Mt. Hood Community College President Lisa Skari Joins WICHE Commission

BOULDER, Colo. – Dr. Lisa Skari, president of Mt. Hood Community College (MHCC), has been appointed to the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) by Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek.

Skari joins Oregon Commissioners Ben Cannon, executive director, Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission; and Hilda Rosselli, education policy consultant. Skari, Cannon, and Rosselli are three of the Commission’s 48 total commissioners from the 15 Western states and the U.S. Pacific Territories and Freely Associated States. The Commission guides WICHE’s direction and assures the Western Regional Education Compact is carried out for the benefit of the West, as it has done since 1953.

“As the president of MHCC, I am humbled by our students’ achievements and how higher education helps shape their futures,” Skari said. “Through this new role on the WICHE Commission, I am certain that this collaboration on behalf of students will have a profound impact on MHCC’s campus, Oregon families, and residents across the West.”

Skari has served as the president of Mt. Hood Community College since 2018. Prior to MHCC, she spent 26 years at Highline College in Washington in a variety of roles, including adjunct faculty, mid-management positions  in cooperative education/internships and budgeting, and vice president for advancement. Skari also spent seven years in the private sector in management, buying, and corporate training.

“President Skari’s impressive career in higher education leadership uniquely positions her to support the Commission’s goals,” WICHE President Demarée Michelau said. “Her experience will play a vital role in advancing our commitment to student access and success throughout the Western region, and I am excited to welcome her to our team.”

Skari earned her master’s degree in business administration from Pacific Lutheran University and her doctorate degree in education from Washington State University. Her research led to the development of a predictive model of community college alumni giving, for which she received the H.S. Warwick Award for Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation.