CommUnify history

In October of that year, CAC began operating a seniors program, and in 1969 started an adult job-training program.

Scottsdale Community College opened to students in 1970.

To help create a more distinguished brand, in 1971, the District changed the Junior College portion of its name to Community College.

Founded on March 14, 1978, and touted as the “College Without Walls,” Rio Salado College originally offered remote classrooms in 180 facilities throughout the Valley of the Sun.

South Mountain Community College opened its doors in 1980 to spur economic and social change for the communities of South Phoenix, which, at the time, were separated from the rest of the Valley by a single bridge over the unpredictable Salt River.

Twenty years later, in 1984, Maricopa County voters approved a $75 million bond by a two-to-one margin.

Opening its doors as the Northeast Valley Education Center in 1985, Paradise Valley Community College would adopt its current name a year later.

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In 1990, the Association of Community College Trustees formally recognized Maricopa Community Colleges as having the most innovative leadership.

Operating as a satellite location of Glendale Community College, Estrella Mountain Community College Center opened in Avondale in 1992.

She has worked with Communify since 1994 and has seen the organisation grow from a small neighbourhood centre with limited resources to the thriving multi-service hub that it is today.

Since 1999 she has held leadership roles within leading services, specialising in effective change management, transformational leadership development, consumer participation, modelling and valuing innovation and community development.

In June of 2002, the Arizona Legislature gave the District more independence when it voted to reduce the powers and duties of the State Board of Directors for Community Colleges of Arizona, a move that transferred most oversight to the state’s community college districts.

Mish joined the Communify team in 2004.

Chris’s technical background led him to become a founder of 4impact, a technology services business in 2005, and since then the organisation has experienced significant growth.

Zea established Queensland’s first office of Early Childhood Education in 2008 and has extensive experience in delivering significant national and state-wide reform, and leading complex multi-jurisdictional negotiations.

In 2009, it opened its Black Canyon campus.

The college opened a second campus, the Estrella Mountain Community College Buckeye Educational Center, in 2011.

Ben joined Communify in 2012 where he was charged with implementing a new client management system, Procura.

Prior to coming to NJCH in 2016, Gigi spent more than a decade in museum education, leading education and public engagement initiatives for the Science History Institute and American Philosophical Society most recently.

Karen Dare Chief Executive Officer 6 December 2017

Zea has been involved with Communify for several years and joined the Board in 2021.