College Leadership

Dr. Jack Kahn joined Shoreline Community College on July 1, 2022.

With over 25 years of experience in higher education, including more than a decade in leadership roles, Dr. Kahn often shares his career goal of “bringing diverse people together to create systems that are integrated with the broader community to serve students, particularly with a lens toward equity.”

Before arriving at Shoreline Community College, Dr. Kahn’s most recent leadership roles were at Palomar College in San Marcos, California. Here he served as an interim superintendent president, the assistant superintendent/vice president for instruction and the dean of the division of social and behavioral sciences. Prior to his work in academic leadership, Dr. Kahn was an active faculty member and published researcher and author of works addressing issues of psychological testing, masculinity, and social justice.

The first person in his family to pursue a four-year college degree, Dr. Kahn earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology with a minor in philosophy from Arizona State University. He went on to earn a Master of Arts in marriage and family counseling from San José State University before attending the State University of New York at Buffalo to earn a doctorate in counseling psychology.

In his spare time, Dr. Kahn enjoys seeing live music and theater, traveling, exploring new neighborhoods, trying new restaurants, hiking, reading, gardening, cooking, and spending time with his wife Jackie, two dogs, and cat.

Dr. Ann Garnsey-Harter leads institutional planning and effectiveness efforts and serves as Accreditation Liaison Officer with the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU).  She provides strategic leadership for institutional research, institutional assessment, grants, and the integrated data management system (PeopleSoft); she serves as the ctcLink/PeopleSoft project manager.  

She has been a higher education administrator for 25 years. Her professional experience is grounded in her experience teaching college English part-time and her passion for students: “I came to administrative work as a faculty member; my commitment to students and their learning fuels all of my work.” 

She holds a Master of Arts and a Doctor of Philosophy in English from Washington State University.  

Personally, she loves the outdoors and can be found hiking, backpacking, camping, and kayaking with her husband, two boys, and dog.

Samira Pardanani is the Associate Vice President of International Education and Global Engagement, charged with providing leadership to programs integral to the student experience at the College.

In her previous role as Executive Director of Shoreline’s dynamic International Education department, she led a high-functioning and innovative team whose work placed the College among the country’s top 20 community colleges hosting international students. The College has been featured in multiple national publications for best practices in enrollment management, student services, and campus internationalization. As a leader in the field, Samira has served as a frequent presenter and as an advocate for community colleges. 

Samira is excited to dive into the work of serving all Shoreline students, working with campus stakeholders to pursue opportunities to enhance the student experience, with a special focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion, and reducing opportunity gaps. She is skilled at identifying individual strengths of staff and facilitating increased ownership and engagement in their work.

Samira holds master’s degrees in German and TESOL, and has been educated in India, Germany, Austria, and the U.S. She speaks multiple languages and wholeheartedly embraces the value that diverse life experiences bring to the table. She spends her free time with her family and friends, enjoying good food and laughter, and also loves to dabble in different hobbies.

Veronica Zura has served the College in the Office of Human Resources since August 2004 with direct experience in each of the individual positions staffed in HR. Ms. Zura holds a Bachelors’ degree in Psychology from Western Washington University, with a minor in Internet Resource & Creation. Ms. Zura obtained her Professional in Human Resources certification in February 2011, the ATIXA Title IX Level 1 Certification in June of 2016, and the OSU Search Advocate certification in November 2018.

Ms. Zura provides executive leadership to campus in the areas of employee relations, compensation, benefits, recruitment/selection, and collective bargaining/labor relations. During her free time, Ms. Zura enjoys movies, puzzling, and cribbage.