grid decoration grid decoration

Calen Ouellette is the new CEO

Calen Ouellette, current chief advancement officer at Los Angeles LGBT Center

Calen D. B. Ouellette, MBA, was named chief executive officer and chief advancement officer for Clark College Foundation on Thursday, March 31, 2022, by its board of directors. Calen Ouellette (pronounced K-lin O-let) will begin his duties on May 31, 2022. 

Calen Ouellette is CCF's new CEO

Calen Ouellette is the foundation’s new CEO. Photo by Calen Ouellette

“I could not be more pleased with the results of our recruitment. Mr. Ouellette brings a depth of experience to this role that allows us to look forward to having him continue our history of success,” said LeAnne Bremer, chair of Clark College Foundation Board of Directors.

Ouellette, of Los Angeles, Calif., has nearly 17 years of notable fundraising experience, with 13 of those in senior management roles. He is currently the chief advancement officer at the Los Angeles LGBT Center, in which he directs more than 50 employees and the operational aspects of development, marketing and communication and volunteer resources. The center’s annual fundraising goal increased from $10 million to $17 million in the two years he’s led the advancement operation.

“Clark College Foundation is one of those rare foundations that truly has benchmarked the practice of fundraising and engagement for a local college and its community. I could not be more honored to have been chosen to lead the foundation and work with such a successful team,” said Ouellette. “The opportunities ahead, in partnership with the college and its leadership, are vast and inspiring.”

Before joining the center, he worked in various capacities for the University of Southern California starting in 2005, the most recent as a chief administrative officer. Other roles were chief development officer and senior executive director for external relations and student life, among others.

At the University of Southern California, Ouellette finalized a record-breaking $115 million fundraising campaign for the Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry. He was responsible for annual fundraising exceeding up to $10 million annually. He managed the raising of support for capital projects, endowment funds and annual giving efforts. His largest solicited and secured gift was $35 million. He also secured a $20 million international naming gift. Ouellette was one of only a handful of academic advancement leaders building and implementing The Campaign for the University of Southern California’s $8 billion fundraising initiative that concluded in 2018.

Ouellette was also responsible for fundraising and external relations for the divisions of bio-kinesiology, physical therapy, occupational science and occupational therapy within the Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry.

Before 2005, he worked at the public relations agencies CarryOn Communication in Los Angeles/New York and Porter Novelli Communications in Los Angeles.

He earned a master’s of business administration from the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business and a bachelor’s with honors in public relations and communication from Washington State University’s Edward R. Murrow College of Communication. Ouellette considers himself a Washingtonian having moved to the state as a teenager and attended college at WSU in Pullman. He has extended family in Washington and Oregon. Returning to Washington is important to him.


This story was undated on April 19, 2022

Make A Difference

Invest in student success and program excellence at Clark.

Donate Now