Our Leadership

	Geri Anderson Interim President Geri Anderson assumed the position of Interim President March 1, 2012, as a nationwide search is conducted for CCA’s fourth full-time president. Anderson replaces Dr. Linda Bowman, who left in February after nearly 12 years leading CCA to pursue dual opportunities preparing the next generation of leaders for community college administrative roles. Anderson’s duties with CCA will be concurrent, augmenting her full-time position as Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs and Provost for the Colorado Community College System. Her primary role with CCCS is leading the faculty and frontline student services at 13 statewide institutions encompassing 35 academic sites and helping to shape the delivery of education to 162,000 students per year. Anderson has been with the CCCS since 1998, beginning that facet of her career as special assistant to the president at Front Range Community College, where she would later become that multiple-campus institution’s VP for Student Learning. She left to join the state’s community college flagship in 2006, where she would work her way into her current VP role.
	Xeturah Woodley Vice President, Instruction CCA’s curriculum, spanning the planning, development, implementation and evaluation of instructional services, is the core of Woodley’s position. Hired in February 2012, Woodley became one of three executives at the VP level at CCA. Woodley came to CCA from Central New Mexico Community College in Albuquerque, where she served concurrently as the institution’s Associate VP for Academic Affairs and Dean of Communication, Humanities and Social Sciences. Woodley previously held titles at CNMCC as Interim Library Director; Executive Director of Academic Affairs; Distance Learning Director; Interim Associate Dean of the School of Communication, Humanities and Social Sciences; and instructor. She is in the final stages of completing her doctorate in Philosophy at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, N.M.
	Betsy Oudenhoven Vice President, Student Services and Enrollment Management Supporting student success lies at the core of Dr. Betsy Oudenhoven’s position as Vice President of Student Services at CCA. But it’s the community college’s collective mindset that permeates that work, a facet of the school that struck her immediately after coming here from Joliet (Ill.) Junior College in August. “This institution gets it right by talking about what matters,” she said. “The right conversations are being had about teaching, learning and student success.” Student Services works closely with Instruction to support CCA’s academic mission and explore creative ways to foster student achievement. But that process is far-sighted, too, as Oudenhoven’s staff encourages students to complete their certificates or degrees in preparation for their lives after CCA. Supporting students’ development and learning both in and out of the classroom is important to Oudenhoven and her staff. At the same time, her job also entails planning for institutional growth while maintaining the best aspects of a small campus culture.
	Richard Maestas Vice President, Administrative Services & CFO Compliance, budgeting and accounting are at the heart of Richard Maestas’ financial duties at CCA, an institution he joined in July 2009. In short, Maestas’ main charge is protecting the assets of the college. He does so by ensuring that local, state and federal rules and State of Colorado fiscal and purchasing regulations are followed. He also makes certain that financial reporting accurately reflects the operations of the college by employing generally accepted accounting principles to withstand any auditing processes. Maestas oversees the administrative services, too, an area that encompasses information technology, facilities, security, grants, financial reporting, accounts payable, purchasing, payroll, cashiering and student accounts. Prior to his appointment to CCA, Maestas was controller for the Community College of Denver. He brings extensive experience in higher education, including serving as field controller for the Colorado Community College System, controller and director of fiscal and purchasing services for Pikes Peak Community College and associate controller for Colorado College. Additionally, he has extensive experience in business and in the military. He holds an MBA and a BS in business administration with an emphasis in accounting.
	Ted Snow Dean, Liberal Arts Numerous areas of study fall under Snow’s purview, including Academic Enrichment, Education and Early Childhood, English, Performing Arts and Humanities, and Social Sciences. His primary role as dean is to provide faculty resources while lowering administrative barriers and providing faculty support in to maximize the teaching and learning experience. Snow currently is playing a key role, along with the Liberal Arts Division department chairs, in the implementation of statewide transfer degrees approved by the state legislature in 2011. His focus is to ensure that the programs offered at CCA prepare students effectively for transfer to four-year colleges and universities. Snow also has been instrumental the last several years, in lockstep with faculty and staff, in the development of an innovative Academic Enrichment program. That laser focus on improving student achievement has contributed to success rates in pre-collegiate academic preparation that matches those at the most successful community college programs nationwide.
	Victor Vialpando Dean, Art and Design, School of Business, Computer Science, Colorado Film School Combining possible connective areas between departments, identifying collaborative projects and morphing them into a streamlined vision has been one of Victor Vialpando’s primary goals since joining CCA in August 2009. Under his organizational leadership, his division has managed to better integrate between departments through identification of crossover areas, then streamlined the coursework to better suit student needs. Narrower course offerings and a focus on a ‘stair-step’ system that imbeds certificates throughout the degree process has allowed for programs to align more successfully with industry demand while also increasing graduation rates and retention. Computer Science and School of Business are more synchronized through that cross-collaborative process by targeting the development of core skill sets housed in those separate areas. Vialpando and staff are now intent on better assimilating the multimedia curriculum in the Art and Design department. Business applications are interspersed liberally throughout the programs in which he has oversight, as well. Attempting to build from solid foundational ground is familiar to Vialpando, given his undergraduate background in civil engineering. His career path eventually led to the higher-education route after earning his master’s degree in business from the University of Colorado in 2005.
	Richard Gentile Dean, Math, Science, Public Safety, Legal Studies Integration has been the byword for Richard Gentile ever since joining CCA in July 2010. Charged with oversight of a variety of unique instructional areas, Gentile has worked hard to coalesce his division by sharing resources; emphasizing best practices and establishing standardized procedures. Reorganizing the Center for Simulation and updating additional facilities to make it more functional for the benefit of students and programs in Homeland Security and Emergency Management is one prime example. Overall, there’s been a three-tiered focus under Gentile’s guidance: training students to become first responders (police, fire, EMS); offering continuing education and workforce development opportunities for existing practitioners, such as firefighters, SWAT team members and policemen; and supporting government agencies and the military for training exercises. The Disaster Management Institute, a state-of-the-art command-and-control facility and fully functional Emergency Operations Center has been highly beneficial in that preparatory instruction, along with the ‘Katrina Building’ on the Lowry Campus. Prior to coming to CCA, Gentile served as a director, associate dean and interim dean at Central New Mexico Community College in Albuquerque, N.M. He had oversight there of 24 career technical education programs in the areas of health sciences, public safety and legal studies.
	Elena Sandoval-Lucero Dean, Student Success A large array of student services offices report to Dr. Elena Sandoval-Lucero, all with the overriding mission of helping students enroll and successfully graduate. Coordination between the Center for Outreach and Recruitment and the student success offices, including first year experience and transition; scholar support and programming; TRiO student support services; and accessibility services all focus on strategies related to student enrollment, retention, success, and completion. Elena joined CCA in January 2011 but has worked in higher education for over 20 years in several student service areas including recruitment, admissions, financial aid, academic advising, continuing education, and TRiO SSS. She has also been a faculty member in education. Elena came to CCA from the Auraria campus where she worked for 18 years at both Metropolitan State College of Denver and University of Colorado-Denver. Elena is a Colorado native but also has lived in Oregon, Michigan, and Virginia.
	Chris Ward Executive Director of Grants and Planning Since arriving at CCA in 2000 as director of grants and adjunct instructor of cultural anthropology, Chris Ward has worn many hats. He calls himself ‘a micro-dean’ given his oversight responsibilities for the ESL department. But his reach is on a more macro level. His burgeoning responsibilities mirror the growth of the college itself. He’s worked to bridge any gaps between CCA and the community by overseeing the workforce development staff while establishing strategic partnerships through his grants and resource development work with various community and state organizations. Ward’s also maintained a passion for the globalization of CCA and its curriculum that best serve the diverse community it serves, including providing entry and support for immigrants and refugees. He’s served on the globalization committee and the self-study group, chaired the emergency plan steering committee and assessment-working group, been the school’s Higher Learning Commission liaison and taken on various other tasks. Prior to coming to CCA, Ward earned his PhD in International and Development Education from the University of Pittsburgh and in 1985, did field work in China. He’s also authored several books and taught previously at Community College of Denver, the University of Pittsburgh, LaRoche College (Pittsburgh), Portland State University and National Taiwan University.