Greg Gomel, a consultant, is running for Collin College board of trustees Place 1.
Nancy Wurzman, whose term ends in May, currently holds Place 1. However, Wurzman, has filed for Place 2. Fred Moses has also filed to run for Place 1.
Places 3 and 5 will also appear on the May 6 ballot.
Before the election, Community Impact Newspaper sent Gomel a series of questions. His written responses, edited for publication style, are below.
1. Why did you decide to run for the Collin College board of trustees?
For over a decade my family has benefited as residents of Collin County and all four of my children have attended Collin College. I want to pay back to the community with my time, experience and knowledge to enhance the opportunity for others to participate in higher education. I’ll share what I’ve learned with the next generation of students and influence the direction the college takes as we enter the next decade.
2. What experience do you think prepares you for serving on the board?
My educational background includes a [Bachelor of Science] in history and humanities and a Masters of Arts in teaching [at Jacksonville University]. I’m a continuous learner and obtained a project management masters certificate and a graduate certificate in total quality management. My work experience includes 20 years with the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve plus 20 years with companies such as Capital One, Insight, CROSSMARK and most recently as the founder of The Gomel Group, an IT consultancy.
3. What issues would you like to do address and how?
While all the priorities called out in the Collin College Master Plan are important, the one that strikes me as the most pressing is “add workforce and academic programs to align with projected Collin County labor market needs." Determining how we’re going to maintain focus on scaling the growth of Collin College to align with where the county is headed while balancing the other initiatives will call for a level of governance that is challenging. When working with my clients in dealing with similar issues of prioritizing projects across a portfolio of desirable goals, I ask them which will truly make a difference in the survival of their company. While Collin College isn’t faced today with making an organizational life or death choice, there should be a sense of urgency in preparing now for the needs of the county in the future. One of the reasons businesses are locating to our area is the quality of the workforce and by maintaining a focus on this outcome, we’ll prepare ourselves for this desired growth.
For more information about Gomel’s campaign, click here. Early voting will run April 24-May 2. For polling locations click here.
