President's Office
About President Cronin
CGCC's President is Dr. Marta Yera Cronin. She is the college’s first female president and Oregon’s first Latina community college president.
Prior to coming to Columbia Gorge Community College in 2018, Dr. Cronin spent her first 17 years in higher education at Indian River State College (IRSC) in Florida, a three-time Aspen top ten nominee and winner in 2019.
She began her career there in 2001 as a faculty member in teacher education working her way up to department chair, first dean of the IRSC School of Education and, finally, Vice President of Academic Affairs. Prior to that, she was a k-12 classroom teacher in Florida, having taught French and reading for a total of 11 years.
Dr. Cronin has served on several Florida Department of Education committees and advisory groups and as the Florida Delegate for the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education in Washington, D.C. Currently, she serves on The Dalles Community Outreach Team, Hood River County Economic Development Group and is a board member on the Mid-Columbia Economic District board of directors and serves as the vice chair of the East Cascades Works Workforce board. Dr. Cronin has also been involved in several state and national COVID recovery efforts, representing the college on the American Association of Community College/National Governors Association Reskilling and Recovery Network and through Oregon Governor Brown’s North Central Region Equity in Recovery Council. She, currently, serves on the Oregon Community College Association’s statewide Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee.
She has been the recipient of several awards in her over 30 years in education, among them a Phi Theta Kappa International Distinguished Advisor Award, a League for Innovation Innovation of the Year Award, Who’s Who among America’s Teachers and several awards at Indian River State College (Club Advisor of the Year, Faculty of the Month, President’s Cup, River Award, Endowed Teaching Chair, Leading the Way Award). In 2021, she was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Rural Community College Alliance.
Dr. Cronin earned her Doctor in Education (Ed.D.) with an emphasis on curriculum and instruction from the University of Sarasota, her Master of Science (MS) degree in Reading from Barry University and her BA in French from the University of Miami.
In her spare time, she loves to read and travel the world with her husband, Mike.
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Public Notices
Leadership and Advising
President's Council - The President's Council advises the president, and is made up of Vice Presidents and Executive Directors at CGCC: