Candidate Bios
Dean, Student Life and Development
Christopher Bell
Christopher Bell is currently the Interim Dean of Student Life and Development at Edmonds Community College. Before undertaking this position, he served as the College’s Director of Reporting and Records. Mr. Bell also served for sixteen years as a member of the history faculty at the college, teaching courses in American, World and East Asian History. As a member of the faculty, he acted as the College’s Arts and Culture Faculty Liaison for 2008 until 2012. His work before coming to Edmonds Community College included a position as Program Coordinator for the Information Science Program at The Claremont Graduate University and a position as the Assistant Director of Admissions at the University of San Francisco. He is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Humanities grant, a Haynes Foundation Research grant, and a series of Edmonds Community College Arts and Culture grants. In 2002, he was named to Who’s Who Among American Teachers, and in 2010, he received the Edmonds Community College Foundation’s Excellence in Teaching Award. He holds a B.A from Wesleyan University, and an M.A in History and M.B.A from the Claremont Graduate University.
Dan Johnson
Dan Johnson is a native of Houston, Texas and Vietnam Era veteran first stationed in the Pacific Northwest in 1971. Dan completed his undergraduate education at Eastern Washington University before assuming the position of Assistant Director of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Center in southeast Spokane. Dan was initially employed in the Community and Technical Colleges system in 1979 and became a regular employee in the Spokane Falls Community College student life department in 1983. He served 17 years as Coordinator of Student Life before leaving to accept a position as Director of Student Life and Multicultural Services at Lower Columbia College. After 10 years at Lower Columbia, Dan enrolled in Concordia University where he received a Masters Degree in Educational Leadership and Administration. In his individual course introductions, Dan proclaimed “I intend to complete my educational career in upper level administration (Dean, Vice-President, or President) so that I can impact the decision making as it relates to student development, success, curriculum, and inclusive campus environments.” An assignment as Dean for Student Life and Development at Edmonds Community College would fulfill that goal. Dan “retired” after an assignment as Director of Student and Multicultural Programs at Olympic College and relocated to San Diego California. His desire to return to community college administration outweighed his passion for warm weather.