Dave Price

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

SKILLS

ABOUT DAVE PRICE

I started my career selling newspaper ads for Gannett — back when that was a thing. About 18 months later, at 23, I found myself publisher of a twice-weekly paper in Arizona. That unexpected leap taught me something I\'ve carried ever since: the best opportunities rarely look like what you planned for.I spent the next decade-plus in community journalism, publishing multiple papers, and in 2005 founding one that\'s still going strong today on the Oregon Coast. It was hands-on, deadline-driven work that sharpened everything from advertising strategy to storytelling to the fundamentals of entrepreneurship in the quirky, challenging, seasonal, spectacular market we call the Central Coast. In 2013, I made another unexpected turn – into higher education. What started as leading Oregon Coast Community College\'s Small Business Development Center has grown, over the years, into something I couldn\'t have scripted: overseeing the college\'s Foundation, marketing, community education programming, and our North and South county centers.But here\'s what I didn\'t anticipate: this would become the most meaningful work of my career. Serving students — whether they\'re launching a business, working on a transfer degree, preparing for rewarding work in the trades, or finding their footing — is genuinely inspiring. My background is a little unconventional for higher ed. A journalism degree, an MBA, years in advertising and publishing. But it turns out that building community, telling stories, and connecting people to opportunity translate pretty well.