Community Colleges of Spokane’s Chancellor Christine Johnson, Ph.D., announced her selection of Grace Leaf as the new Chief Information Officer for CCS. Leaf has been serving in that role as an interim assignment since December. The announcement follows a broad search process and districtwide interviews with finalists.
“During the past six months, Grace has demonstrated her ability to make great progress on essential projects in our Information Technology Division,” Johnson said. “Already she developed a plan to replace our aging phone systems and to better address cybersecurity threats. She is action-oriented and focused on delivering strong results.”
Leaf has worked at CCS for 23 years in a variety of roles including faculty counselor, interim dean, employee development director and director of human resources services. She is a lifelong resident of the area, growing up in Chewelah.
“A high-functioning IT team is central to fulfilling our mission and I have every confidence my team is up to the challenge,” Leaf said. “I am humbled by the trust placed in me to help move the colleges and the district forward as we transform students’ lives.”
Leaf has a bachelor’s degree in communications from Washington State University, and a master’s degree in organizational leadership from Gonzaga University (GU) where she also completed doctoral coursework in leadership.
In addition to co-founding a nonprofit to bring TEDxSpokane to the community, Leaf has served as the past chapter president of the College and University Personnel Administrator Association, past board president of the Spokane Area Youth Choirs, and Governance and Finance Committee member on the Saint George’s School Board.