Meet our board of Education Continued Duke Shepard, Mt. Hood Community College Board of Education vice-chair, has had a long list of careers and experiences, which have led him to where he is now. Shepard, elected in 2003, serves for district zone 3. Raised in Lebanon, Ore., Shepard attended the University of Oregon in 1990, obtaining a bachelor’s degree in political science. In 1996, he moved to Portland. Following his time at U of O, Shepard began a career in politics. In 1994, he worked for the first campaign of Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber. In 1996, while working in the Legislature, Shepard ran a statewide campaign to raise Oregon’s minimum wage. From 1997-1998, he worked for the Oregon Nurses Association. From 1998-2002, Shepard worked on economic development and workforce, where he came to be involved with Mt. Hood Community College. In 2002, he began work in the county chair’s office. “Those were the two most miserable years of my life,” he said. During that time, Shepard was one of the negotiators that brought Microchip to Gresham, after Fujitsu left. “I wrote and negotiated most of their hiring agreement,” he said. In 2004, Shepard managed Peter DeFazio’s campaign. Shepard then began working at the Portland Business Alliance in 2005. There, he organized and developed business led regional economic development strategies for the Portland Metropolitan area. Shepard now works for the Oregon American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), where he currently serves as the political director. According to Shepard, education is very important to him. “[Education] is the single biggest opportunity for people to live the lives they want,” he said. “Your future economic opportunity and stability is tied to your educational opportunities.” According to Shepard, his role as a student activist in college led him to a future involved with education. “I was in the university system, but issues of afford ability and access apply just as much to the community college system,” Shepard said, “Particularly as community colleges are playing a bigger and bigger role.” Shepard became associated with the MHCCD board in 2002, while working on the last bond campaign. “I had never even thought of working on the board,” he said. “I just cared about the college. Yet, near the end of the campaign, Ralph Yates talked to me about running. Some time passed and I did.” Yates currently serves as chair of the MHCCD board. Looking to the future, Shepard looks forward to the rest of his time on the board. “We need to continue being innovative,” he said. “We need to work together.”
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