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Education: B. S. Ed, University of North Dakota.
Occupation: Former EOU Regional Center Director in John Day, OR.
Biography: Christine was born in Burns and has lived in John Day for 40+ years. For twenty-three years she served students in Grant County and beyond, through EOU’s outstanding distance education programs. She believes that high quality K-20 public education is the key to our success as country, state, and region. She has been an educational advocate and policy-maker through her work on the Oregon School Board Association Board of Directors, as a current member of her local ESD board of Directors, and as a former board chair and 8-year member of her local school board. She was named EOU’s Distinguished Administrative Professional in 2017.
Education: Ph.D., AMDS – Finance and Statistics. Walden University; MBA, Finance. Marylhurst University; MPA, Program Evaluation. Portland State University; MPA Public Finance Endorsement, Portland State University; BA, Business Administration. Western New Mexico University.
Occupation: Associate Professor of Production and Operations, College of Business, Eastern Oregon University.
Biography: Dr. Geagon was born and raised in Silver City, New Mexico where she completed her undergraduate degree at Western New Mexico University. Dr. Geagon is a very passionate and seasoned academic who has earned tenure at New Mexico Highlands University, Saint Martin’s University, and earned a teaching award from Indiana Institute of Technology. Dr. Geagon is dedicated to teaching adult learners how to use rational, logical, systematic, science-based techniques to improve decisions that solve managerial problems and expand organizational excellence. Her students are encouraged to think critically and ethically as they challenge the status quo with the objective of contributing to positive social change.
Education: BA Urban and Regional Planning with a minor in Economics, Eastern Washington University
Occupation: Chief Executive Officer, Wildhorse Resort & Casino
Biography: Gary is an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) and currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the Wildhorse Resort & Casino (WRC), which is owned and operated by the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. Gary provides overall leadership and directs the day-to-day operations of WRC, which employs over 900 staff in the Casino, Hotel, Golf Courses at Wildhorse and Birch Creek (formerly PCC), the Cineplex, Arrowhead Travel Plaza, RV Park, Mission Market, Hamley’s and WRC administration.
Gary also served as the CTUIR Executive Director from 1990 through 1998.
Education: University of Oregon, BS, Chemistry, 1974; Oregon Health Sciences University, MD, 1978; Creighton School of Medicine Internal Medicine Residency 1978 – 1981.
Occupation: Health Care Consultant; retired from clinical medicine in 2017.
Biography: Chuck grew up in LaGrande, Oregon just a few blocks from EOU and attended the University’s Ackerman Grade School. He completed his Freshman and Sophomore years at EOU, graduated from UO, and upon completing his training established an internal medicine practice in Baker City, OR. Over his 37 years in practice there, he served for 14 years on the Baker City Council, including 3 terms as Mayor; 15 years as a Trustee on the Leo Adler Trust; 10 years on the Board of the Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative; 5 years on the Oregon Health Policy Board; and over 20 years on the Oregon Medical Association’s Board of Trustees including serving as President of the OMA in 1997 and 1998. He and his wife, Candy, now live in the Boise, Idaho area where he continues to consult on health policy matters in Oregon and Idaho.
Education: Current Student – English/Writing
Biography: Oreng Kikuo is a senior student raised in the Republic of Palau, studying English/Writing. She graduated from Palau Community College with an Associate of Arts in Liberal Arts studies in 2021, and transferred to Eastern Oregon University in 2023, enrolling as a student in the university’s Summer Bridge Program. Since then she has held many student leadership roles on campus, such as becoming Editor-in-Chief for EOU’s Science and Social Science Journals, joining the university’s Navigator’s club, and becoming lead mentor for the Summer Bridge Program. Additionally, Oreng has received invitations to attend and speak at various nationally recognized conferences such as the Conference on Community Writing 2023 in Denver, Colorado, The Conference on College Composition on Communication in Spokane, Washington, and the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity in Honolulu, Hawaii, where she was one of twenty-five nation-wide recipients for the Dick Hilbert Student Scholar Award. Having grown up in Palau, Oreng has very much enjoyed exploring places that she has only read about, and has since taken every opportunity to try new things and see where they lead her.
Education: Grand Canyon University, Education Specialist; Northwest Nazarene University, Administration; Pacific University, Master of Arts in Teaching; Pacific University, Bachelor of Arts in Accounting and Finance
Occupation: Superintendent of Baker School District
Biography: Erin grew up in Baker City. With 15 years in education as a teacher and administrator, she has returned to Eastern Oregon as the Superintendent of Baker School District. Previously, Erin has held positions in Idaho, Sherwood School District, and InterMountain ESD. Her passion for education is a critical driver of rural economic development. When not in the office, she and her husband live on a small, commercial cherry orchard outside of Cove with their two elementary-aged girls.
Education: M.A. Urban Planning, UCLA; B.A. Political Science, UCLA
Occupation: Planning Director for Morrow County, Oregon.
Biography: Tamra Mabbott grew up on a small dairy farm along the Rogue River in Southern Oregon. While attending University of California, Los Angeles, she worked full time and volunteered with a variety of political organizations. Hopeful about a career helping to make communities viable and healthy, she chose to continue her education in Urban Planning, followed by completion of an advanced program in Fiscal Studies. She worked a short time for the Portland Development Commission and then began a 30+ year career as a land use planner. She spent two years working for a small city as a Community Development Director and then served as the Eastern Region Representative for the Oregon Department of Land Conservation & Development. While she described her state position as her dream job, traveling the 10 county region and spending time with wonderful people and communities, she returned to serve as the Planning Director for Morrow County where she can focus her time in a smaller community.
Education: Northwest Nazarene University, Master of Education Leadership; Eastern Oregon University, Bachelor’s of Science in Elementary Education.
Occupation: Superintendent, La Grande School District.
Biography: George has over 20 years of experience working in education as an elementary school teacher, administrator, and coach. Prior to his current post with the La Grande School District, he was the Assistant Superintendent/Director of Special Education at Morrow County School District.
Education: Eastern Oregon University, Masters of Business Administration
Occupation: Team Leader Production, Lamb Weston in Boardman, OR
Biography: Cedric Riel recently graduated from EOU summa cum laude in both Economics and in Business. He was recognized as the Outstanding Student within the MBA program, which he completed this last academic year. While obtaining these degrees, Cedric has continued to compete in football, a sport of which has contributed to the development of his character. He is passionate about serving the EOU community and has been involved with ASEOU, serving as Senate Chair in 2019-20 and as Director of Financial Affairs in 2020-21. Now, he is excited to be beginning his management experience at Lamb Weston in Boardman while he also begins a permanent Trustee position this next year. He looks forward to being able to continue to serve the EOU community.
Education: University of Maryland, Ph.D., History; Boston College, M.A., History
Occupation: President of Eastern Oregon University
Biography: Dr. Kelly Ryan is passionate about the power of higher education to transform lives. Her leadership vision places student success and community engagement at the center of her work.
Prior to joining EOU, Dr. Ryan was Interim Chancellor of Indiana University Southeast in New Albany, Indiana. In this role, she developed relationships and partnerships to increase community engagement with the institution, and orchestrated efforts to fund scholarships, student research and creativity initiatives, and support resources for faculty, staff, and student development.
Dr. Ryan has led university-wide strategic planning processes, improved accreditation practices, overseen enrollment management, instituted inclusive hiring and teaching practices, and managed the development of academic and noncredit programs and courses. She is the recipient of several awards and distinctions, including the Indiana University Bicentennial Medal and she is a four-time winner of the IU Trustees Teaching Award.
Education: University of California, Davis, Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Science and Management; California State University, Fresno, Master of Science in Agriculture Plant Science; Oklahoma State University, Doctoral Degree in Agronomy
Occupation: Executive Director, High Desert Partnership, Burns Oregon
Biography: Brenda was raised in northern Nevada and spent most of those formative years’ horseback. Brenda has been the Executive Director of High Desert Partnership since 2015 and her interest in collaborative work started years ago when she trained in facilitation while teaching agriculture courses at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. She has had various professional experiences that range from starting her own business of an intensive market farm using the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) model marketing vegetables and cut flowers, to conducting agricultural research, to starting a university on-farm internship program, to developing outreach products for land managers. These experiences have led her to better understand the complexities of working in partnerships.
Education: Current Student – Economics
Occupation: Property Manager, Indigo Real Estate Services
Biography:Ana was born and raised in Irrigon, Oregon, and graduated High School in 2022. She arrived at EOU that same fall and quickly sought ways to get involved on campus. She was selected to serve as the ASEOU Director for Political Affairs, and in her term, she facilitated the revitalization of EOU’s MountainQueers club.
Unfortunately, life took Ana away from the La Grande campus and she now resides in Bellingham, Washington. Converting to a remote student, Ana has had the opportunity to experience first-hand the complications that being a long-distance learner brings.
Outside of her studies, Ana is a property manager for Indigo Real Estate Services. Her efforts support primarily low-income individuals in finding and maintaining stable housing.
In her free time, you can find Ana on a local tennis court, enjoying a hike, or soaking in the sporadic PNW sunshine.
Education: Harvard University, AB, 1964; Tufts University School of Medicine, MD, 1968; Dartmouth Medical School Orthopedic Residency, 1975.
Occupation: Retired orthopedic surgeon.
Biography: Brad established his orthopedic surgery practice in La Grande in 1975 and was the team physician for EOU, helping teach courses on athletic injuries. In 1993 he was named Medical Director of the United State Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid, New York. He returned to Eastern Oregon in 2007 and settled in Wallowa County, where he practiced until 2014. He has served as Secretary to the EOU Foundation Board of Directors for the past two years and is the Chair of Wallowa Resources, a nonprofit dedicated to sustaining the working landscape in Wallowa County.
Education: Eastern Oregon University, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Leadership, Organization and Management
Occupation: Regional Center Director of EOU Hermiston/Pendleton; Military and Veteran Student Success Coordinator
Biography: Kerry was born in Baker City, Oregon and graduated from Echo High School in Echo, Oregon. He served in the U.S. Army for over 21 years, retiring in 2008. Kerry completed his Bachelor’s degree in 2013 and has worked for Eastern Oregon University ever since. He is a strong advocate for regional online students, and continuously works to grow EOU’s military student population and to make EOU a military friendly institution.
Education: University of California, Berkeley Master of Arts in Zoology; University of Parma (Italy) Doctoral Degree in Natural Sciences.
Occupation: Field Coordinator with The Ford Family Foundation (TFFF); Owner/Manager of the Eccoci Ranch in Union County.
Biography: Maurizio was born and raised in Italy and arrived in the US with a post-doctoral position at UC Berkeley. He taught Cultural Tourism at the University of Verona (Italy) and worked as an Instructor in the Biology Department at EOU for several years. In his current job as Field Coordinator with TFFF, Maurizio supports community building efforts in many rural communities across Eastern Oregon. He is also actively involved in a long-term forest stewardship plan on his own land for which he received the Forest Steward Award for Union County 2019 and is a nominee for the Oregon Tree Farmer Award for 2020.
Board of Trustees Office of the President Eastern Oregon University One University Boulevard Library 209 La Grande, OR 97850
Phone: 541-962-3740 Fax: 541-962-3113 E-mail: board@eou.edu