New Chair Leads YWCA Minneapolis Board

YWCA Minneapolis announces a new chair was elected in June and is leading the Board of Directors as of July 1, 2017. Board Chairs serve a two-year term and work to implement the organizational strategic plan and advance the YWCA Minneapolis mission to eliminate racism, empower women and girls and promote peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all.

New Board Chair at the YWCA of Minneapolis is:

M. Valeriana Moeller, Ph.D. - Former College President

Dr. Valeriana Moeller served as president for 14 years at Columbus State Community College in Ohio, a two-year urban college with an enrollment of more than 28,000 students. Before retiring in June 2010, she was committed to the mission of the comprehensive community college and promoted that mission through her leadership and vision at the college, and was instrumental in developing new programs to help address the community’s need for a trained workforce.Among her initiatives were the new Community Education/Workforce Development Division, an innovative welfare-to-work program, and the creation of the Internet-based Global Campus distance learning program, the Leadership Institute, and the development of a new campus in Delaware County.Prior to her service at Columbus State, Moeller was Executive Vice President and Provost of Lansing Community College in Lansing, Michigan. She has three decades of leadership experience at colleges in Michigan, Minneapolis and Ohio.Dr. Moeller is the immediate past president of the Board of Trustees of the Columbus Medical Association Foundation; she served on the board of directors of COSI, Capitol South, Columbus Downtown Development Corporation and Fifth Third Bank Central Ohio. She served as a member of the board of the American Council on Education.Currently, she mentors and coaches in the American Council on Education (ACE) fellows program. She also consults on leadership issues in Higher Education, including board roles and responsibilities, policy development and coaching senior staff; and serves on the Minneapolis Community and Technical College Foundation Board of Directors.Born in India, Dr. Moeller was raised in Portugal, where she began her career as a high school chemistry teacher. She holds bachelors and master’s degrees from the University of Lisbon (Portugal), and masters and doctoral degrees from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.Editor’s Note: Photos of the Board Chair are available upon request. Please contact Emily O’Gara at 612-215-4164 or eogara@ywcampls.org.

About YWCA Minneapolis

YWCA Minneapolis is a nonprofit organization striving to eliminate racism, empower women and girls and promote peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all. YWCA annually serves 30,000 people through five areas of focus: Health and Wellness, Girls and Youth, Racial Justice, Public Policy and Early Childhood Education. For more information about YWCA Minneapolis, visit www.ywcampls.org.

Media Contact

Emily O’GaraYWCA Minneapolis612-215-4164eogara@ywcampls.org

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