EUGENE, Ore.–The Lane Community College Board of Education appointed Holli Johnson of west Eugene to the Zone 1 seat by unanimous vote at its March 3 special meeting. Johnson will fill the remainder of the term which ends June 30, 2021.
Johnson is the first African American woman to serve on Lane’s board. She said in her application, "As a woman of color living in a predominantly white community, it is my goal to represent all ethnic groups in an equitable and just fashion.”
Johnson has worked in education for 25 years. She currently coordinates the African American/Black Student Success Program for Lane ESD, serving 16 K-12 school districts in Lane County, since 2019. Before that she worked at the University of Oregon for 13 years in the Office of Student Financial Aid and Scholarships. She has previous board experience on the Oregon Association of Financial Aid Administrators. She is current chair for the Education Committee of the Eugene-Springfield NAACP and is the educational director at St. Mark CME Church in Eugene.
A community college graduate, Johnson holds a Master of Education in Adult Education and Higher Learning from Oregon State University; a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of Oregon; and an Associate of Arts in Sociology from San Diego City College.
The Zone 1, 3, 4 and 5 seats are up for election in the May 18, 2021 Lane County special election. The deadline for candidates to file is March 18. Members serve four-year terms.
Zone 1 represents western Lane County including west Eugene and Florence. The Zone 1 seat was vacated last month when former board member Melanie Muenzer stepped down to accept another position.
Lane Community College educates over 25,000 students annually at six locations across Lane County and online. Students and alumni from all 50 states and 79 countries create more than an $850 million dollar impact on the local economy, helping to support more than 13,000 local jobs. Lane provides affordable, quality, professional technical and college transfer programs; business development and employee training; academic, language and life skills development; and lifelong personal development and enrichment courses.