Executive Board Members

President - Karen Rogers

Karen Rogers of Port Angeles is owner of Karen Rogers Consulting, which specializes in strategic marketing, product launch services, and governmental affairs. She has been in the forefront of efforts to bring fiber optics to the Peninsula. Karen is a member of the Port Angeles City Council and was recently elected President of the Board of Directors for the Association of Washington Cities (AWC). Rogers moved to Port Angeles in 1993 to establish and manage a technology defense company.
Rogers is an advocate for economic and community development, workforce training and education. She serves on the Clallam County Economic Development Council and as President-elect on the Board of Governors for the Peninsula College Foundation. She is also a board member of the Business Incubator at the Lincoln Center.                                  Rogers was elected to the Port Angeles City Council in 2001 and re-elected in 2005 She served as mayor from 2006-2007. In January 2008, she received the Chamber President award for outstanding leadership. Rogers has been on the Peninsula College Foundation Board since 2004 and previously served as vice president. Rogers was featured as a community leader and civic booster by The Peninsula Daily News in the inaugural issue of Peninsula Woman. In 1999, she received a Sam Walton Business Leader Award and a Rotary Community Service Recognition Award for Leadership.

"My personal passion for Peninsula College derives from my professional passion for economic development. Peninsula College plays a vital role in the economic development of our community. The College’s vocational and technical programs need to be a step ahead in preparing a ready workforce for tomorrow and, most important, in enabling the workforce to match the business sector of the community. I see the College as a true partner with all the other public and private entities engaged in identifying and meeting the needs that will assure our community’s long-term economic health."

President-Elect - Christy Mitchell

Christy Mitchell of Sequim is a fifth generation community member of Sequim. Born and raised in Sequim, Christy comes from a long line of farmers and currently farms, along with her family over 200 acres raising hay and Black Angus cattle. She and her husband Fred have two children who Christy home-schooled right up until they went to college. Christy was active in raising and showing thoroughbred Arabian horses in the past, and traveled extensively with her family to horse events. She has been a past enthusiastic supporter of the “Young Riders” group, and of the Youth Symphony. Christy was one of the first employees and instigators of People’s Bank in Sequim (now US Bank). Christy is a long time supporter of Peninsula College and has taken many business and continuing education courses at the college, and was a student at Washington State University. Christy is devoted to her family and declares that she will always be “connected with Sequim.” Christy joined the Foundation Board in 2003.

Secretary - Suzanne Anderson

 Suzanne Anderson of Sequim is Treasurer and Director of Thread-Tex Tool Co., Ore City, Texas, which manufactures oil country couplings; Treasurer and Director of Ore City Machine Shop; and Assistant Treasurer, Scot Industries, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which hones, bores, and chrome plates hydraulic tubing for oil and heavy equipment industries. Scot Industries is part of a national company headquartered in Lone Star, Texas. Anderson has taught Corporate Finance at Loyola College, Baltimore; and been Manager of Financial Administration for the Potomac Electric Power Company in Washington, D.C. Her civic involvement includes five years on the Finance Committee and three years on the Personnel Board of the Town of Manchester By-The-Sea, Massachusetts; school fundraising efforts; weekly volunteering in the school library; and co-leading a successful community-based effort to block construction of a toxic waste incinerator. She moved to Sequim in January 2000. She received her B.B.A. and M.B.A. from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

"Peninsula College is in a unique position to bring together and benefit all facets of the community. In recent years, the traditional role of community colleges has greatly expanded. No longer are these institutions focused on just being two-year colleges. Today’s range of programs provides learning opportunities and personal growth for the entire community. Through these programs, Peninsula College serves its communities as gathering place for ideas. I believe the challenge of new ideas and the exchange of those ideas keep our communities alive. Join us in supporting this valuable community resource."

Treasurer - Yvonne Ziomkowski