Celia Núñez, Deputy director of the HECC Office of Community Colleges and Workforce Development
Newberg, OR
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Serves through June 30, 2026
Academic Quality - Student Success and
Executive Committee Member
Celia Núñez is a former locally elected and appointed official, community college senior level administrator, policy advisor, and a self-proclaimed proud Latina executive. She currently serves as deputy director of the HECC Office of Community Colleges and Workforce Development (CCWD). In this role, she will work closely with CCWD director Donna Lewelling to lead state strategic policy and funding coordination for Oregon’s locally-governed community colleges, adult basic skills and high school equivalency providers, career and technical education partners, and more. Núñez has held a variety of significant leadership positions in the private sector and state government, and has a long legacy of promoting economic development and equality for historically and currently underserved and under-resourced communities.
Before joining HECC, she served as the executive director of the Chemeketa Center for Business and Industry and in numerous other leadership roles, including service for many years as a city councilor with the City of Wilsonville and city council president. Núñez served as a member of the Board of Trustees for Oregon Tech from 2015-2019 and as a member of the Oregon Community Foundation’s Northern Willamette Valley Advisory Council. She earned her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Business Administration from George Fox University, and is a graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School Executive Program as well as other leadership programs.