Dr. Bernal C. Baca, Board Liasion
Yakima, Governor Appointed,
through January 2009
Appointed by Governor Gregoire, Dr. Baca has over 30 years experience as a counselor, teacher and administrator at both two and four year colleges. He has been at his current position as Faculty Director of the Office of Recruitment and Retention for seven of the 30 years he has been employed by Yakima Valley Community College. Dr. Baca coordinates Title V, Gear Up, Title II and FIPSE grants and is responsible for research, evaluation and training of a $11.5 million dollar U.S. Department of Education Project GEAR UP partnership grant. Dr. Baca assumed a leadership role in securing HSI (Hispanic Serving Institution) designation for Yakima Valley Community College.
Dr. Baca is Vice President of the Washington Federation of Teachers serving as the Human Rights Chair; and, both President and Chief Negotiator for the Yakima Valley Federation of Teachers. He is past President of the Association for Multicultural Counseling and Development (AMCD) and immediate Past President for the Washington Counseling Association. Dr. Baca serves on the Board of Directors for EPIC (Enterprise for Progress In the Community), a community non-profit organization.
He served an appointment to the Governor’s Affirmative Action Policy Committee for Washington State and is a member of the Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction ‘Think Tank’ for educating Hispanic students. Dr. Baca has conducted research studies on community college student retention. He is currently an appointed member of the Washington Learns. As a co-founder of ‘The Washington Center for Research, Evaluation and Development of K-14 Comprehensive Counseling Programs’ (RED Team), he has led the momentum to coordinate research and planning of K-14 comprehensive counseling and career development programs in the State of Washington.
Dr. Baca has published articles for local journals and co-authored successful grant applications for Title V, Upward Bound, Special Services, FIPSE, and Project GEAR UP. Dr. Baca has read grants for the past 15 years for the U.S. Department of Education. He is a certified ‘True Colors’ facilitator and a ‘National Standards’ trainer for the American School Counselor Association. Dr. Baca earned a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Seattle University, 1999. In addition, he holds Masters degrees in Public Administration (Washington State University, 1981) and Counseling (Seattle University, 1987) as well as a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science (University of Colorado, 1975).
