night and Funding Fair provides information about Clark’s admission process, scholarship opportunities, financial aid grants and loans, how to apply, and much more.

The event will be held from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in Gaiser Student Center on Clark College’s main campus. Clark College is located at 1933 Fort Vancouver Way, Vancouver, WA 98663. Driving directions and parking maps are available at www.clark.edu/maps.

This event is free and open to the public; it requires no advance registration or reservation. Information is available at the Clark website at http://www.clark.edu/cc/fan. If you have any additional questions, please direct them to Clark College’s Financial Aid Office in Gaiser Hall at 360-992-2153 or finaidoutreach@clark.edu.

Along with helpful presentations and one-on-one assistance, the event will include a computer lab with experts to help complete the FAFSA (federal financial aid form) and/or WASFA (state financial aid form for Dreamers). Additionally, free pizza will be served to the first 150 guests and Clark College is waiving its standard application fee for anyone who applies to the college that night.

Organizers recommend bringing the following items to the event:

• 2017 tax information or return
• Social Security Number and/or Alien Registration Number
• Records of untaxed income
• Cash, savings, and checking account balances
• Investments other than the home in which you live

Individuals who need accommodation due to a disability in order to fully participate in this event should contact Clark College’s Disability Support Services (DSS) Office at 360-992-2314 or 360-991-0901 (VP). The DSS office is located in room 013 in Clark’s Penguin Union Building.

Photo: Clark College/Jenny Shadley

Members of the Clark College Jazz Band watch for a cue from Band Director Rich Inouye during their performance at the 56th Annual Clark College Jazz Festival.

Every year during the last weekend of January, the Clark College Jazz Festival fills Gaiser Hall with swinging tunes from middle and high school bands. This year was no exception, with a total of 1,116 students from 55 schools flocking to the highly regarded festival–including some from as far away as Alaska.

But among the bright jazz tunes were a few bittersweet notes, for this festival marked the last to be helmed by music professor Richard Inouye.

Prof. Rich Inouye speaks during the 11th and final Clark College Jazz Festival that he will organize.

On Saturday night, at the conclusion of the AAA and AAAA Finals, President Robert Knight got on stage to recognize Inouye for his 11 years of service with Clark College as the Director of Bands. Knight praised his teaching in the classroom, his conducting skills with Concert Band and the Jazz Ensemble, his leadership of the Annual Jazz Festival, and his committee and leadership work across the campus.  President Knight presented Richard with a collage canvas print of the colored jazz festival covers which were directed by Inouye during his tenure.

Behind the scenes, Clark students decorated the festival’s “green room” with some of their favorite “Richisms,” including, “Own it, fix it,” “Results, not excuses,” “You set the tone,” and “Rhythmic resistance.”

The 56th Annual Clark College Jazz Festival’s Dale Beacock Memorial Sweepstakes trophy was awarded to Mead High School Jazz Band I from Spokane, Washington. Other honorees included:

Thursday Middle School Silver Division jazz ensemble finals results:

• 1^st place – Jane Addams Middle School, Seattle, WA
• 2^nd place – Beaumont Middle School, Portland, OR
• 3^rd place – Chief Umtuch Middle School Advanced, Battle Ground, WA

Blue Division Judge’s Award – Chief Umtuch Middle School Advanced, Battle Ground, WA

Outstanding Middle School Jazz Musician certificates were presented to:

• Parker Bruning – Hockinson Middle School, Hockinson, WA
• Adam Haunreiter – Hockinson Middle School, Hockinson, WA
• Connor Cuff – Liberty Middle School, Camas, WA
• Deitrich Vu – Liberty Middle School, Camas, WA
• Tai Beaulieu – Liberty Middle School, Camas, WA
• Mireia Pujol – Liberty Middle School, Camas, WA
• Mason Calaway – Wahluke Middle School, Mattawa, WA
• Isaac Moroshan – Laurin Middle School, Vancouver, WA
• Justus Jones – Carmichael Middle School, Richland, WA
• Shelby McCombs – Pleasant Valley Middle School, Vancouver, WA
• Dominic Mendoza – Chief Umtuch Middle School, Battle Ground, WA
• Reagan Speakman – Skyridge Middle School, Camas, WA
• Grady McHenry – Tukes Valley Middle School, Battle Ground, WA
• Chris Moore – Beaumont Middle School, Portland, OR
• Nate Moore – Beaumont Middle School, Portland, OR
• Parker Casazza – Jane Addams Middle School, Seattle, WA
• Lacy George – Jane Addams Middle School, Seattle, WA

Friday, January 26, 2018 A and AA division high school jazz ensemble finals results:

A Division:

• 1^st place – Northwinds High School, Port Angeles, WA
• 2^nd place – Petersburg High School, Petersburg, AK
• 3^rd place – Woodland High School, Woodland, Wa

Outstanding high school musician awards for the A Division were presented to:

• Jesse Weaver – Douglas High School, Winston, OR
• Noah Pratton – Mcloughlin High School, Milton Freewater, OR
• Ciaran Healey – University Prep, Seattle, WA
• Ursula Sargent – University Prep, Seattle, WA
• Adam Kennedy – Northwinds High School, Port Angeles, WA
• Tristan Lowman – Northwinds High School, Port Angeles, WA
• Isaac Hall – Woodland School District, Woodland, WA

AA Division:

• 1^st place – Hockinson High School, Hockinson, WA
• 2^nd place – Mead High School, Spokane, WA
• 3^rd place – Mt. Spokane High School, Spokane, WA

Outstanding high school musician awards for the AA Division were presented to:

• Kara Stella – RA Long High School, Longview, WA
• Saunder Borst – Mt. Spokane High School, Spokane, WA
• Elaine Scott – Mead High School, Spokane, WA
• Meggie Rodewald – Mead High School, Spokane, WA
• Kaylin Woods – Mead High School, Spokane, WA
• Grant Hobbs – Columbia River High School, Columbia River, WA
• Cade Lilley – Fife High School, Tacoma, WA
• Kaelyn White – Battle Ground High School, Battle Ground, WA
• Emily Johnson – Washougal High School, Washougal, WA
• Jack Broer – Hockinson High School, Hockinson, WA
• Riley Lyons – Hockinson High School, Hockinson, WA
• Erik Hawkins – Hockinson High School, Hockinson, WA
• Zeke Dodson – Hockinson High School, Hockinson, WA

Saturday, January 27, 2018 AAA and AAAA division high school jazz ensemble finals results:

AAA Division:

• 1^st place – Mead High School Jazz I, Spokane, WA
• 2^nd place – Prairie High School, Brush Prairie, WA
• 3^rd place – Mt. Spokane High School Jazz I, Spokane, WA

Outstanding high school musician awards for the AAA Division were presented to:

• Ashton Hemming – Battle Ground High School, Battle Ground, WA
• Dominic Mendoza – Battle Ground High School, Battle Ground, WA
• Jacob Khawaja – Lakeridge High School, Lake Oswego, OR
• Penelope Tharp – Lakeridge High School, Lake Oswego, OR
• Isaac Ford – Kelso High School, Kelso, WA
• Tony Brence – Prairie High School, Brush Prairie, WA
• Ericka Mecham – Prairie High School, Brush Prairie, WA
• Josh DeQuiroz – Mountain View High School, Vancouver, WA
• Ricky Gagliardi – Mead High School, Spokane, WA
• Connor Brennan – Mt. Spokane High School, Spokane, WA
• Chris Ramirez – VSAA Focus, Vancouver, WA

AAAA Division:

• 1^st place – Bothell High School Jazz I, Bothell, WA
• 2^nd place –Battle Ground High School Advanced, Battle Ground, WA
• 3^rd place – Lake Stevens High School, Lake Stevens, WA

Outstanding high school musician awards for the AAAA Division were presented to:

• Justin Foley – Heritage High School, Vancouver, WA
• Amy Boedigheimer – Heritage High School, Vancouver, WA
• Mairead Rising – Glacier Peak High School, Snohomish, WA
• Galin Hebert – Glacier Peak High School, Snohomish, WA
• Hannah Whitlow – West Salem High School, Salem, OR
• Cameron Roche – West Salem High School, Salem, OR
• Anthony Bolden – West Salem High School, Salem, OR
• Mario Esquivel – Chiawana High School, Pasco, WA
• Benito Ramirez – Chiawana High School, Pasco, WA
• Gabe Aldape – Lake Stevens High School, Lake Stevens, WA
• Manuel Aldape – Lake Stevens High School, Lake Stevens, WA
• Chase Williams – Union High School, Camas, WA
• Sean Grimm – Union High School, Camas, WA
• Gary Hobbs – Union High School, Camas, WA
• Gabe Bradley – Mountain View High School, Vancouver, WA
• Nick McClatchey – Bothell High School, Bothell, WA
• Preston Lee – Bothell High School, Bothell, WA
• Laney Pham – Battle Ground High School, Battle Ground, WA
• Shane Walz – Battle Ground High School, Battle Ground, WA

Shelly Williams contributed this article. Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley.

Four women representing exceptional leadership, philanthropy and community service are the winners of the 2018 Iris Awards, honoring women of achievement in Southwest Washington. They will be honored at an awards reception on Thursday, March 8.

Awards will be presented to Julie Bocanegra, Vice President for Columbia Credit Union, and Julianna Marler, CEO of the Port of Vancouver. H-ROC, a non-partisan political action committee dedicated to the advancement of elected and appointed female leaders in Southwest Washington, has chosen Nancy Retsinas of the Retsinas Collaborative Law Center for the Iris Award they sponsor. Last year, the Iris Awards added a new category, the Legacy Award, for previous winners who have continued to be leaders in Southwest Washington. This year’s winner is Nan Henriksen, the former mayor of Camas who also served as the chair of the Board of Freeholders in Clark County that helped write the county’s home-rule charter.

The award ceremony takes place in Gaiser Student Center on Clark College’s main campus. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and the ceremony begins at 6:00 p.m. The event is open to the public and tickets are on sale through the Greater Vancouver Chamber of Commerce at http://www.vancouverusa.com/events/details/2018-iris-awards-reception-15961. The cost is $35 per person. A table sponsorship, which includes eight tickets, can be purchased for $310. Seating is limited.

Clark College is located at 1933 Fort Vancouver Way, Vancouver. Driving directions and parking maps are available at www.clark.edu/maps. Anyone needing accommodation due to a disability in order to fully participate in this event should contact Clark College’s Disability Support Services Office at (360) 992-2314 or (360) 991-0901 (VP), or visit Penguin Union Building room 013, by February 26.

About the Iris Awards

The Iris Awards follow in the tradition of the Southwest Washington Women of Achievement Awards, which began in 1985 at Clark College. In 2012, the event was reintroduced as the Iris Awards, still celebrated on or around International Women’s Day (March 8) and with the same core mission: honoring the lasting and far-reaching contributions of women in Southwest Washington and beyond.

This year’s awards are sponsored by Clark College, the Clark College Foundation, the Vancouver Business Journal, the Greater Vancouver Chamber of Commerce, and H-RoC. The Iris Award winners will be featured in the Vancouver Business Journal’s 2018 “Women in Business” directory, the only Portland/Vancouver metro area directory of businesses that are owned, directed or managed by women.

2017 Iris Award Recipients

Julie Bocanegra

Julie Bocanegra

Beyond her full-time work as a Vice President/Branch Manager for Columbia Credit Union, Bocanegra serves on the Evergreen School District Board of Directors. Professionally, Bocanegra’s passion for teamwork and approachable leadership style have grown in influence since joining Columbia CU as a teller in 1994. Most recently, in addition to managing one of the credit union’s busiest branches, she was tapped to create and teach curriculum for key organization-wide training initiatives for Columbia CU, Washington State’s ninth-largest credit union and Clark County’s largest holder of deposits.

Appointed in 2012, elected the following year, and then re-elected again in 2017, Bocanegra has served as Vice Chair and then Chair of the Evergreen School District Board of Directors, the fifth-largest school district in Washington State. Bocanegra has been instrumental in leading the district’s student equity and technology learning initiatives. Under her leadership, the district eliminated student user fees for athletics, opened elementary school Community Resource Centers, and moved to a 1:1 technology curriculum.

Bocanegra is a former Board Chair of the Battle Ground Chamber of Commerce, and has served in a variety of leadership capacities, including Board President, for the Evergreen Little League.

Julianna Marler

Julianna Marler

Julianna Marler is the CEO of the Port of Vancouver USA. She has provided steady leadership during a time of tremendous growth and change at the port. Prior to becoming CEO in January 2017, she was the port’s Chief Financial and Administrative Officer. She is the first female CEO in the port’s history and one of just a handful of female port CEOs in the United States.

The Port of Vancouver USA and its tenants provide 3,200 jobs in the community and generate $2.9 billion in annual economic benefit. Marler has been a key leader at the port as it has partnered with the City of Vancouver and private developers to transform the city’s downtown and waterfront into a destination. She has also partnered with sister ports in Clark County and beyond to spur additional economic development and job growth across the region.

Marler currently serves on the Greater Vancouver Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, Greater Portland Inc. Board of Directors, American Association of Port Authorities Board of Directors, and the Washington State University Vancouver Advisory Council.

Nancy Retsinas

Nancy Retsinas

Nancy Retsinas is a collaborative lawyer and family law mediator in Washington and Oregon, in private practice since 1991. In 2015, she established Retsinas Collaborative Law Center to align her values to her legal work. She now commits her practice to non-court dispute resolution, and finds her collaborative approach to problem-solving results in better long-term outcomes for her clients and their families.

Co-founder and executive director of the Two Rivers Institute for Dispute Resolution, Retsinas leads and trains in a non-profit educational organization formed to deliver innovative collaborative law and legal team-building training for family law professionals across disciplines (legal, mental health, financial). The Institute also provides a valuable resource for families looking for well-trained collaborative professionals in the Vancouver/Portland Metropolitan area so the public can find professionals who are committed to peaceful problem-solving. Retsinas has been training legal professionals in client-centered dispute resolution methods since 2008. She is a contributing author to Washington Practice Manual – Family Law, a West Publication (2016), and Building a Successful Collaborative Law Practice, an American Bar Association publication (2018).

Retsinas has always been an active champion and a hands-on volunteer for the Southwest Washington community. When Retsinas joins an organization, her commitment to empowerment, her natural ability to facilitate a dialogue, and her consensus-building approach make her an essential leader.

Her current nonprofit leadership roles include: Regional Chair, Northwest Region, Global Collaborative Law Council; Board Treasurer, Collaborative Professionals of Washington; Board President for Cappella Romana Choral Ensemble; and Board Director for the Children’s Center.

Nan Henriksen

Nan Henriksen

Nan Henriksen has had a profound effect on Southwest Washington. Not only has she improved the community, she has helped shape it—most significantly as the first woman elected mayor of Camas from 1983 to 1992, and later as the chair of the Board of Freeholders, which drafted the county home-rule charter. Henriksen is widely praised in the community for her ability to be calm and thoughtful in her approach to difficult problems.

Recently, National Public Radio interviewed Henriksen about her role in helping Camas prepare for the day when the Georgia Pacific paper mill would no longer be the primary economic driver in the city. Her work is largely credited with Camas becoming a model for other cities as they had to transition away from traditional industries. She had a vision for diversifying the economy and paved the way for high-tech companies like WaferTech, Underwriter Laboratories, and Linear Technology to locate in Camas.

Henriksen came out of retirement to run for and then lead the 15-member Freeholder Board that was charged with writing Clark County’s first home-rule charter. Despite diverse opinions and needs, Henriksen helped the group find common ground and presented a final plan that was approved by voters in 2014.

Along the way, Henriksen has been awarded the Clark County First Citizen Award (2015), Statesman of the Year by Greater Vancouver Chamber of Commerce (2014), and Camas Political Leader of the Century in 2006. She was first named a Woman of Achievement, which was the original name of the Iris Awards, in 1995.

Cheston Knapp. Photo: Alexis Knapp

The Clark College Columbia Writers Series continues its 2017-2018 season with Cheston Knapp, managing editor of the award-winning literary magazine Tin House. He will discuss his work and read from his new collection of essays, Up Up, Down Down.

This event, which is free and open to the public, will be held on Thursday, February 15, from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. in Penguin Union Building (PUB) room 258A-B on Clark College’s main campus.

Cheston Knapp is managing editor of Tin House, a literary magazine based in Portland, Oregon. He graduated with a degree in English from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. He is the recipient of a 2015 Oregon Literary Fellowship from Literary Arts and the executive director of the Tin House Summer Writers’ Workshop. His work has appeared in Tin House and One Story. Up Up, Down Down is his first book. It has received critical praise from the literary world, including this evaluation by Joshua Ferris, author of And Then We Came to the End: “Offering up a steady supply of perfectly chosen words in precision-guided sentences, Cheston Knapp will either break your heart or jolt your spine, and quite possibly bring some of us back to life.”

The Columbia Writers Series was launched at Clark College in 1988, bringing local, national and international authors to the college and the region. This year’s lineup of authors continues with:

• May 14, 2018: Roger Reeves, Pushcart Prize-winning poet
• May 17, 2018: Kate Berube, children’s book author and illustrator

Information about the Columbia Writers Series is available at www.clark.edu/cc/cws.

This event is held on Clark College’s main campus at 1933 Ft. Vancouver Way. Directions and maps are available online. Individuals who need accommodation due to a disability in order to fully participate in this event should contact Clark College’s Disability Support Services (DSS) Office at 360-992-2314 or 360-991-0901 (VP). The DSS office is located in room 013 in Clark’s Penguin Union Building.

Smiles abounded at the 2017 Children’s Free Dental Health Day. This year’s clinic will be held on February 3, 2018.

The Clark College Dental Hygiene Program will hold a free children’s dental clinic on Saturday, February 3, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the main campus of Clark College. The event will take place in the Firstenburg Dental Hygiene Education and Care Center in the Health Sciences Building on Clark’s main campus.

Dental hygiene students from Clark College will provide care under the direct supervision of licensed dental hygienist and dentists. Services will include cleanings, sealants, x-rays, sealants, doctor’s exams, fluoride, and select emergency treatments for children ages 18 and under. Appointments can be scheduled by calling the Dental Hygiene Business Office at (360) 992-2158.

This is the eleventh year that Clark’s Dental Hygiene has offered a free children’s dental health day. In addition to this event, the college’s Dental Hygiene students provide low-cost dental hygiene care to the community as part of their clinic practice.

Clark College is located at 1933 Fort Vancouver Way, Vancouver, WA 98663. Driving directions and parking maps are available at www.clark.edu/maps. If you need accommodation due to a disability in order to fully participate in this event, contact Clark College’s Disability Support Services Office at 360-992-2314 or 360-991-0901 (VP), or visit Penguin Union Building room 013 as soon as possible.

Photo: Clark College/Nick Bremer

President Knight delivers the 2018 State of the College address.

At his annual State of the College address on January 18, Clark College President Bob Knight highlighted both the college’s accomplishments and its challenges.

When it came to the former, Knight didn’t have far to look—just outside the doors of Gaiser Student Center, students were learning and eating at the McClaskey Culinary Institute, which opened in the fall. About a dozen students from the Professional Baking and Pastry Arts program stood against one side of the room, and one of them presented Knight with his favorite pecan bar.

President Knight receives a pecan bar from baking and pastry arts student Cameron Godney.

Knight had other sweet news to share, including the opening of an on-campus food bank for students and the announcement of 20 new athletic scholarships to be bestowed each year. He also announced a new agreement that will allow for increased student exchange with colleges and universities in Japan. And he shared that the college’s new Bachelor of Applied Science in Applied Management is potentially adding cohorts due to high demand. Two more bachelor’s degrees—one in Early Childhood Education and one in Addiction Counselor Education—are “on the horizon,” he said.

Knight also noted that Clark had been chosen by the American Association of Community College to be a Pathways 2.0 College—one of just 13 community colleges across the country to receive this designation. This will allow Clark to receive training and support as it converts to the “Guided Pathways” model of higher education, which streamlines students’ journeys from admissions to career with clearly explained educational pathways.

Knight said that Guided Pathways was vital to managing one challenge currently facing the college: student retention. “Our goal is that all students, regardless of ethnicity or economic background, achieve and succeed at the same rate,” he said.

Knight shared stories of recent graduates who had succeeded at Clark: Nancy Boyce, who now runs her own diesel repair company in Alaska; Dr. Inva Begolli, who came to Clark from Albania and recently earned her doctorate in pharmacy; and Cody Messick, a lackluster student in high school who discovered a love of physics and math at Clark that propelled him onto a team that discovered gravitational waves in deep space. Knight also recognized several employees for their support of student success: CADD professor Keith Stansbury, who advises the college’s aeronautics club, and biology faculty Kathleen Perillo and Erin Harwood, who have led students on a project to restore salmon habitat at Clark’s future location in Ridgefield. Additionally, he bestowed Presidential Coins on Workforce Education Services director Armetta Burney and Instructional Operations associate dean Rachele Bakic.

However, Knight added a caveat that these individual stories should not be considered a substitute for systemic change.

“Many of these students, we call them ‘heroes’ because they had to overcome obstacles to succeed and complete their degrees,” he said. “We don’t want them to have to be heroes to succeed. That’s the intent of Guided Pathways. … We want those meaningful connections, [but] we’ve got to make sure it’s systemic—that we don’t count on students lucking into a Keith Stansbury or an Armetta Burney.”

Knight said that achieving that kind of systemic change would require the help and participation of everyone at the college. He referenced Who Do We Choose to Be?, a new book by leadership expert Margaret Wheatley. “The fact is, there’s a chaotic world out there,” he said. “But here, as leaders, we can create what [Wheatley] calls ‘an island of sanity.’ Let’s just focus on what we can do in our own community here at Clark College. We need to create our own island of sanity, and Guided Pathways will help us do that.”

Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley