WestEd is pleased to announce Ken Coll as the new Chair of its Board of Directors. Ken has served on WestEd’s Board of Directors since 2013, and his one-year term as Chair begins on July 21, 2022.

Ken is the Director of the Community Behavioral Health Collaborative at the University of Nevada (UNR), where he works to increase access to behavioral health services for underserved communities, schools, and agencies in northern Nevada. Previously, he was UNR’s Dean of Education. His award-winning research focuses on school and mental health risk and resilience factors and effective assessment and counseling interventions with struggling adolescent populations.

“With his depth of expertise in student development and his deep commitment to teacher education, Ken brings invaluable experience and vision to the Board and to the agency’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion,” says WestEd CEO Glen Harvey. “I am looking forward to working with him to improve outcomes for all learners.”

WestEd’s Board of Directors consists of leaders from public and private education, business, and human services sectors. Board members play a critical role in the agency’s leadership and strategic planning. Ken succeeds Jacob Moore, Associate Vice President of Tribal Relations at Arizona State University, who served as the Board’s Chair for 2021–22.

“WestEd is unique in its deep partnership and engagement with its board through our committee structure,” Ken says. “I am grateful for the strong board leadership of previous Chairs, most recently Jacob Moore, and am looking forward to continued progress.”

Ken specializes in educational psychology and counseling, which overlap with student development at all levels of education. Before joining the University of Nevada, he served as associate dean of Boise State University’s College of Education. He directed the Institute for the Study of Addiction, which was named Distinguished Program of the Year by the International Association of Addictions and Offender Counseling in 2009.

He began his career as a postsecondary school counselor. Since then, he’s authored or coauthored more than 90 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters.

Ken earned a BA from Bloomsburg University, an MA from Emporia State University, and a PhD from Oregon State University.