Our Board

In February 1993, Halene Sigmund joined Construction Industry Training Council (CITC) as executive assistant. Currently she holds the position of Vice President - Apprenticeship. In July of 2010 Halene will become CITC's President. She has been directly involved with the management of CITC's growth, ensuring that the systems and company operations align with the mission of CITC and the vision of the Board of Trustees. Currently, Halene is responsible for CITC's apprenticeship programs. These duties include ensuring compliance with the rules and regulations of each set of apprenticeship standards approved under the Washington Administrative Codes (WACs) and the Revised Code of Washington (RCWs). Halene also ensures that consistency in policy making and the interpretation of CITC's seven standards of apprenticeship is adhered to between seven craft specific apprenticeship committees.

Halene was born in San Francisco and grew up in Southeast Asia. She has traveled extensively through Asia and Europe. She believes that it is through education that diversity is understood and where individuals are given options and access to opportunities that they may not have otherwise had.

Halene earned her B.A. in Art History from San Jose State University. She received her MBA in 2005 and is a certified by SHRM as a Professional in Human Resources.

Kim Ierien has held the position of Campus President with Concorde Career College, Portland, Oregon, since September 2009, where her responsibilities include ensuring student and employer satisfaction, human resources, and maintaining compliance with federal, state and accreditation requirements. Prior to being named Campus President, Kim was Director of Career Services for four years and Academic Dean for 10 years. She holds a B.S. in Human Development and an AAS in Radiology Technology.

Nancy Gale has served as Nancy Gale has served as Treasurer and Administrator for Technology Learning Group, Inc. dba TLG Learning since 1996. Prior to working with TLG Learning Nancy was the Executive Director for Options Healthcare and the Accounting Director for Group Health Cooperative. Nancy currently serves on the Private Career School Advisory Committee and also serves on other community boards.

Nancy has a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from the University of Washington. She is married and has a teenage son.

Bill King has a career in education, starting in 1970 as a high school teacher and coach in Hayward, California. In 1978, he decided to leave public education and became an admissions representative at Heald College in Oakland, California. Bill served in varying positions in admissions until being named Director of Heald College, Hayward, California in 1986. He has been a director in many educational organizations since that date, serving most recently as Director of ITT Technical Institute, Spokane, since 1997.

Barb DeHaan graduated from the University of Idaho with a Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences with a minor in Psychology. She was an instructor at ITT Technical Institute in Boise, Idaho, for 21 years, developing and teaching classes in the medical secretarial/transcriptionist program as well as business office procedures and business communications. When the medical program was discontinued in 1995, Barb continued to teach writing classes for the associate degree programs along with social communications. A new opportunity as campus director presented itself in 2001 when Milan Institute (originally Academy of Professional Careers) opened in Boise offering classes in allied health. Within a few years an additional satellite campus was opened in Nampa, Idaho, which Barb oversaw as well. In 2010 Broadview University, formerly Utah Career College, expanded to Meridian, Idaho. Barb was offered and accepted the director position.

She has worked with and supported the Northwest Career Colleges Federation while employed both at Milan Institute and Broadview University and realizes the direct impact and influence the Federation has on the private schools of Idaho, Oregon and Washington.

Theresa Taggart is a Senior Account Manager with McGraw-Hill Higher Education's Career College Group working with the career colleges in Northern California, Oregon and Washington.

She has been with McGraw-Hill for 14 years and has over twenty years experience in education, publishing and technology.

Theresa lives in Santa Clara, California with her husband Jim, son Chris, 16, and daughter Katie, 13.

Ms. Mary Lyn Hammer's belief that education is the vehicle for making dreams come true has led her in a passionate fight, that began in 1987, for identifying problems in the higher education industry and finding solutions to insure future participation for all students. Her innovative "Hands On" Default Management Program is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education for its remarkable results. Ms. Hammer is the Owner, Founder, President and CEO of Champion College Solutions, an international company offering default prevention, job placement verification, skip tracing, education debt recovery, and consulting services.

Ms. Hammer has actively worked with the U.S. Congress and the U.S. Department of Education since 1988. Her many recognized accomplishments include, most recently, the 2005 CCA National Achievement Award for the Allied Member of the Year. She has numerous elections to the Board of Directors and currently serves with Career College Association (CCA), the Northwest Career Colleges Federation (NWCCF) and is the Chairwoman of the Board for the HEAL Coalition (Higher Education Allied Health Leaders Coalition).

Tara Algeo is a Senior Career Account Manager with Pearson Learning Solutions working with career Colleges across the country, including schools in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.

She has been with Pearson for eleven years and has a B.S. in Hearing and Speech Science from Ohio University. Tara lives in Columbus, Ohio with her fiance Trent and their three cats.