Office of the President & Executive Vice President
Executive Leadership Team
The Executive Leadership team is chaired by President John Carmichael and functions as the primary decision-making body of the administration within the authority delegated by the Board of Trustees.
Andrew Beattie
Executive Associate for the President and Secretary for the Board of Trustees
In his current role of Executive Associate to the President and Secretary to the Board of Trustees, Andrew serves as an advisor to the President regarding policy, procedural and operational issues of the college. Andrew manages the President’s Office operations, supervises and directs the work of administrative staff in the office. He serves in a visible leadership role for the institution, representing the President, Board, and the college to internal and external constituencies.
Andrew plans, coordinates, and conducts complex projects at the direction of the President; develops and manages the President’s Office operating and discretionary budgets; and executes special assignments. In this role, Andrew coordinates staff work to support decision-making by the President, the Board of Trustees, and the college’s Executive Leadership Team. He currently co-leads the work of the Institutional Effectiveness Team (IET).
Andrew earned his MPA at Evergreen in 2014 and held previous roles including Internal Communications Coordinator and Director of Recreation and Athletics. He has also held roles with Thurston County Parks and Recreation, University of Colorado (Boulder), and University of Washington. Andrew volunteers locally with Olympia Host Lions Club, Olympia School District, PARC Foundation, and Olympia School District. He earned his undergraduate degree in Organizational and Intercultural Communication from Arizona State University in 2004.
Jadon Berry
Executive Associate for the Executive Vice President
Jadon Berry has served as the Executive Associate to the Executive Vice President since May of 2022, after leading new student programs at the college for the previous six years. In his current leadership role, Jadon serves as an advisor to the Executive Vice President while also managing office operations, maintaing strategic approaches to our work as the budget officer for the division, and representing the Executive Vice President to internal and external stakeholders. He is a member of the EVP leadership team, the strategic planning core team, the Title III - Strengthening Institutions Program grant leadership team, and co-lead for the Institutional Effectiveness Team (IET). He also coordinates and manages complex, cross-divisional projects at the direction of the EVP.
Jadon is currently pursuing a PhD in Higher Education Leadership at Colorado State University. He also earned a Master of Education in Student Affairs Administration from Western Washington University and a Bachelor of Science in Community Health Education at Central Washington University.
While working in higher education since 2008, Jadon has held roles at Western Washington University and Southern Oregon University before coming to Evergreen. He also served from 2019-2021 on the NASPA Region V Advisory board and representative to NASPA’s Small Colleges & Universities Division. His past work has centered around institutional leadership and advocacy for the development and implementation of programs, initiatives, and policies that reduce barriers, promote learning and development, and center the needs of our students in all aspects of work across the college. He has worked in several functional areas including student retention, student leadership development, academic advising, first-year experience, orientation, enrollment services, peer mentor programs, equity and inclusion, and student activities. Jadon has taught college level courses in student success, student leadership, social change, and fly fishing. He enjoys fishing, watching soccer, camping, and hanging out with his family.
Noah Coburn
Provost and Vice President for Academics
Ph.D., Boston University
Noah Coburn is a scholar, academic leader, and advocate for innovative education. His scholarship and approach to leadership is based on his deep commitment to listening and understanding the way individuals learn and perceive their worlds. As an administrator he works to champion student-centered educational structures that create equitable, individualized pathways for student success, while partnering within and across institutions to create sustainable innovations.
Dr. Coburn is a political anthropologist, who has conducted fieldwork in Afghanistan, Nepal, India, Turkey, Sri Lanka and elsewhere. His first book, Bazaar Politics: Power and Pottery in an Afghan Market Town, was the first full length ethnography written about Afghanistan in twenty years and focused on how a small community of potters resolved disputes and maintained peace locally. Influenced by his students and the desire to make more transparent the human costs of the U.S. war in Afghanistan, over the years, his research questions have grown more interdisciplinary and his writing accessible to broader audiences. He is author of four additional books, most recently he co-authored The Last Days of the Afghan Republic: A Doomed Evacuation Twenty Years in the Making. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Inside Higher Ed, Newsweek, CNN, and in numerous other journals and magazines.
Dr. Coburn received his doctorate in anthropology from Boston University, his MA from Columbia University and a BA from Williams College.
The Provost and Vice President for Academics is the chief academic officer of the college. Dr. Coburn joined Evergreen as Provost in July 2024 and oversees a leadership team with responsibility for Evergreen's curriculum and academic mission.
Further information on areas reporting to the Provost can be found in the Org. Chart for the Academics Division.
Holly Joseph
Dean of Students
M.Ed, University of Washington
Holly Joseph (she/her) leads the Student Engagement, Equity and Support (SEES) team and brings over 30 years of higher education leadership to her work. She is a firm believer in the liberal arts, and the transformative nature of education.
Holly holds a M.Ed. in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from the University of Washington and a BA in Religious Studies from Lewis & Clark College. Her experience in higher education includes work in admissions, student support, advising, and programming, and most recently as Evergreen's college budget officer.
Holly is passionate about creating a supportive environment where students can thrive academically and personally. Her leadership is characterized by a commitment to equity, inclusion, and holistic support, ensuring that every student has the resources and opportunities they need to succeed.
Sandy Kaiser
Director of Governmental Relations
Now serving as the college's Director of Governmental Relations, Sandy has served in multiple roles at Evergreen, most recently as the Vice President for College Relations overseeing the college’s first-ever re-brand and leading the college back to in-person operations in fall 2021. A fourth-generation Washingtonian and proud parent of an Evergreen graduate, Sandy has served in leadership positions in state and federal government including communications director for the Washington Department of Natural Resources. She was a candidate for the Washington State House in 2022. As a career diplomat from 1986 to 2011, she directed international communications and outreach on behalf of the U.S, leaving the Foreign Service with the equivalent rank of a two-star general.
Abby Kelso
Vice President for Advancement and Executive Director of The Evergreen State College Foundation
MPA, The Evergreen State College
Abby Kelso (she/her) is a graduate of Evergreen, earning her Bachelor of Arts & Science degree in 2001. After graduation, Abby worked in California as a high school physics teacher, soccer coach and college counselor. She returned to Evergreen as an admissions counselor in 2008 and completed her Master of Public Administration from Evergreen in 2011.
During Evergreen's 40th anniversary year (2011-12), she joined the Advancement team to deliver the first Return to Evergreen alumni event. Abby has continued to serve in Advancement, gradually assuming greater responsibility both within the division and across campus. She was appointed Vice President for Advancement and Executive Director of The Evergreen State College Foundation in 2021. In these roles, she leads and oversees Evergreen’s efforts to raise private funds, seek grants, engage alumni, and steward support for the College’s students and mission.
David Kohler
Chief Financial Officer
BA, Washington State University
Dave joined Evergreen in 2013 as the Associate Vice President for Business Services and remained in that role until he became the Chief Financial Officer in 2021. Prior to serving at Evergreen, Dave spent 13 years as the Dean of Financial Services at South Puget Sound Community College after working for several years as an auditor for the Washington State Auditor’s Office and a couple of regional CPA firms. Dave holds a BA in accounting from Washington State University and is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in the state of Washington.
Dave is responsible for leading a team that oversees the college budget, human resources, and business services along with the Evergreen bookstore, conference services and parking operations. Dave also serves as the college internal control officer and risk manager.
David McAvity
Vice Provost for Academic Initiatives
Ph.D, Cambridge University
David McAvity joined the Evergreen community as a Member of the Faculty in 2000, teaching mathematics and physics. Since 2012, he has served as a part of the academic leadership team, first as an Academic Dean for budget and international programs for six years, then as Vice Provost for two years, before serving as Provost and Vice President for Academics in an interim capacity for four years. Dr. McAvity received his Bachelor of Science in mathematical physics from Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, and his MASt and Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Cambridge in England.
The Vice Provost for Academic Initiatives provides executive-level leadership of assigned strategic projects in the college’s Academics portfolio. Projects in the Vice Provost’s portfolio include Professional and Continuing Education (PACE), the Evergreen Prison Education Project (EPEP), and Six Expectations Assessment of Learning (SEAL), Accreditation, and other projects that may be assigned by the President or Provost.
Julie Slone
Executive Associate to the Provost and Vice President for Academics
M.Ed., University of Vermont
Julie Slone joined Evergreen as a staff member in 1989. Prior to joining the Provost’s team in 2006, she held director and assistant director-level positions in Academic Advising and with the two of our graduate programs. Earlier in her career, she worked for Admissions, Financial Aid, the Vice President for Student Affairs office, and as caretaker for Evergreen’s Organic Farm. Julie received her MEd in Higher Education and Students Affairs Administration from University of Vermont and her bachelor's degree from Evergreen.
In her current role, Julie serves as a member of the Academics leadership team, which includes providing counsel and support to the Provost and other leaders to steward a broad range of complex projects, initiatives, meetings, and retreats; serving as Academics liaison to the Chair of the Faculty and the Agenda Committee, including counsel to the Faculty Chair, planning for all-faculty and Agenda Committee meetings, and managing the faculty governance assignment process; and managing the workflow of the Provost’s office, including overseeing the work of the office’s administrative assistant.
Trevor Speller
Vice-Provost for Academic Budget and Operations
Ph.D., University at Buffalo
Trevor Speller joined The Evergreen State College as a Member of the Faculty in 2010, teaching Anglophone Literature, Dr. Speller has served as Vice-Provost for Budget and Academic Operations since 2020. Prior to this, he served for four years as Academic Dean for Curriculum. He holds bachelor's degrees in English and Psychology from the University of Calgary, an MA in English from York University in Toronto, Canada, and a PhD in English from the University at Buffalo.
Working closely with the Provost, Academic Deans, faculty, and staff, the Vice-Provost oversees faculty personnel and contracting, faculty labor relations, space management, and budget for the Academic division. The Vice-Provost also supervises staff in the academic budget office, arts and sciences support operations, and faculty organizers for student recruitment.
William Ward
Chief Administrative Officer
MBA, Indiana Wesleyan University
William earned his Master of Business Administration from Indiana Wesleyan University and has served in multiple senior leadership roles in operations including The White House for three U.S. Presidents. William joined Evergreen in October 2018 as the Associate Vice President for Facilities Services and promoted to his current role as Chief Administrative Officer responsible for Police Services, Computing & Communications, Facilities Services, and lead for the COVID 19 team ensuring these important services meet the needs of the college.
With 30 years of operations experience William provides a demonstrated pattern of leadership streamlining executive and operational functions improving customer satisfaction, staff productivity, quality-outcomes, asset life-cycle optimization, strategic partnerships, and financial performance. He collaborates across all college divisions to meet the needs of students and stakeholders and utilizes a process-driven approach leaning heavily on model of transparency around organizational priorities and accountability delivering outcomes to strengthen the mission of The Evergreen State College. Mentoring servant leadership style fosters staff empowerment and collaborative partnerships while improving diversity, inclusion, and equality in all college activities and functions.