Gateway to College National Network

Martha Lamkin, JD, Chair

Founder and Former CEO, Lumina Foundation for Education

Martha Lamkin served as the founding president, CEO and member of the board of directors of Lumina Foundation for Education, Inc. from 2000-2007. Ms. Lamkin helped develop the concept of Lumina Foundation while serving as executive vice president of USA Group, Inc., which she joined in 1991 and on whose board she served. She previously served as president of the Cummins Engine Foundation, executive director of corporate responsibility and government affairs of Cummins, and manager for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Indiana office.

In addition to chairing the Gateway to College National Network, Ms. Lamkin chairs the Indiana Symphony Society board of directors. She was appointed to the board of the Indiana Education Savings Authority by Governor Mitch Daniels and is a member of the Boards of Directors of Christel House International, Inc.; Ivy Tech Community College Central Indiana Region Advisory Board; and Tourism Tomorrow, Inc. (TTI), the 501c3 subsidiary of the Indianapolis Convention and Visitors Association (ICVA), chairing its Music Crossroads Initiative.

After 22 years of service on the board of directors of Citizens Energy Group, a charitable trust which operates utilities serving residents of the Indianapolis area, Ms. Lamkin retired as its chair in 2012. In a career of dedicated service to the public good, Ms. Lamkin served as a trustee of a wide array number of corporate, non-profit and higher education boards and is a member of The Indiana Academy. Ms. Lamkin holds a BA in English & American Literature from California Baptist University, a MA in English & American Literature from Vanderbilt University and a law degree from the Robert H. McKinney School of Law at Indiana University-Indianapolis.

Jacquelyn Belcher, JD, Vice Chair

President, Options Unlimited, LLC

President Emeritus, Georgia Perimeter College

Jacquelyn Belcher is an educational career coach, a facilitator of the Distributive Leadership Institute for Options Unlimited, LLC, a facilitator for the American Council on Education's Fellows' program, and a curriculum designer and faculty for Kaleidoscope Leadership Institute. Dr. Belcher also consults with community colleges in New England and the Pacific Northwest to support student retention and graduation rates, particularly for low-income students and students of color, with Achieving the Dream.

Dr. Belcher served as president of Georgia Perimeter College in Atlanta for 10 years. She has also served as president of the former Minneapolis Community College in Minnesota prior to the merger of the technical and community colleges in Minnesota. Dr. Belcher also served on the faculty and administration at Bellevue Community College in Washington State and Lane Community College in Oregon.

Dr. Belcher holds a law degree from Seattle University, a MA in psychological nursing and psychology including post master's work in business from the University of Washington, and a BS in Nursing from the former Marymount College in Salina, Kansas. Dr. Belcher is an alumna of Harvard University's Graduate School of Education's Institute for Management of Lifelong Education, the League for Innovation in the Community College's Executive Leadership Institute, and Staub Leadership Consultants' HILS (Helping Individuals Lead Successfully) Program. Dr. Belcher is a Personal Strengths' Qualified and Certified Relationships Awareness Facilitator.

Jim Harper, Secretary

Trustee, Portland Community College

Jim Harper is a founding board member of the Gateway to College National Network and has distinguished career in business and service to workforce education, including 26 years of service on the Portland Community College Foundation Board and as a Trustee of Portland Community College, elected in 2005.

Mr. Harper is currently a realtor for RE/MAX Equity Group and has served on the Board of the Association of Community Colleges Trustees (ACCT). He is a past president of Oregon Community College Association and has served as Vice President of Administration for Morrison Child and Family Services in Portland, Executive Director for Arras Inc., Director of Human Resources at Wacker Siltronic Corp., and Division Manager for Tektronix, Inc. in Portland.

Mr. Harper was honored to receive the 2011 Pacific Region Trustee Leadership Award from the Association of Community College Trustees, a national organization based in Washington, D.C., and the Oregon Community College Association's Howard Cherry Award for Outstanding Community College Board Member, a state award. Mr. Harper is an active participant in a number of regional and statewide business and workforce development groups including the Oregon Governor's School Transformation Advisory Council. He holds a BA in education from Portland State University.

Andrew Dorsey, MBA, Treasurer

President, Front Range Community College

Andy Dorsey joined Front Range Community College (FRCC) in Colorado in 1993 at the Boulder campus and became college president in 2009. Before becoming president, he was an instructor and faculty member teaching psychology and economics, and was named Boulder County Master Teacher of the Year in 1999. Mr. Dorsey was also vice president of the Westminster Campus/North Metro Area and chief academic officer. He served as chair of the Arts and Communications department, associate dean of instruction and director of online learning, dean of instruction, and associate vice president for advancement.

Among his key accomplishments at FRCC is his launch of the Gateway to College program in 2008. Mr. Dorsey also helped create two other high school partnerships in Colorado and helped found the Adams County Education Consortium, a partnership between Adams County school districts, community organizations, community colleges, and the business community designed to teach skills in school that better prepare Adams County students for the workforce. Prior to his work with FRCC, Mr. Dorsey served as interim executive director of the YWCA of Boulder County. He has also been a legislative director for an Ohio congressman and worked in research and development in the recycling and energy field. 

Mr. Dorsey holds a BA in economics and an MBA from Harvard University. He also earned a MA in counseling psychology from Lesley College in Denver. In addition to serving as Treasurer for Gateway to College National Network, he serves on the boards of the Metro North Chamber of Commerce, the St. Anthony's Hospital and the Colorado Campus Compact.

Rob Denson, JD

President, Des Moines Area Community College

Rob Denson has served Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) as president since 2003. In addition to serving on the Gateway to College National Network board, he is a member of the National Leadership Council of Opportunity Nation. He is an active sponsor of STEM Connector, and serves on the Iowa Governor STEM Council Executive Committee. Prior to coming to DMACC, Mr. Denson served as president of Northeast Iowa Community College in Calmar, Iowa. He has also worked as Assistant Dean of Students for Iowa State University and the University of Florida.

Mr. Denson is a board certified civil attorney who specialized in education law and patent licensing while operating his own civil trial law practice for 16 years. He was an Associate University Attorney for the University of Florida and also served as Legal Counsel and Dean for Institutional Advancement at Santa Fe Community College in Gainesville, Florida.

Mr. Denson believes that life is all about opportunity and is proud to be the first native-born Iowan to serve as President of Des Moines Area Community College. Born on a farm in eastern Iowa, he attended a 1-room country school for his first 3 grades and drove a semi-truck to help pay his way through college. He was the first member of his family to complete college. Mr. Denson holds a BS in Political Science and Economics and a MA in Higher Education Administration from Iowa State University in addition to a law degree from the University of Florida.

Nan Poppe, EdD

President Emeritus, Portland Community College Extended Learning Campus

Nan Poppe has been dedicated to improving workforce education and expanding academic opportunities for underserved students. Dr. Poppe currently serves as a consultant specializing in workforce development, designing career pathways, and improving completion rates for community college students and serves as a coach for the Accelerating Opportunity National Initiative. In 2010 she retired from her post as campus president at Portland Community College (PCC) and held various positions there prior to that, including Dean of Adult and Continuing Education, Dean of Instruction, and District Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs.

After retiring from PCC, Nan worked with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to design the national initiative, Completion By Design. During the planning phase of the initiative she coordinated the technical assistance to the 21 participating colleges.

Dr. Poppe has served on a number of community-level and national boards of directors to advance the status of continuing education, workforce development, sectoral programs, and community-based intermediaries. She is highly regarded for her expertise in understanding and influencing local, state and federal public policy. As a sought-after education policy expert, she has presented on and written about a wide range of subjects from increasing literacy skills for low-income adults, to creating pre-college courses for students not ready for post-secondary coursework. Dr. Poppe holds a BA in Social Work from San Diego State University and a MSW from Fresno State University. She holds an EdD in Community College Leadership from Oregon State University.