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Gerstman Chosen As Vice President at Highline

Home/News/Gerstman Chosen As Vice President at Highline
2018-09-24T14:29:00+00:00 September 17, 2018|News|
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Gerstman Chosen As Vice President at Highline

  • Photo of Josh Gerstman

Josh Gerstman has been named vice president at Highline College. He will oversee the college’s Institutional Advancement division.

The division handles the college’s marketing, communications, alumni relations, outreach and grant procurement efforts. Gerstman will also be in charge of the Highline College Foundation.

For the past 19 years, he has worked for the Green River College Foundation, most recently as director of philanthropy.

Gerstman brings to Highline more than 26 years of experience strengthening organizations and communities through relationship building and fundraising leadership.

“Josh is a talented individual. He is deeply passionate about student success, equity and the power of higher education,” says Dr. John Mosby, president of Highline College. “I believe that we found the perfect next vice president to lead Institutional Advancement.”

Gerstman has led private fundraising efforts raising more than $600,000 and overseeing a scholarship program awarding over $500,000 to students. He provided leadership and vision to programs within the Green River College Foundation, including the Veterans Educational Transition Fund, Faculty Excellence Endowment Grant Program and staff and faculty recognition programs.

His campus commitment was also evident as a founding member of the Green River Diversity and Equity Council and the Green River College Council, providing leadership and input for the college’s participatory governance structure.

“I’m proud of my time at Green River College. I value the role our colleges play in the community and I’m excited for the opportunity to be part of Highline and Dr. Mosby’s leadership team,” says Gerstman.

Gerstman will serve as one of Highline’s four vice presidents. His appointment fills the vacancy left by Dr. Lisa Skari, who joined Mt. Hood Community College as president in July 2018.

A resident of Covington, Gerstman has been actively involved in the South King County community for more than two decades. He volunteers with Kent Rotary, Kent public schools, and the King County Search Dogs/King County Search and Rescue, just to name a few.

Gerstman has a master’s degree in education from Wayne State University, Detroit, and a bachelor’s degree in political science and history from the University of Michigan.

His first day at Highline will be Tuesday, October 16.

Learn More About Gerstman

Hear from Josh Gerstman on how his early career experiences influenced how he ended up at Highline today:

Out of college in Michigan, I worked for Boys and Girls Clubs of Southeast Michigan in metro Detroit. It was my first real experience confronting privilege and where I had my first real in-depth experience with community colleges. Working with those youth and how hard they were working to get a foothold on an educational path made me want to find ways to create a smoother path to education. My first job in Washington state was working for Puget Sound Blood Center (now Bloodworks Northwest) organizing blood drives throughout South King County, including Highline and Green River. It was my time on these campuses that I realized there were opportunities to work on campus and put my community building skills to use to create those paths to education. That all came together in the opportunity to work at Green River, and now at Highline.