This content was published: March 3, 2017. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.
PCC Board appoints Mohamed Alyajouri to fill Zone 6 vacancy
Photos and story by Kate Chester
The Portland Community College Board of Directors has officially appointed Mohamed Alyajouri, healthcare integration manager for the Oregon Primary Care Association, to serve on behalf of Zone 6. Additionally, Jim Harper, who represents downtown Portland and portions of Columbia County (Zone 4), has been named board vice chair. Harper has served on the PCC Board of Directors since 2005.
PCC President Mark Mitsui swears in new board member Mohamed Alyajouri.
Alyajouri replaces Gene Pitts, who resigned from the board late last year. As the Zone 6 official, Alyajouri will represent Yamhill County, east Washington County and Southwest Portland for the remainder of the term, which runs through June 2017. He can run for election to the PCC Board in May 2017; the new term will begin July 1.
The PCC Board of Directors consists of seven members elected by zones to four-year terms. Board members govern the college, which includes selecting the president, approving the college budget, and establishing policies that govern the operation of the college.
“We are excited to welcome Mohamed as the newest member of the PCC Board of Directors,” said Kali Thorne-Ladd, board chair. “Mohamed brings a wealth of unique professional and community experience to our team: crucial management skills and a commitment to diversity and equity that will benefit the college and community the board serves. As a father of three, his advocacy for and interest in education, especially that of community colleges, is a tremendous asset.”
Since 2015 Alyajouri has worked with Oregon Primary Care Association, a non-profit membership association made up of Oregon’s community health centers (also known as Federally Qualified Health Centers) and those that support them. There he oversees programs to assist the development, implementation and coordination of behavioral and oral health integration for these community health centers.
Jim Harper has spent more than 40 years with the college – as a student, a volunteer and a corporate community partner.
Prior to this role Alyajouri was the project manager for the Integrated Clinical Services division of Multnomah County’s Health Department, beginning in 2013. In this capacity he was responsible for various operational and optimization projects that impacted ICS’ primary health centers, school-based health centers, HIV health services, corrections health, behavioral health, dental and more. Alyajouri’s accomplishments included advancing remote accessibility to electronic health records for ICS clients, transitioning the division to a new coding system to track a variety of medical conditions, and coordinating a new state-sponsored payment reform program to align reimbursement with patient-centered primary care.
Alyajouri, a Beaverton resident, currently serves on numerous local boards including as the board president of New City Initiative, a board member of Oregon Public Health Association, and the co-chair of Muslim Educational Trust’s outreach committee.
He earned both his bachelor’s degree in Health Management and Policy and his master’s degree in Public Health from Oregon State University. While in graduate school Alyajouri was awarded the Schild-Nicholsen Fellowship, and prior to completing his studies in 2011, he served as an intern with the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland.
While Alyajouri is a newcomer to PCC, Harper has spent more than 40 years with the college – as a student, a volunteer and a corporate community partner. He has served on the PCC Foundation Board for the last 26 years, including as the board chair from 1990 to 1992.
Harper is a realtor for RE/MAX Equity Group in Hillsboro. He is currently on the board of the Association of Community College Trustees and is chair of its Pacific Region, and is a past president of the Oregon Community College Association. He also has served as vice president of Administration for Morrison Child and Family Services, executive director for Arras Inc., School-To-Career liaison for Multnomah County, director of Human Resources at Wacker Siltronic Corp., and division manager for Tektronix, Inc. Harper holds a bachelor’s degree in Education from Portland State University.