Christine Johnson, PhD
Chancellor - Community Colleges of Spokane
Community Colleges of Spokane (CCS) Chancellor Christine Johnson is charged with leading a complex district that spans six counties over a 12,300 square mile area. It includes Spokane Falls Community College and Spokane Community College, as well as rural learning centers, Head Start/Early Learning centers and more than 2,300 employees.
Dr. Johnson serves on the Washington STEM Board of Directors and is a Washington STEM Alliance governor’s appointee. She is on the Greater Spokane Inc. (GSI) Executive Committee, Gonzaga University Board of Trustees, Eastern Washington University Advisory Council and Washington State University Medical School President’s Advisory Council.
At the national level, Dr. Johnson’s service includes the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) Board of Directors, Achieving the Dream (AtD), Viridis Educational Advisory Council, Western Governors University Academic Affairs Council, Completion Arch Presidents’ Advisory Council, American Association of Community College’s 21st Century Commission on the Future of Community Colleges and 21st Century Initiative – Implementation Team: Community College/K-12 Collaboration for College Readiness and CAEL.
Dr. Johnson has built strong business partnerships as STEM co-chair for Greater Spokane Incorporated (GSI), as a member of the Governor’s State of Washington STEM Innovation Alliance, the cochairperson of AirSpokane.
Prior to joining CCS in 2010, Dr. Johnson’s career included more than 30 years of teaching, administration, leadership and policy development. Beginning as a high school teacher, she went on to be a nationally recognized urban high school principal, the executive director of K-12 education for Littleton Public Schools, CO., and was recognized as Colorado Principal of the Year in 1986. She was the director of urban initiatives for the Education Commission of the States and special assistant to the provost at University of Colorado Denver, chief academic officer for Colorado Community College System and president of Community College of Denver.
Dr. Johnson earned a doctorate in educational administration and supervision and master’s degree in curriculum administration from the University of Colorado Boulder, and bachelor’s in secondary education from New Mexico State University, Las Cruces.