Mendocino College has narrowed its search for the next Superintendent/President to the top four candidates. A 14 member search committee, appointed by the Board of Trustees, has been working with Community College Search Services on this search process since November 2019. Interviews with the committee were recently completed. The next phase of the process will include recorded forums and interviews with the Board of Trustees.
Due to COVID-19, forums will be held remotely and will be recorded. The forums are scheduled for May 11, 2020 and will be posted by May 12, 2020 on the College website at: /presidential-search
The community has the opportunity to submit potential forum questions to be considered by the Board of Trustees. The period to receive questions for consideration to present at the forum has been extended to Wednesday, April 29 at 12:00 pm (noon). Community members may submit those questions via email to:
PresidentForum@mendocino.edu or by completing an online form:
Information on the candidates follows:
Eileen Cichocki
Eileen Cichocki’s 27-year career in California Community Colleges spans from student employee through Interim Superintendent/President. She has been serving as Interim Superintendent/President at Mendocino College since August 2019. She began working at Mendocino College in 2004 as Director of Fiscal Services with responsibilities focused on the college finances including budget and accounting. In 2014 she was promoted to the position of Assistant Superintendent/Vice President of Administrative Services, in which she provides leadership for the fiscal, human resources, facilities, child development center, and technology functions of the college. She collaborates daily with the Vice President of Academic Affairs and the Vice President of Student Services. Prior to coming to Mendocino College, Ms. Cichocki held various positions in fiscal services for 11 years at Santa Rosa Junior College.
She is a proud graduate of the California Community College system, earning her Associate in Arts Degree at Santa Rosa Junior College. Her education also includes a Bachelor of Arts degree in Environmental Studies with an emphasis in city planning and a Master of Business Administration, both earned at Sonoma State University.
In addition to her experience and education, Ms. Cichocki has participated in professional development programs offered by the Association of California Community College Administrators (ACCCA), the Association of Chief Business Officials (ACBO) for California Community Colleges, and the Community College League of California (CCLC). Ms. Cichocki is a graduate of the Leadership Mendocino program.
She currently serves as Vice President of the Northern California Community Colleges Self-Insurance Authority (NCCCSIA) and serves on the Mendocino Countywide Oversight Board to the Successor Agencies to the City Redevelopment Agencies. She also is a member of the Adventist Health Ukiah Valley Community Advisory Council and the Healthy Mendocino Advisory Council.
Tim Karas
Tim Karas grew up in San Jose, California prior to it becoming Silicon Valley with fruit orchards and farms close to his family home. His parents are immigrants to California from post war Europe. His mother is a retired teacher’s aid and his father is a grocer.
Dr. Karas’ educational journey began as the first person in his family to attend college. An Associate Degree from West Valley College was an achievement to propel him forward to further higher educational benchmarks. His education continued with a Bachelor of Arts in Geography from Humboldt State University and a Masters in Library and Information Science from San Jose State University. He completed his doctoral studies in the field of Educational Leadership at Fielding Graduate University in 2017.
Dr. Karas was appointed College of Alameda President in January 2017. He joined the College of Alameda (CoA) in July 2014 as Vice-President of Instruction. Prior to CoA, he was Dean of Liberal Studies and Language Arts (2009-2014) and Director of Library Services (2005-2009) at Mission College. Dr. Karas was a tenured faculty member at the College of San Mateo. As a faculty member he participated on multiple committees including the Academic Senate, Curriculum Committee, Technology Advisory Committee, and College Council. Previous to working in academia, he worked as a librarian for the City of Palo Alto and Redwood City.
During the past 15 years he has served on eight accreditation site visit teams. He served as Executive Board President of the Council of Chief Librarians: California Community Colleges and was an Executive Board Member (2008-2014).
Dr. Karas believes education is a transformational experience for individuals and communities. He has worked to imbed community college education intuitions into the fabric of the community. Community colleges are economic development powerhouses for counties, cities, neighborhoods, and individuals.
In Alameda, Dr. Karas serves on the board of directors for the Alameda Chamber of Commerce, Alameda Family Services; serves of the mayor’s economic development taskforce; and participates in the local Rotary Club.
Dr. Karas has served on many civic committees and commissions, including the City of San Jose Library Commission, Bond and Parcel Tax Citizen Oversight Committees, and Santa Clara County Sister County Commission. Karas co-authored a chapter in the book Campus Partnership in Small Academic Libraries: Challenges and Rewards.
Greg Nelson
From his days as a young boy watching his father teach in a community college, Mr. Nelson has been immersed in higher education from a young age. He has 20 years of experience at the 2-year college level in meeting the needs of the vastly changing landscape of higher education.
Mr. Nelson began his career, like a lot of college students, with an internship that began at the Georgia General Assembly in 1999. He then went on to work as an analyst for the Technical College System of Georgia before leaving as the Assistant Director for Budget Services for all 34 colleges and 90 campuses. This experience led him to pursue the executive leadership at a college within the system. There he began his tenure in 2007 as a Vice President for Administrative Services at what is now Wiregrass Georgia Technical College. From that small rural college, he went on as Vice President for Administrative Services at West Georgia Technical College making up a total of 6 campuses. As time went on he needed to move closer to family and began working for the San Jose/Evergreen Community College District as a Vice President of Administrative Services at San Jose City College in 2011, where he spent two years before coming to College of Marin.
As the Assistant Superintendent/Vice President of Administrative Services, Mr. Nelson is the Chief Business Officer for the college and has assumed several other responsibilities. During his seven years at College of Marin, the College has achieved a better financial position, passed a local bond measure to replace many out dated facilities, and began reviewing the needs for faculty and staff housing. He has helped raise resources for fundraisers, capital construction and has been funded for several sustainability projects. He thrives on the ability to help break down barriers for students trying to achieve their dreams of a college education.
Mr. Nelson has also been a part-time faculty member at various institutions for the last ten years. He has taught Business Math, Accounting, Project Management and Finance/Operations in Construction Management. He has been a long-time member of the Association of Chief Business Officials (ACBO) and currently services on local zoning and planning boards.
Mr. Nelson was raised in Georgia where he lived on a rural family farm, eventually moving north of Atlanta and attended undergraduate school at Kennesaw State University where he earned his B.S. in Political Science with a minor in history. He went on to earn his MBA with a concentration in Public Administration from DeVry University in San Jose, California. He has also achieved several certificates in governmental accounting, project planning, and sustainability.
Mr. Nelson has a unique passion for sports, woodworking and helping others. He strives on the ability to erasing boundaries to work with anyone to achieve the organizational goals and objectives of an institution and ensuring that the needs of all students are met.
He currently lives in Sonoma County with his wife of 20 years, Maria, and their 4 children, Connor, Julia, Christopher and Jackson.
Richard Storti
Dr. Richard Storti has a broad range of experience in academia and private industry. He currently serves as Deputy Chancellor at West Hills CCD. Prior positions held with community colleges include Assistant Superintendent, Vice President of Business and Administrative Services at Pasadena City College and Vice President of Administrative Services at Fullerton College. Outside of academia, he worked as an auditor and held senior level leadership positions with reputable organizations in private industry.
Dr. Storti completed a doctorate in Education at the University of Southern California, M.S. in Accounting at CSU, Fullerton, and B.S. in Accounting at CSU, Long Beach. He is a licensed Certified Public Accountant.
Dr. Storti has a passion for education and is dedicated to making a positive impact in the lives of students and communities through education. He is known for his tenacity and perseverance, ability to build strategic partnerships and for his collaborative, transparent, inclusive, and personable leadership style with a student-centered focus.