Brief Bios Candidates for Vice President for Administration and Finance Phyllis Carter, MBA, CPA Phyllis Carter is a seasoned executive with a professional legacy of dynamic leadership, strategic partnerships and life-long learning. She has guided education, nonprofit and for-profit organizations to greater financial health, efficiency and sustainability. She is a business advisor to college presidents, administrators, faculty, staff and students. She works collaboratively to eliminate organizational risk by leading teams in the implementation of comprehensive improvements to financial and operational management. She has a passion for serving and contributing to institutions which provide access, equity and social justice and which enable students to achieve their educational goals. During her extensive career with more than 25 years of experience, Phyllis served as the fiscal officer of several organizations and led innovations which transformed and modernized thinking, culture, systems and processes within all spectrums of administration and finance. In addition, she was an adjunct faculty member teaching general and financial accounting. Phyllis recently served as Chief Business Officer at Laney College in downtown Oakland, reporting to the President. Prior to this position, Phyllis was Chief Financial and Administrative Officer at Mathematical Sciences Research Institute(MSRI). She led administrative functions supporting the premier international math research organization funded primarily by the National Science Foundation, National Security Agency, academic sponsorships and philanthropic donations. Previously, Phyllis held executive and management level positions providing strategic advice to Board of Trustees and executive management at various public, private and non-profit organizations with annual revenue of $1 million to $2 billion. Phyllis earned a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Washington University Olin Business School, her CPA from the Kansas Board of Accountancy, and an Advanced Certificate in International Affairs from Washington University. She is a Fellow of the Executive Leadership Academy at the Center for Studies in Higher Education on the University of California Berkeley campus. In summary, Phyllis commitment to supporting educational institutions that transform lives is also evident in her civic engagement and global community involvement. Doug Dawes, CPA Mr. Douglas Dawes currently serves as Interim Vice President at Humboldt State University. Prior to serving at HSU Mr. Dawes held vice president positions at Stanislaus State University in Turlock, California, and at Valley City State University in Valley City, North Dakota, totaling more than five years of executive leadership in higher education. His higher education experience began at Utah State University in 2006 where he served as the Business Services Director and Manager of Facilities for six years. Prior to serving in senior leadership roles within higher education, Mr. Dawes served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Buena Vista Homes in Phoenix, Arizona; Controller at Nordic Energy in Ann Arbor, Michigan; and various Financial Analyst positions at Ford Motor Company in Edison, New Jersey and Dearborn, Michigan. Mr. Dawes holds Bachelors and Master degrees in Accounting from Brigham Young University and is a Certified Public Accountant.
Mark Alan Denney, MBA Mark has a 34 year professional career in finance, operations and senior leadership positions. Most recently, he has served 16 years in education in a wide variety of financial and senior management positions. He is currently the Associate Vice President of Budgets and Planning at Southern Oregon University. Prior to that, he was the Senior Budget Analyst at Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham Oregon. He also spent 10 years in K 12 Education, successfully serving as the Chief Business Officer, Accounting Manager and Controller at Modesto City Schools and Salida Union School District, both in California. In addition to his time in Education, Mark has held positions of business analyst, plant accountant and plant controller for International Paper, starting on the Oregon Coast at a paper mill, and relocating to first Southern California and then Northern California for promotions. Mark began his professional career as a Financial Management Officer in the United States Marine Corps, serving a total of 25 years before retiring as a Lt. Col in 2005, with 13 years active duty and 12 years reserve. Mark earned a BS in Financial Management and Control from Oregon State University and an MBA from Portland State University. Mark also has extensive professional development training from the Marine Corps including Financial Management Officer s Course, and the Marine Officer Comptroller s course at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey CA as well as Amphibious Warfare School and Command and Staff College, both year long professional development programs.