Gator News

Kauffman retires from Green River College Board of Trustees

By Philip Denman, February 27, 2018

After six years of service, Trustee Claudia Kauffman has retired from the Green River College Board of Trustees.

Green River College board members, administrators and faculty honored Kauffman at a Feb. 22 Board Meeting, praising her leadership and community involvement.

Photo of From left to right: Jackie Boschok (Trustee), Sharonne Navas (Vice-Chair), Claudia Kauffman (Trustee Emeritus),Tim Clark (Chair), Linda Cowan (Trustee)
From left to right: Jackie Boschok (Trustee), Sharonne Navas (Vice-Chair), Claudia Kauffman (Trustee Emeritus),Tim Clark (Chair), Linda Cowan (Trustee)

“Claudia served on the Green River College Board of Trustees for six years, from 2011 through 2017,” Tim Clark, Board Chair, said. “During that time she interviewed and hired Interim President, Scott Morgan, served on the presidential Search Advisory Committee (ex-officio) and subsequently hired Suzanne Johnson, President of Green River College. Claudia served as Chair in a capacity of honesty, compassion with a sense of humor for the 2016-17 academic year.”

Kauffman, (Nez Perce), is the Intergovernmental Affairs Liaison for the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe and was the current past-chair of the Board of Trustees for Green River College. She was recently appointed by then-Seattle Mayor Ed Murray as Chair of the Seattle Indian Service Commission.

Kauffman was elected to the WA State Senate from 2007-2011 and is a founding member of Native Action Network, grassroots civic engagement, community and leadership development non-profit organization.

In 2009, Kauffman received the Washington State Governor's Award of Excellence for her lifetime of volunteering. In 2012, she was recognized by the University of Washington, Minority Alumni Partnership with the Distinguished Community Service Award for her years of serving many communities.

Claudia lives in Kent, WA, with her husband Larry Cordier and is mother to three children. She has been foster mother to ten foster children, and advocates for foster children, developmental disabilities, and the improvement of our public education system.

About the Board of Trustees

The Board of Trustees for Green River College is composed of influential community members who reside within the college's District 10 service area. Trustees are volunteers serving a five-year term by appointment of the Governor.

Trustees bring a rich diversity of backgrounds and skills to the governance of Green River College; they serve as an important communication link between the college and the community. All trustees sit as members of the Trustees Association of Community and Technical Colleges. This association is comprised of trustees from the 34 community and technical colleges statewide.

The Green River Board of Trustees meets every third Thursday of the month at 4:30 p.m. on campus in the boardroom of the Administration Building. These monthly meetings are open to the publi

Recent News

Building community through GRC’s Pono Program

May 23, 2024

Portrait of Pono Program Director Joan King

Made possible through federal funding from the Department of Education’s Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISI) grant, the Pono Program centers retention strategies needed for success throughout students' identity development and empowerment in community college.

Annual Student Exhibition Now Open

May 17, 2024

The May student exhibition provides a special annual opportunity set aside for our art students to find their footing as exhibiting artists as many prepare to transfer to art schools in the fall or gain confidence to continue with us to further develop a strong portfolio.

"The Selfish Giant w/ The Puppet & Its Double Theater" from Taiwan comes to GRC

May 10, 2024

Event poster for

In partnership with Sound Education International, the Taiwan Academy in LA, and the UW Taiwan Studies Arts & Culture Program, Green River College welcomes you to a series of children-friendly program, The Selfish Giant with Taiwan’s The Puppet & Its Double Theater, on the Green River College campus from May 11 to May 19.