Foundation Board of Directors

The Foundation Board of Directors are dedicated to increasing private support for Whatcom Community College. They are local people involved in the community, donating their professional expertise and time to make higher education more accessible for Whatcom students.

Cheryl Thornton
Chair
About Cheryl

Bruce Burpee
Treasurer
About Bruce

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Bob Carmichael
Vice Chair
About Bob

TimDouglas
Tim Douglas
Secretary
About Tim

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Teresa Taylor
Trustee Representative

Dr. Justin Guillory
College President
About President Justin

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Brad Tuininga
Executive Director, WCC Foundation
About Brad

Stacy Carroll
Stacey Carroll
About Stacey

BevJacobs
Beverly (Bev) Jacobs
About Bev

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Shawn Kemp
About Shawn

AllenPemberton
Allen Pemberton
About Allen

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Saran Poovarodom
About Saran

About Us

Cheryl Thornton, Chair

Bruce Burpee, Treasurer

Bob Carmichael, Vice Chair

Tim Douglas, Secretary

Dr. Justin Guillory, College President

Dr. Guillory has over 20 years of experience in higher education, 18 of which include serving in various capacities at Northwest Indian College (NWIC), including 12 years as the president. Additional experience includes serving as a graduate assistant/mentor program coordinator within the Office of Multicultural Student Services at Washington State University (WSU).
At NWIC Dr. Guillory’s tenure includes leading collaborative efforts such as the development and completion of a strategic plan, accreditation reaffirmations in 2017 and 2024, and enhanced degree program options including distance learning, new facilities and campus improvements, and student success initiatives.

Dr. Guillory has served on the Boards of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium, the American Indian College Fund, and the Washington Governors University Advisory Board. His scholarly activities and service contributions include book chapter publications and being a peer reviewer for the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities.

Dr. Guillory has a PhD in higher education administration, a master’s degree from WSU, and a bachelor’s degree from Eastern Washington University. He is a direct descendant of the Nez Perce Tribe of Idaho and has African American and Hispanic ancestry. Dr. Guillory and his wife, Sunny, have two sons and two daughters and have lived in Whatcom County since 2007.

Brad Tuininga

Brad brings extensive experience in organizational leadership, advancement, fundraising, and relationship‑building, grounded in a deep commitment to mission‑driven philanthropy. With more than 15 years in Washington’s Community and Technical College System, he most recently spent eight and a half years with the Skagit Valley College (SVC) Foundation. During that time, he served primarily as Executive Director, leading three major campaigns and significantly strengthening donor engagement and community support.

Brad also brings extensive board leadership experience. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for North Cascades Institute, where he recently completed a three‑year term as board chair. His previous board service includes the Association of Fundraising Professionals Advancement Northwest, the Northwest Washington Estate Planning Council, and the Society for Wilderness Stewardship.

Brad holds a Master of Education in nonprofit administration and leadership and a Bachelor of Arts in Resource Management and Sustainability from Western Washington University.

Outside of work, he enjoys spending time outdoors with his wife, Jenny, and their daughters, Campbell and Elise.

Stacey Carroll

Stacey is a licensed real estate broker with Muljat Group and a small business owner (HR Experts On-call). She also loves teaching others about the power of investing in real estate through her company, Create Freedom RE. Stacey originally moved to Whatcom County in 1993 to attend Western Washington University. She earned her BA (‘97) and her MBA (’08) from Western. She currently lives in Blaine with her husband, Thomas, and two rescue pups, Hops & Barley. Stacey and Thomas love to travel and enjoy meeting new people. They spent time living on Oahu in Hawaii and spent a year traveling the western US in their RV. Stacey is passionate about her support of students through the Foundation Board and is looking for opportunities to help students with housing and food insecurity. As a student who struggled with these concerns, she knows how difficult it can be for students.

Beverly Jacobs

Beverly Jacobs (she/her) came to Bellingham in 2003 to be closer to her two daughters. One is a family practice doctor from Dartmouth Medical and the other is a PhD clinical psychologist in Fairhaven. Between them, Beverly has five grandsons.

Beverly is from the Hawaiian islands, went to Punahou, Vanderbilt, Stanford and did graduate work at Emory University and Georgia State. She spent thirty-three years in Special Education administration for high I.Q. programs in the metropolitan school systems of Atlanta, Georgia.

Beverly has been a volunteer with the ESL program under Sophia Shang to help Whatcom Community College students speak English. At most she has had 17 students in one season. She has been on the board for the Cordata Neighborhood Association for 14 years. She is currently advocating for a library in the Cordata neighborhood and works with city planners on that endeavor.

Shawn Kemp

Allen Pemberton

Allen Pemberton, is a retired Information management consultant who lives and has worked in the Whatcom/Bellingham area for 30+ years. His client list includes the municipalities of Bellingham, Lynden and Ferndale, plus many large and small businesses in the Whatcom County area.

Allen has been a resident of Bellingham off and on since 1966 and is married to Melissa Knutson a third generation Whatcom County native. They have been married for 55 years and have 5 children. He attended Western Washington College (University) and graduated in 1972. After graduation Allen worked for four Fortune 500 companies, progressing from Management Trainee to Director, Information Services.

Over his consulting and corporate career, Allen has worked in a variety of industries including, food processing, transportation and consumer products. Over his 30+ years, Allen has participated in a wide variety of organization boards, holding several positions and is a founding member or the Technology Alliance Group (TAG).

Saran Poovarodom