Foundation Board Spotlight: Julie Hanrahan

Julie Hanrahan

Julie is the VP, Retail Market Manager at Columbia Bank in Newport. She has served on the OCCC Foundation Board since 2017, as President in 2018 – 2019 and on the the Pearls of Wisdom Committee for several years. In her own words, Julie shares what brought her to Newport and OCCC.

I was born in San Antonio, Texas. My Dad was in the Air Force, so I have lived all over the world. When my father retired from the military, we moved to Tillamook, to be close to family. I was a Freshman in High School and attended Tillamook High. When I was a junior in high school, my parents purchased a business in Newport, which brought me here.

I decided to serve on the Foundation Board because I believe investing in education. Our people are our greatest asset. The cost of education is often not possible to everyone without help. I believe we all have a duty to “Pay it Forward.”  Serving on the board is my small way of doing so.

I have been married to Mark Hanrahan for 42 years. He is a small business owner. We have two children: a daughter, Amy, who is 40; and a son, Mark, who is 39. Amy lives in Seattle, is a writer and works with school districts and county governments to write curriculum for teachers and special education. Mark is a News Anchor for Channel 2 in Spokane. Both of my children went to school from kindergarten through high school in Newport.

Without scholarship assistance, my children couldn’t have gotten through college. This is also why I am happy to serve on the board.

Mark and I have 4 grandchildren, who are the best part of my life: Benjamin, 10; Camila, 9; Lucas, 8 and Pearl, 7.

My advice to OCCC students is to explore many options. If you are interested in something, seek out people who can help. Remember at this time in your life you don’t have to make decisions for the rest of your life, you just have to decide what to do next.

Thank you, Julie, for all you do.  Those are sound words for OCCC students.