Agenda - 03-21-2017-11-b - Arts Commission – Appointments

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16 Page 2 of 4 Andrea Riley Durham Technical Community College Board of Trustees Background, education and experience relevant to this board: Without the opportunity to enroll at Monroe Community College, an open admission community college, and without my successful experience in a broad range of transferable liberal arts courses there(following several unsuccessful attempts at college before that) I would never have developed the confidence that I needed in order to attempt to enroll at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I owe my ultimate success in obtaining my undergraduate degree from UNC-CH, in my mid-forties, to my access to the open admission community college and to the chance that it gave me to gradually grow in confidence and focus. I enjoy reading about, analyzing,writing about, and making public presentations regarding public issues. As a volunteer member of a consumers' mental health committee, I advocated for the removal of the stigma involved in the consumption of mental health services. As an American Red Cross blood recruiter, I persuaded community and business groups in Rochester, New York, to participate in the Red Cross blood program. As the Durham County Library Staff Liaison to the Friends of the Durham Library, Inc. (the volunteer board that raises money to support many of the library's programs) I communicated information among the Friends Executive Board, library administration, staff, and the public. I assisted the Friends by clarifying the grant requests of the library staff members, and administering the Friends grants award process. My experience as a volunteer member of the Orange County Cultural Center Board (as volunteer Liaison from the Orange County Arts Commission)exposed me to the workings of the Board of Orange County Commissioners. I found that I was fascinated by the political process that I witnessed, and enjoyed getting to know and being involved with many of Orange County's citizens. I worked with other members of the board to raise awareness in the community of the need for a cultural arts center in northern Orange County. My membership on the Orange County Arts Commission has given me the opportunity to participate in evaluating arts grant applications. Reasons for wanting to serve on this board: I believe my experience attending a community college and then transferring to UNC-CH gives me the perspective of many of the students who want to attend Durham Technical Community College. I can speak from personal experience of the anxieties and triumphs of this process. I value the great education that I received at Monroe Community College and would like to see more students take advantage of the opportunity to attend a community college before transferring to a four-year institution. I have a broad liberal arts education and a great variety of work experiences which allow me to relate to students looking for different opportunities provided for by an education. I have worked in higher education-at both Duke University and UNC-CH, and understand the differences and similarities between community colleges and four-year institutions. I have lived in Orange County for thirty five years, work at the Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau, and know and care about the community. I believe that there are many ways in which a community college can contribute to the community it serves that have not even been imagined yet: to prepare students for the rapidly changing job markets of the future; to create partnerships intended to grow our communities in healthy and productive ways; and to make our communities richer and more satisfying places to live and work. Conflict of Interest: Supplemental Questions: