Governor Bob Ferguson has appointed Tonja Myers, the executive director of Christian Health Center in Lynden, to the Whatcom Community College Board of Trustees. Myers will fill a seat that has been vacant since March, when trustee Rebecca Johnson died following a brief battle with gallbladder cancer. Johnson had served on the board for nearly a decade and had chaired it at various points during her tenure, leaving behind a record of sustained engagement with the college's mission and governance.
Myers brings a background deeply rooted in Whatcom County's health care and workforce development landscape. In addition to her role at Christian Health Center, she has served on the Northwest Workforce Council Board for 15 years, including as its chair. That combination of health care administration and workforce policy experience positions her to contribute immediately to one of the college's core missions: preparing students for meaningful employment in the regional economy.
Who Tonja Myers Is
Christian Health Center is a federally qualified health center based in Lynden that serves patients across Whatcom County, including many who are uninsured or underinsured. Federally qualified health centers operate under a specific federal designation that requires them to serve all patients regardless of ability to pay and to meet defined quality and governance standards in exchange for enhanced Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement. As executive director, Myers oversees an organization that sits at the intersection of health care access, community need, and workforce development, since health centers like hers also train and employ medical professionals at various stages of their careers, from front-desk staff to clinical practitioners who may have come through community college training programs.
Her 15 years on the Northwest Workforce Council Board, a regional body that coordinates job training and employment programs across Whatcom, Skagit, and other northwest Washington counties, gives her direct experience with exactly the kind of education-to-employment pipeline that Whatcom Community College is designed to support. The college offers programs in health care, trades, technology, and business, many of which feed directly into jobs with local employers. Myers has spent a decade and a half on the organization that helps connect those educational outcomes to the labor market, giving her an unusually practical view of where that pipeline works well and where it needs strengthening.
"Many of the professionals who serve our region every day begin their careers at Whatcom Community College," Myers said in a statement provided by the Governor's office. "I am honored to have the opportunity to support the college's mission and help strengthen the partnerships between education and employers that prepare students for meaningful careers."
Board Chair Jeff Fairchild welcomed the appointment, noting that Myers' "deep understanding of healthcare, workforce development and community partnerships will be an invaluable asset as the college continues to expand educational opportunities, strengthen workforce pathways and serve the evolving needs of our region."
Filling Rebecca Johnson's Seat
Rebecca Johnson, who held the position Myers is now taking, died in March after what her obituary described as a brief battle with gallbladder cancer. Johnson had served on the Whatcom Community College Board of Trustees for nearly a decade and brought a background in health center management consulting to her oversight role. The board passed a resolution honoring her life and service in April, describing her as a "valued member of the board whose leadership, wisdom and commitment greatly enriched the college." Johnson had served as both chair and vice-chair during her tenure, meaning her absence left the board without the institutional knowledge and leadership experience she had accumulated over years of consistent engagement.
Gubernatorial appointments to community college boards of trustees are made under state law, with the governor selecting from candidates who meet eligibility requirements and, typically, who reflect the communities served by the institution. Myers, based in Lynden, represents the agricultural and smaller-city communities of northern Whatcom County that send students to WCC alongside residents of Bellingham and other urban areas of the county. Northern Whatcom County has a distinct economic profile centered on agriculture, dairy farming, and small business, and having a trustee with deep roots in that community ensures that the college's programming and partnerships remain responsive to the workforce needs of the entire county, not just its urban center.
What the Board Does and Why It Matters
The Board of Trustees is the governing body of Whatcom Community College, which serves thousands of students each year at its Bellingham campus and through online and community programs. The board sets strategic direction, approves institutional policy, oversees the college president, and monitors progress toward the college's stated mission of advancing student success and meeting the educational and workforce needs of Whatcom County. In practice, that means trustees weigh in on decisions ranging from budget priorities and tuition policy to the launch of new certificate programs and the renewal of employer partnership agreements.
Community college boards in Washington operate under authority granted by the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges and are accountable both to the governor who appoints them and to the communities they serve. Trustees serve without pay and are expected to bring community perspective and professional expertise to decisions about curriculum, budgets, facilities, and long-term planning. The volunteer nature of the role means that the quality of a board depends entirely on the knowledge, commitment, and judgment of the individuals who serve on it, making appointments like this one consequential for the institution's direction.
Myers is expected to be confirmed in her role and begin participating in board meetings in the coming weeks. Whatcom Community College board meetings are open to the public and typically held at the Bellingham campus. For information on upcoming meeting dates and agendas, visit the WCC governance page.
