Holly Siler

About Holly Siler

Holly is a small-town girl with roots still planted on her family\'s fifth-generation dry-land wheat farm. Those early rural experiences continue to inform her mindset of sowing ideas, germinating opportunity, and propagating potential. After earning a B.A. from Washington State University, Holly\'s early team-building influence occurred in the retail, insurance, and real estate sectors. Moving into formal leadership roles in destination marketing, hospitality, and hunger relief, she oversaw teams in customer-facing and operational roles. After 20+ years working in the Inland Northwest, Holly has reviewed thousands of resumes, conducted hundreds of interviews, and provided thousands of coaching hours to a broad cross-section of team members, deepening her passion for a wholistic approach to individual and organization wellness. In pursuit of her M.S. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Holly feels fortunate to have experienced a life of juxtaposition. From pulling fences to curating lifestyle imagery and aiding others in processing trauma, she honors the vastness of occupational and emotional labor. And from receiving farm subsidies to advocating for SNAP benefits, Holly identifies alignment between socioeconomic and political views. These experiences of interconnectedness position her to challenge individuals and organizations to harness the full breadth and depth of their capabilities and intersectionality. As a self-proclaimed \"dot-connector,\" Holly is gratified by the accomplishments she and her teams earned during economic expansion and downturns. However, she is especially fulfilled by community collaboration projects, such as a regional rebranding in 2014 and increasing access to free weekend meals for food-insecure children. Additionally, she has enjoyed the connections made through her membership in organizations such as the National Association of Insurance Women, Washington Society of Association Executives, Society of Government Meeting Planners, and Leadership Yakima. Moreover, Holly previously served on the Pasco Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and currently serves on the Board of Trustees for Columbia Basin College and the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee of the Washington State Association of College Trustees. Additional affiliations include the American Counseling Association, SAIGE Counseling, Society of Indian Psychologists, and the Association for Specialists in Group Work.

Experience

1. Trustee

   Columbia Basin College

   Jan 2020 — Present · Pasco, WA, US

   Columbia Basin College (CBC), founded in 1955, is a comprehensive, public Washington State community college serving both Franklin and Benton counties. The College’s vision statement expresses our aspirational goal: “Columbia Basin College will be the educational home that transforms students’ lives through economic and social mobility and strengthens the communities we serve through meeting the ever-changing educational needs of our region and state.” This reflects our position in the community as a local service leader and a key engine of economic development. Our student body is also reflective of the Tri-Cities demographics, which have changed dramatically over its 60+ year history.

Education

• Walden University

  Master of Science - MS, Clinical Mental Health Counseling

• Washington State University

  Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Apparel and Textiles

  1998 — 2002